2.
Was Atlantis the Minoan
civilization?
With reference to the works of J.V Luce and R. Castleden the theory of Atlantis as being Crete (or Thera) is investigated.
The conclusion is that in order to convincingly match Atlantis with Crete (or Thera) Plato dialogues are viciously twisted by means of very arbitrary interpretations
Around the XVI
century B.C. a giant volcanic explosion upset all the civilization facing to the
Mediterranean Sea: a great piece of
Thira
(1),
an island belonging to the archipelago of Santorini in the Aegean Sea,
practically blew up thanks to the explosion of its volcano, which left a crater
measuring 11x7 km and 180 meters deep. The waves raised by such event strongly
stroke other islands and continental coasts and the ashes, which according to
recent investigations reached Alaska, covered the atmosphere for a long time
drying up the fields and destroying all the crops.
In that time, in
that island, there was the city of Akrotiri, whose pictures, pottery and
collapsed palaces survived up to our era. Today scholars think that was the
central node of a refined civilization flourishing in those islands and that had
probably a narrow relationship with one of the most powerful Mediterranean
civilizations ruling in those times: the Minoan civilization. This one begun to
decline slowly after the explosion of Thira, flooded by seaquakes and ashes
which weakened agriculture. At the end of the XIII century was finally defeated
by Greeks.
There are historians
who believe Atlantis was the vanquished civilization of Akrotiri and some other
think it was
Crete
(2)
itself (or maybe it was a confused memory the Egyptians saved about Minoan
civilization). There are also people believing that Atlantis was both these two
civilizations, which were the expression of a more general one. Anyway all
academic historians are sure that, inside the tale of Atlantis, there is the
memory of the volcanic catastrophe which compelled the Minoan civilization to an
irreversible decline.
Atlantis’
civilization refinement, its skilled sailors, the advanced hydraulic systems,
the insularity, the tragic end and other elements seems to fit very well the
civilization flourished at Knossos and that was rediscovered only in 1900
thanks to the
digs of Sir Arthur Evans
(3).
He also dig out the
famous
Minotaur’ s labyrinth
(4)
which people uses to compare with the Poseidon’s temple placed in the Acropolis
of Atlantis’ capital city. In fact this giant building, featuring multiple
floors, contains a garden where sacrifices were performed and where appears the
symbol of the trident, obviously associated to Poseidon. Clues of what the
Minoan civilization was survived in the pottery,
wall paintings
(5),
and in the buildings. We don’t have written documents, even because all its
language is still a mystery (we’re able to translate only partially) and the few
documents translated look like bookkeeping registers.
Above all, the
paintings give us a proof that convinced many scholars to compare Atlantis and
Knossos: they represents some games, or ceremonies, that man did with bulls,
like a kind of bullfight. Likewise, we know, Atlantean kings, during the solemn
ritual for renewing the loyalty to the ancient laws, used to capture a bull with
bare hands in a garden and then sacrificed it to the gods. The importance of the
bull like sacred animal in both civilizations has driven the actual orthodox
opinion to identify them and to classify Atlantis like a reminiscence
(otherwise a fantastic inspiration) of Minoan civilization.
Bulls, hydraulic
works, skill in the navigation, catastrophic end are all common elements. How
the remaining Plato’s tale form is part of Crete civilization? Here scholars
have acted some mutilations to the dialogue so that accounts be correct.
Excluding who say that Plato inspired himself only to Crete (that then he
already knew) ,we analyse before the adduced explanations from who think that
Plato is arrived to a tale more or less confuse about Crete civilization. We
list some discrepancy between the two civilizations and which is their origin:
1.
Plato said clearly that Atlantis was big (see only the dimensions of
rectangular plateau, approximately 191000 kmq) and that it was out from
Mediterranean, in front of the Gadiric region of Iberian peninsula. J.V. Luce,
history teacher in Dublin University, in 1969, in consequence of excavations at
Thera and these at Crete previously, wrote a book entitled “The end of
Atlantis”. According to him the Greek words “meson” and “meizon” would be
confused, so that the correct translation is “between Libby and Minor Asia” and
not “more big than Libby and Minor Asia” (rfc. to Atlantis island). But, if that
is true, we must then explain the contradiction that take place in the other
Plato’s references: the point that Atlantis was in front of the Spain and that
was much more big than an island like Crete. To that point it is customary to
say that Plato confused the symbols of tens and hundreds and so the temporal and
space scale of Atlantis would have divided for ten, leading back to facts
comparable to Crete. This criterion, however, isn’t correct some time, in fact
it’ s customary to keep unchanged other facts without divide them for ten. It’s
possible that Plato have confused the symbols for one more time ( temporal
scale, dimensions of plateau and army )?
2.
Atlantis’ rectangular plain can be compared only fantasticly to that of
Mesara which is in Crete. In fact there are no the characteristic rectangular
shape and the also proportions, and the big irrigation canals.
3.
The Atlantis’ capital, with his characteristic plain at concentric
circles, don’ t exist absolutely in the big cities found nor in Crete neither in
Cnosso, where some identify the Minotaur’ s labyrinth with Poseidon’ s temple,
there is track of that geometry.
4.
The abundance of valuable metals, like gold, silver, brass don’t
characterize certainly Crete, which rest enough poor of that resources. The same
can be told for two others metals largely used at Atlantis: tin and copper.
5.
Big forests, river courses, abundance of elephants seldom existed in the
time of Minoan civilization, because the little extension of island didn’t give
much time to development of these geographical aspects (like for the resources
however).
6.
The politic system of Atlantis’ civilization, divided into 10 reigns for
10 monarchs of divine descent, hasn’t anyone correspondence with Minoan
civilization.
Rodney Castleden,
author of “Atlantis destroyed”, say that Atlantis was composed of two islands,
one is round (Thera) and the other rectangular (Crete) in spite of in the Plato’
s dialogue is clear that the plateau on which rose the capital with concentric
circles was rectangular. Nobody told about physical separation of two island of
that shape. However it’s easy to be allowed to say one’s opinion about
Atlantis, always if we are still talking of it.
It’s clear that is a
suicide to admit that Plato received a confuse tale of Minoan civilization: the
tale is so rich of details (much coherent between them) that have nothing to do
with Crete. How can be the detailed plan of the Atlantis’ capital a confuse
detail? Then many scholars admit that Plato in some way embellished the tale
with addition of elements or corrected the originating source of Solon believing
that the great legislator has made a mistake. Why Plato admit that it is a true
tale also if it’s incredible? The subject of “embellishment” and “confusion” of
the originating tale serves only to do agree with that myriad of differences
between Atlantis and Crete: when the tales are different, it means that the
dialogue has been embellished or confused, while when they have similar aspects
the dialogue represent perfectly the originating history. There isn’t coherence
in all that and to understand like these argumentations can be used for other
theories about Atlantis and to do agree with any geographical area and
civilization of the World.
To tell the truth
there are some features similar to Crete’s ones and many other that utterly
differ.
For some people
Plato got inspiration from Minoan civilization in order to give a good example
of society. Why, then, did he speak about Minoans (disguised like Atlanteans) if
Plato appreciated the best the democratic Athens prospered in the V century a.C.?
Wasn’t it a better and more remarkable example for Athenians living that days?
Anyway there’s an
important implication about the war between Athens and Atlantis. In fact, after
that Minoans were seriously damaged by floods and earthquakes coming from Thera,
they were eventually defeated by Greeks in 1,200 a.C. Athens took part to the
war and Plato also mentioned names of Greek heroes that presumably lived that
time. This time the Greeks caused the war against a weak civilization,
differently from what Plato wrote.
In Egypt Minoans
were remembered as the civilization of Keftiu, which they traded something with,
and for some scholars they referred to Solon about it (later Solon would have
translated in Greek words). But they also say that Egyptians had scarce
geographic knowledge and so placed Keftiu in the Atlantic. It’s too strange the
Egyptian placed Crete out of the Mediterranean while they absolutely knew well
where Greeks and Libya were located.
Usually, people
supporting this theory, think that the Pillar of Heracles are two promontories
which come out from the Peloponnesus. They mean that at Solon’s times Greeks
referred to that pillars as Heracle’s ones. But they never explain how Atlantis’
land could have an edge facing Spain and why that part of Spain was called in
accordance with the name of one king of Atlantis.
Rodney Castelden
tried to show that the details which don’t fit Crete’s geography, society and
politics can be found instead in some other Plato’s experiences of life, like
the task of teacher at Syracuse. He says that the city of Atlantis is just an
embellishment of Syracuse using some poetry from Homer and that its story can be
considered a satire of the events which took place during his staying in Sicily.
How can the dialogue
be a satire if it consists mainly in geographic details (80% at least) and in
the organization of two different civilizations ? The author, then, doesn’t
leave any moral comments.
What should we
believe then? Was Crete’s history mistaken for another one? Was it embellished
for political purposes? Each of these options leaves many doubts and can’t
explain many facts.
In the table
below is a checklist comparing Atlantis and Crete/There features. As for the
chpater 6 of section 1 (Atlantis found) 1 point for correct check, -1 for
uncorrect check and 0 for uncertain checks.
|
Atlantis |
Creta/Thera |
|
huge continent |
 |
|
before Gibraltar |
|
|
rom that an
opposite continent could be reached thanks to some islands |
 |
|
rich of resources
and metals |
|
|
gold |
|
|
silver |
|
|
tin |
|
|
copper |
|
|
fine clime |
|
|
elephants and
horses |
|
|
rectangular plateau
at the center of the island |
|
|
high mountains |
|
|
abundance of rivers
and forests |
|
|
Canals in the
rectangular plain |
|
|
Sunken |
|
|
Orichalcum |
|
|
Mountains
overhanging the sea |
|
|
coconut |
|
|
bull's sacrifice |
|
|
ringed city |
 |
|
Inland sea in the
plateau |
|
|
red, black and
withe stones |
|
|
sources of cold and
hot water |
|
|
small hill where
the ringed city flourished |
|
|
shallow waters |
|
|
Total |
-2/25
|
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