Scholars of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance believed that Plato was recounting a real event. They were curious about the location of Atlantis. After the discovery of the Americas, some Europeans made a connection Between the newly found lands and Atlantis. Some thought that the Native Americans might be descendants of the people of Atlantis who fled their destroyed island. The legend of Atlantis also inspired writers and thinkers. Sir Francis Bacon, an English philosopher of the early seventeenth century, wrote a political fable called The New Atlantis (1626) that described an ideal world.
In the 1800s, the myth regained popularity. Scholars and popular writers both tried to use scientific evidence to support the existence of Atlantis; however, many used only the evidence that supported their ideas and conveniently ignored the rest. Although geological studies of the ocean floor revealed no sunken islands or continents at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, the legend persisted. In fact, people from lands as diverse as Scotland, the Basque region of Spain, and Scandinavia have claimed Atlanteans as their ancestors.
Since 1960, geological, meteorological, and archeological studies have supported the legend, though not in its original form. Many scientists now think that Atlantis was actually the island of Thera, located in the Mediterranean Sea near the island of Crete. Thera (part of the Santorini archipelago) was one of the colonies of the rich Minoan civilization of Crete. The Minoans built luxurious palaces and temples and traded all over the Mediterranean. Geologists and meteorologists have established that around 1600 BCE, Thera’s volcano erupted and part of the island sank into the sea. Subsequent earthquakes and tsunamis destroyed life on Crete, 70 miles to the south. Archaeologists have studied Thera and have found the remains of a large Minoan town built around the volcano. The town has a palace and waterways that seem to match the general plan described by Plato.
Regardless of which culture is fascinated by it, the myth of Atlantis provides comfort in the idea that a perfect human society is possible. This offers hope that achieving such a perfect society is possible again in the future.
World History
