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The story of Atlantis begins with two of Plato’s dialogues, Timaeus and Critias. These are the only known written records which refer specifically to a lost civilization called Atlantis. Many people believe the tale to be complete fiction. Others believe that the story was inspired by 1)catastrophic events, which may have destroyed the Minoan注1 civilization on Crete注2 and Thera注3. Still, others maintain that the story is an 2)accurate 3)representation of a long lost and almost completely forgotten land.
Plato’s Atlantis
Over 11,000 years ago, there existed an island nation located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The people of this land 4)possessed great wealth thanks to the natural resources found throughout their island. The island was a center for trade and 5)commerce.
This was the island of Atlantis.
Atlantis was the 6)domain of Poseidon, God of the Sea. When Poseidon fell in love with a 7)mortal woman, Cleito, he created a 8)dwelling at the top of a hill, near the middle of the island, and surrounded the dwelling with 9)rings of water and land to protect her.
Cleito gave birth to five pairs of twin boys, who became the first rulers of Atlantis. Poseidon divided the land into ten sections, each to be ruled by a son. The eldest of these, Atlas, was made king of the entire island and the ocean.
At the top of the central hill a temple was built to honor Poseidon which housed a giant gold statue of Poseidon riding a 10)chariot pulled by winged horses. It was here that the rulers of Atlantis would come to discuss laws, pass judgments, and pay 11)tribute to the God.
To make travel and trade easy, a water canal was cut through the rings of land and water running south for 5.5 miles to the sea.
The city of Atlantis sat just outside the outer ring of water and spread across the plain, covering a 12)circle of 11 miles. This was a 13)densely populated area where the majority of the population lived.
Beyond the city lay a 14)fertile plain, 330 miles long and 110 miles wide, surrounded by another canal used to collect water from the rivers and streams of the mountains. Surrounding the plain to the north were mountains which 15)soared to the skies. Villages, lakes, rivers, and 16)meadows 17)dotted the mountains.
Besides the harvests, the island provided all kinds of herbs, fruits, and nuts. An 18)abundance of animals, including elephants, 19)roamed the land.
For generations, the Atlanteans lived simple lives. But slowly they began to change. Greed and power began to 20)corrupt them. When Zeus saw this, he gathered the other Gods to determine a suitable punishment.
Soon, in one violent 21)surge it was gone. The island of Atlantis, together with its people and its memory, were swallowed by the sea.
Atlantis: Theories
The 22)prevailing theories about Atlantis are:
◆It’s Fiction.
◆It’s an 23)exaggeration based on the fall of the Minoan civilization and on the destruction of the island Thera.
◆It was Real.
Below you’ll find a brief summary of each of the theories as well as key points either for or against the theory.
→Fiction
This is the easiest answer ?Atlantis is fiction. It was made up to suit the purposes of Plato’s dialogues.
For: Nothing to prove. Timaeus and Critias are simply stories.
Against: It is stated several times within the dialogues that the story is true.
→Thera & the Minoan Civilization
There are some 24)compelling similarities between the destruction of Thera and the destruction of Atlantis.
For: The island of Thera, a volcanic island, was destroyed around 1500 BC by an explosion, which caused more than half of the island to sink into the sea. 25)Artifacts found on the island 26)indicate a 27)sophisticated culture, probably part of the Minoan Civilization.
Against: 28)Proponents of this theory claim that Plato’s date of 9,000 years ago should really have been 900 years ago, somewhere along the line either Solon注4 or Plato made a mistake. If the story was 900 years ago, it would place Atlantis in the time frame of the Minoan civilization on Crete and Thera. Conveniently 29)overlooked in this thinking is that, in Timaeus, the priest tells Solon that ancient Athens and Atlantis 30)preceded Egypt by a thousand years. Egypt, however, existed and was known to have existed since long before 1500 BC, the time of Crete and Thera. The times just don’t add up.
→It Existed
For: Plato says it’s a true story.
Against: There are no other records of such a civilization ever existing. Current 31)archaeological evidence does not support the 32)premise that such sophisticated civilizations existed around 9000 BC anywhere in the world.
Where in the world is Atlantis?
Well, that all depends upon which theory of Atlantis you believe.
If you think Plato was telling the truth, then Atlantis is located somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
One of the more likely places would be around the Azores Islands. The Azores are a group of islands belonging to Portugal located about 900 miles west of the Portuguese coast. Some people believe the islands to be the mountain tops of the sunken continent of Atlantis.
On the other hand, if you feel that Atlantis was an exaggeration of the historical destruction of Thera and the Minoan empire, then it is to be found in the Aegean. The island of Thera, also known as Santorini, is a volcanic island located north of Crete in the Aegean Sea. Sometime around 1500 BC it was destroyed by a volcanic explosion that may have caused the sudden downfall of the Minoan civilization.
But, if you believe Atlantis was simply a story, then it was only located in the brain of Plato.
亚特兰蒂斯的故事始于柏拉图的两篇对话录：《齐麦亚》和《克里齐》。这是唯一已知的专门提到“亚特兰蒂斯”这一失落文明的记载。许多人认为这个传说纯属杜撰，而另一些人则认为它源自摧毁克里特岛和锡拉岛的米诺斯文明的灾难事件。此外，还有些人声称这个故事是对一片已湮没在历史长河里、几乎已为人们所遗忘的大陆的准确再现。
柏拉图的亚特兰蒂斯
一万一千多年前，在大西洋中央有一个岛国。由于岛上自然资源丰富，岛国的人民拥有许多财富。这个岛同时也是一个商贸中心。
这个岛屿便是亚特兰蒂斯。
亚特兰蒂斯是海神波赛冬的领土。波赛冬爱上了凡间女子克莱托，随后在接近岛中心的一座山的山顶上为她建造了一处住所，并以水和土地将其环绕起来加以保护。
克莱托生下了五对双胞胎男婴，他们后来成为亚特兰蒂斯最初的统治者。波赛冬把这片陆地划分成十部分，每个儿子分管其一。长子亚特拉斯成为这片陆地和海洋的国王。
岛中央的山顶上建有一座神庙以纪念波赛冬，庙内有一尊海神驾飞马战车的巨型黄金雕像。亚特兰蒂斯的统治者们就在这里讨论律法，进行审判以及祭祀波赛冬。
为了方便交通及贸易，人们在这片环形的陆地和水域中开凿了一道运河，向南贯穿5.5英里（合8.85千米）入海。
亚特兰蒂斯城就坐落在最外围的环形水道外的平原上，城的周长长达11英里（合17.70千米）。这个地区人口稠密，大部分人口都居住在此地。
城外是一片长330英里（合531.06千米）、宽110英里（合177.02千米）的肥沃平原，外围被另一条专门收集山中河流水源的运河环绕。平原北面被群山包围，山峰高耸入云。山中遍布村庄、河流和牧场。
除了主要粮食作物以外，岛上还有各种药草、水果和坚果。包括大象在内的众多动物在这片陆地上漫步。
长久以来，亚特兰蒂斯人都过着简朴的生活。但渐渐地，他们开始改变。贪婪和权力让他们逐渐堕落。宙斯看到这种情形，便召集众神，要给岛民们一个恰如其分的惩罚。
不久，在一次猛烈的海潮大浪中，亚特兰蒂斯消失了。亚特兰蒂斯岛，连同它的人民，还有关于它的一切记忆，全都被大海吞没。
关于亚特兰蒂斯的几种推测
关于亚特兰蒂斯的推测最流行的说法有：
◆ 纯属虚构。
◆ 是基于米诺斯文明覆灭及锡拉岛被毁的真实历史事件的夸大。
◆ 是事实。
下面你可以看到对各种推测的简要概括及其主要正反论点。
→虚构说
这是最简单的答案—亚特兰蒂斯不过是子虚乌有。故事是捏造出来的，以应和柏拉图对话录的目的。
正方：没有证据能证明亚特兰蒂斯的传说是真的。《齐麦亚》和《克里齐》只不过是故事而已。
反方：对话录里数次明确提到过亚特兰蒂斯是真实存在的。
→锡拉及米诺斯文明说
锡拉的衰落和亚特兰蒂斯的消失，这两者之间存在一些极具说服力的相似点。
正方：锡拉岛是一个火山岛，在公元前1500年左右的一次火山爆发中被毁。这次灾难使该岛一半以上的部分沉入海中。岛上发现的工艺品表明岛上曾存在一个发达的文明，可能正是米诺斯文明的一部分。
反方：支持该学说的人声称虽然柏拉图记载的年代为9000年前，事实上应该是900年前—棱伦和柏拉图之中肯定有一个人弄错了。故事如果发生在900年前，那么亚特兰蒂斯就与克里特岛和锡拉岛上的米诺斯文明处于同一时代。这种想法很明显地忽视了一点，即在《齐麦亚》里祭司告诉棱伦说古雅典和亚特兰蒂斯早于埃及一千年存在。而埃及当时已经存在，且已知在公元前1500年—克里特和锡拉时代—之前很久就已经存在了。无论如何，这些年代对不上号。
→史实说
正方：柏拉图说这是真实的故事。
反方：除了柏拉图以外，没有其它关于这样一个文明曾经存在的记录。目前的考古学证据并不支持这一学说的前提—即公元前9000年左右，世界上存在过一个如此高度发达的文明。
亚特兰蒂斯究竟在世上哪个地方？
这个问题的答案取决于你相信哪一种学说。
如果你认为柏拉图所说属实，那么亚特兰蒂斯就位于大西洋中心的某处。
其中一个可能性较大的位置是亚述尔群岛附近。亚述尔群岛是属于葡萄牙的一群岛屿，位于葡萄牙海岸以西大约900英里（合1448.34千米）处。有人认为这些群岛正是沉没的亚特兰蒂斯大陆上山峰的顶部。
另一方面，如果你觉得亚特兰蒂斯是锡拉和米诺斯帝国覆灭的夸张转述，那么你可以在爱琴海找到这片失落的大陆。锡拉岛，也叫桑托林岛，位于爱琴海，是克里特岛北面的一个火山岛。公元前1500年左右，该岛在一场火山爆发中被毁，可能正是这场火山爆发导致了米诺斯文明的瞬间覆灭。
但如果你认为亚特兰蒂斯只是一个虚构的故事，那么它就只存在于柏拉图的脑袋里了。
Plato’s Atlantis
Over 11,000 years ago, there existed an island nation located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The people of this land 4)possessed great wealth thanks to the natural resources found throughout their island. The island was a center for trade and 5)commerce.
This was the island of Atlantis.
Atlantis was the 6)domain of Poseidon, God of the Sea. When Poseidon fell in love with a 7)mortal woman, Cleito, he created a 8)dwelling at the top of a hill, near the middle of the island, and surrounded the dwelling with 9)rings of water and land to protect her.
Cleito gave birth to five pairs of twin boys, who became the first rulers of Atlantis. Poseidon divided the land into ten sections, each to be ruled by a son. The eldest of these, Atlas, was made king of the entire island and the ocean.
At the top of the central hill a temple was built to honor Poseidon which housed a giant gold statue of Poseidon riding a 10)chariot pulled by winged horses. It was here that the rulers of Atlantis would come to discuss laws, pass judgments, and pay 11)tribute to the God.
To make travel and trade easy, a water canal was cut through the rings of land and water running south for 5.5 miles to the sea.
The city of Atlantis sat just outside the outer ring of water and spread across the plain, covering a 12)circle of 11 miles. This was a 13)densely populated area where the majority of the population lived.
Beyond the city lay a 14)fertile plain, 330 miles long and 110 miles wide, surrounded by another canal used to collect water from the rivers and streams of the mountains. Surrounding the plain to the north were mountains which 15)soared to the skies. Villages, lakes, rivers, and 16)meadows 17)dotted the mountains.
Besides the harvests, the island provided all kinds of herbs, fruits, and nuts. An 18)abundance of animals, including elephants, 19)roamed the land.
For generations, the Atlanteans lived simple lives. But slowly they began to change. Greed and power began to 20)corrupt them. When Zeus saw this, he gathered the other Gods to determine a suitable punishment.
Soon, in one violent 21)surge it was gone. The island of Atlantis, together with its people and its memory, were swallowed by the sea.
Atlantis: Theories
The 22)prevailing theories about Atlantis are:
◆It’s Fiction.
◆It’s an 23)exaggeration based on the fall of the Minoan civilization and on the destruction of the island Thera.
◆It was Real.
Below you’ll find a brief summary of each of the theories as well as key points either for or against the theory.
→Fiction
This is the easiest answer ?Atlantis is fiction. It was made up to suit the purposes of Plato’s dialogues.
For: Nothing to prove. Timaeus and Critias are simply stories.
Against: It is stated several times within the dialogues that the story is true.
→Thera & the Minoan Civilization
There are some 24)compelling similarities between the destruction of Thera and the destruction of Atlantis.
For: The island of Thera, a volcanic island, was destroyed around 1500 BC by an explosion, which caused more than half of the island to sink into the sea. 25)Artifacts found on the island 26)indicate a 27)sophisticated culture, probably part of the Minoan Civilization.
Against: 28)Proponents of this theory claim that Plato’s date of 9,000 years ago should really have been 900 years ago, somewhere along the line either Solon注4 or Plato made a mistake. If the story was 900 years ago, it would place Atlantis in the time frame of the Minoan civilization on Crete and Thera. Conveniently 29)overlooked in this thinking is that, in Timaeus, the priest tells Solon that ancient Athens and Atlantis 30)preceded Egypt by a thousand years. Egypt, however, existed and was known to have existed since long before 1500 BC, the time of Crete and Thera. The times just don’t add up.
→It Existed
For: Plato says it’s a true story.
Against: There are no other records of such a civilization ever existing. Current 31)archaeological evidence does not support the 32)premise that such sophisticated civilizations existed around 9000 BC anywhere in the world.
Where in the world is Atlantis?
Well, that all depends upon which theory of Atlantis you believe.
If you think Plato was telling the truth, then Atlantis is located somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
One of the more likely places would be around the Azores Islands. The Azores are a group of islands belonging to Portugal located about 900 miles west of the Portuguese coast. Some people believe the islands to be the mountain tops of the sunken continent of Atlantis.
On the other hand, if you feel that Atlantis was an exaggeration of the historical destruction of Thera and the Minoan empire, then it is to be found in the Aegean. The island of Thera, also known as Santorini, is a volcanic island located north of Crete in the Aegean Sea. Sometime around 1500 BC it was destroyed by a volcanic explosion that may have caused the sudden downfall of the Minoan civilization.
But, if you believe Atlantis was simply a story, then it was only located in the brain of Plato.
亚特兰蒂斯的故事始于柏拉图的两篇对话录：《齐麦亚》和《克里齐》。这是唯一已知的专门提到“亚特兰蒂斯”这一失落文明的记载。许多人认为这个传说纯属杜撰，而另一些人则认为它源自摧毁克里特岛和锡拉岛的米诺斯文明的灾难事件。此外，还有些人声称这个故事是对一片已湮没在历史长河里、几乎已为人们所遗忘的大陆的准确再现。
柏拉图的亚特兰蒂斯
一万一千多年前，在大西洋中央有一个岛国。由于岛上自然资源丰富，岛国的人民拥有许多财富。这个岛同时也是一个商贸中心。
这个岛屿便是亚特兰蒂斯。
亚特兰蒂斯是海神波赛冬的领土。波赛冬爱上了凡间女子克莱托，随后在接近岛中心的一座山的山顶上为她建造了一处住所，并以水和土地将其环绕起来加以保护。
克莱托生下了五对双胞胎男婴，他们后来成为亚特兰蒂斯最初的统治者。波赛冬把这片陆地划分成十部分，每个儿子分管其一。长子亚特拉斯成为这片陆地和海洋的国王。
岛中央的山顶上建有一座神庙以纪念波赛冬，庙内有一尊海神驾飞马战车的巨型黄金雕像。亚特兰蒂斯的统治者们就在这里讨论律法，进行审判以及祭祀波赛冬。
为了方便交通及贸易，人们在这片环形的陆地和水域中开凿了一道运河，向南贯穿5.5英里（合8.85千米）入海。
亚特兰蒂斯城就坐落在最外围的环形水道外的平原上，城的周长长达11英里（合17.70千米）。这个地区人口稠密，大部分人口都居住在此地。
城外是一片长330英里（合531.06千米）、宽110英里（合177.02千米）的肥沃平原，外围被另一条专门收集山中河流水源的运河环绕。平原北面被群山包围，山峰高耸入云。山中遍布村庄、河流和牧场。
除了主要粮食作物以外，岛上还有各种药草、水果和坚果。包括大象在内的众多动物在这片陆地上漫步。
长久以来，亚特兰蒂斯人都过着简朴的生活。但渐渐地，他们开始改变。贪婪和权力让他们逐渐堕落。宙斯看到这种情形，便召集众神，要给岛民们一个恰如其分的惩罚。
不久，在一次猛烈的海潮大浪中，亚特兰蒂斯消失了。亚特兰蒂斯岛，连同它的人民，还有关于它的一切记忆，全都被大海吞没。
关于亚特兰蒂斯的几种推测
关于亚特兰蒂斯的推测最流行的说法有：
◆ 纯属虚构。
◆ 是基于米诺斯文明覆灭及锡拉岛被毁的真实历史事件的夸大。
◆ 是事实。
下面你可以看到对各种推测的简要概括及其主要正反论点。
→虚构说
这是最简单的答案—亚特兰蒂斯不过是子虚乌有。故事是捏造出来的，以应和柏拉图对话录的目的。
正方：没有证据能证明亚特兰蒂斯的传说是真的。《齐麦亚》和《克里齐》只不过是故事而已。
反方：对话录里数次明确提到过亚特兰蒂斯是真实存在的。
→锡拉及米诺斯文明说
锡拉的衰落和亚特兰蒂斯的消失，这两者之间存在一些极具说服力的相似点。
正方：锡拉岛是一个火山岛，在公元前1500年左右的一次火山爆发中被毁。这次灾难使该岛一半以上的部分沉入海中。岛上发现的工艺品表明岛上曾存在一个发达的文明，可能正是米诺斯文明的一部分。
反方：支持该学说的人声称虽然柏拉图记载的年代为9000年前，事实上应该是900年前—棱伦和柏拉图之中肯定有一个人弄错了。故事如果发生在900年前，那么亚特兰蒂斯就与克里特岛和锡拉岛上的米诺斯文明处于同一时代。这种想法很明显地忽视了一点，即在《齐麦亚》里祭司告诉棱伦说古雅典和亚特兰蒂斯早于埃及一千年存在。而埃及当时已经存在，且已知在公元前1500年—克里特和锡拉时代—之前很久就已经存在了。无论如何，这些年代对不上号。
→史实说
正方：柏拉图说这是真实的故事。
反方：除了柏拉图以外，没有其它关于这样一个文明曾经存在的记录。目前的考古学证据并不支持这一学说的前提—即公元前9000年左右，世界上存在过一个如此高度发达的文明。
亚特兰蒂斯究竟在世上哪个地方？
这个问题的答案取决于你相信哪一种学说。
如果你认为柏拉图所说属实，那么亚特兰蒂斯就位于大西洋中心的某处。
其中一个可能性较大的位置是亚述尔群岛附近。亚述尔群岛是属于葡萄牙的一群岛屿，位于葡萄牙海岸以西大约900英里（合1448.34千米）处。有人认为这些群岛正是沉没的亚特兰蒂斯大陆上山峰的顶部。
另一方面，如果你觉得亚特兰蒂斯是锡拉和米诺斯帝国覆灭的夸张转述，那么你可以在爱琴海找到这片失落的大陆。锡拉岛，也叫桑托林岛，位于爱琴海，是克里特岛北面的一个火山岛。公元前1500年左右，该岛在一场火山爆发中被毁，可能正是这场火山爆发导致了米诺斯文明的瞬间覆灭。
但如果你认为亚特兰蒂斯只是一个虚构的故事，那么它就只存在于柏拉图的脑袋里了。