Is Atlantis here on earth?

[cwarn23]

Ok, so I was getting my daily dose of Stargate Atlantis then in the final episode atlantis lands in the atlantic ocean. Then I think to myself, haven't I seen an unrelated youtube video coming to the same conclusion. In this youtube video which I saw a long time ago it revels that Atlantis has been seen on Google Earth in the same place as the Atlantis from Stargate Atlantis claims to have ended up. Is this all just an amazing coincidence or do you believe like myself Atlantis wrests at the bottom of that ocean in the atlantic?

[jwenting]

There have been dozens of places where people said Atlantis (or some other sunken continent by some other name depending on their local mythology) would exist.

The idea of an island or continent of extreme riches that was destroyed by the Gods and sank into the sea exists in almost every seafaring culture in some form.

The Atlantic being large and for a long time impossible to navigate for shipping caused a lot of those myths to place it in there, but it's also been spotted in the Mediterranean sea, Pacific and Indian oceans, etc. etc. etc.

So far ALL those myths have turned out to be just that, myths.
EVERY SINGLE place people have looked for it and found what they initially thought were remnants turned out to be natural features on the ocean floor if not optical illusions or ruins of a well known civilisation.

[WaltP]

Actually, the continent in the Pacific was Mu.

[GrimJack]

Plato was the first known writer about the Atlantis; he wrote about 300 BCE but he was quoting the Athenian lawgiver Solon (about 700BCE) about a story heard when he was in Egypt. This is not real good sourcing but it was supposed to be bigger than North Africa and the Near East combined and located in the Atlantic. Many scholars think that the myth of Atlantis comes from the Minoan civilization on the island of Crete which was destroyed in volcanic glory around 1500-1600 BCE - there is evidence of pottery from about 7000BCE found on Crete.

Most societies have legends of wonderful, idyllic societies in the past that were destroyed by (fill in your favorite vice).

[jwenting]

More precisely, scholars now think the myth originated with the island of Santorini which was a thriving community.
It had a circular harbour (hint, hint...) surrounded on all sides by land with a channel to get into it.
That harbour of course turned out to be the crater of a sleeping volcano which blew up and destroyed half the island (and the entire city), the resulting tsunami destroying most of the Minoan culture on Crete.
Crete apparently turned to ancient Egypt for help rebuilding, where Solon saw documents about the catastrophe and the prior trade between Egypt and the fabulously wealthy Minoan people.

[GrimJack]

Thanks! I knew there was a missing piece but I got distracted.

[javaAddict]

Ok, so I was getting my daily dose of Stargate Atlantis then in the final episode atlantis lands in the atlantic ocean.

What is amazing is that you watched that show!

[cwarn23]

What is amazing is that you watched that show!

Good one. lol Yea and unfortunately those in the Pegasus galaxy have to suffer by the wraith as an ending of the Atlantis series. At least the replicators were destroyed. If only MGM productions would make a 6th series with a better ending. That would be great.
Anyways back on topic atlantis must be out there somewhere. Perhaps a city created by sea creatures so deep that we can't find it. Or even a city that was created before earth had water. There are so many ways a city could end up under water that it is more likely that Atlantis exists than vice versa.

[javaAddict]

If you take into account some of the natural disasters that have happened recently, it is possible that a city located at a not so safe location be sunk underwater.

Imagine what would have happened if a hurricane like Catrina or a tsunami hit Venice for example.

Given the lack of recording and transportation methods they had at those ancient times, it is quite easy such an incident at an isolated city to be forgotten and after many years tales of that place to become what today we call myths.

[ddanbe]

Anyways back on topic atlantis must be out there somewhere.

Must be out there?
Wishful thinking?

[GrimJack]

Here is an interesting update to the story:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/16/science/16archeo.html?ref=science

The tools suggest that people were 'sea-faring' at least 130,000 year ago. The implications of stone age tools on Cyprus is astounding - language, navigation, enough organization to sustain island culture, language.... The tools are of the Acheulean style which was first developed 500,000 years ago - just something to think about.

[cwarn23]

Here is an interesting update to the story:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/16/science/16archeo.html?ref=science

I read the story and sounds like maybe a bunch of apes mastered technology before humans wiped them out. lol But yea, I'm sure before humans or the bacteria that made humans existed there would have been another civilization around and my bets are they came to earth where they faced extinction. That or they went to Pegasus where the US Airforce used an ancient device to go to Pegasus and bring Atlantis back to earth.

[Unbidden Ghost]

I am not so sure about tools so many 100 thousand years ago. were there even humans on the planet back then? last i heard (and i can be wrong) humans are about 40 000 to 100 000 years old. so what is this about ship building 130 000 years ago.

[jwenting]

depending on what you call "humans" they were around from around 20.000 years ago or up to about 2 million years ago.

Ships certainly weren't around until maybe 10.000-15.000 years ago and those were hollowed out logs mostly until quite recently.

Most civilizations/cultures have stories about flooding, usually meshed into some sort of moralistic/religious warning - Deucalion, Noah, Gilgamesh, Manu, Cantre'r Gwaelod. Some are just direct 'steals' from other sources, or are variations on themes. However, the Atlantean story for some reason, seems to have captured the imagination.

All the recent stuff I've read seems to point at Crete or Santorini. I remember reading one book about Antarctica being the site. I know that about plate tectonics can account for a hell of a lot, but come on.

[jadkins]

Ok, so I was getting my daily dose of Stargate Atlantis then in the final episode atlantis lands in the atlantic ocean. Then I think to myself, haven't I seen an unrelated youtube video coming to the same conclusion. In this youtube video which I saw a long time ago it revels that Atlantis has been seen on Google Earth in the same place as the Atlantis from Stargate Atlantis claims to have ended up. Is this all just an amazing coincidence or do you believe like myself Atlantis wrests at the bottom of that ocean in the atlantic?

I saw some special on tv about some guy doing underwater topographic imaging in the mediterranean by Cyprus. He picked up a bunch of objects that looked like buildings. Saw it in the news a few years ago, but after that nothing. If you look at that area on a map you can imagine how if the sea level rose for some reason it would go over the mountain ridge and flood what we now call the mediteranean. Just a theory?

[GrimJack]

depending on what you call "humans" they were around from around 20.000 years ago or up to about 2 million years ago.

Ships certainly weren't around until maybe 10.000-15.000 years ago and those were hollowed out logs mostly until quite recently.

They were talking about rafts rather than ships; and the whole thing is still pretty much in the 'isn't this stuff cool' stage - there is a lot of research left to do.

[dexter737]

Atlantis its under the sea :)