Atlantis Destroyed

9780415247597

0415247594

Atlantis Destroyed examines the legend of the lost continent of Atlantis, whose famed description is found in Plato's Timaeus and the Critias. Plato's legend of Atlantis has become notorious among scholars as the absurdest lie in literature. Atlantis Destroyed explores the possibility that the account given by Plato is historically true. Rodney Castleden outlines the latest research findings on Knossos and Bronze Age Thera, demonstrating the parallels between Plato's narrative and the Minoan Civilization in the Aegean. Rodney Castleden first considers the location of Atlantis re-examining two suggestions put forward in the early twentieth century; Minoan Crete and Minoan Thera. He outlines as to the latest research findings on Knossos and Bronze Age Thera, discussing the material culture, trade empire and agricultural system, writing and wall painting, art, religion and society of the Minoan civilization. A statistical analysis proves that Minoan Crete was closer to Plato's description of Atlantis than was previously suspected. The destruction of Thera by an exploding and collapsing volcano would seem to explain the portrayal of Atlantis sinking into the sea. It is the new vision of Atlantis as a lost utopia which has made Plato the victim of scholarly abuse. Rodney Castleden explains the origins of the 'New Atlantis' and argues that much of Plato's description is correct, and the details which perhaps have suggested the 'New Atlantis' pointed to contemporary political crises.