Briefly about the article: A country that, thousands of years ago, could conquer all of Europe. Huge marble palaces, multi-deck ships, tall strong people, unprecedented weapons, mysterious magic of priests, nobility and ambition - all this could become a reality of our history, if not ...
Lost civilization
Atlantis - Reality or Dream?
All that is hidden now, time will reveal.
Quintus Horace Flaccus, Epistles, 6:20
A country that, thousands of years ago, could conquer all of Europe. Huge marble palaces, multi-deck ships, tall strong people, unprecedented weapons, mysterious magic of priests, nobility and ambition - all this could become a reality of our history, if not ...
Thousands of books and articles have been written about the ancient country Atlantis, buried in the deep ocean. What was Atlantis? An ancient and powerful human civilization? Or maybe a refuge for aliens from distant worlds? Why did Atlantis die? Was she a victim of a natural disaster or a destructive war with the use of mysterious weapons?
Other ancient authors also wrote about Atlantis and its inhabitants. True, almost all of them lived after Plato, and therefore, most likely, relied on the data provided by him.
An exception is the “father of history” Herodotus (485-425 BC), who mentioned the Atlanteans who lived in North Africa. However, this tribe got its name from the Atlas mountain range.
The surge of interest in the problem of Atlantis occurs at the end of the 19th century. In 1882, the American Ignatius Donnelly published the book "Atlantis - Antediluvian World", where he claimed that this legendary land is the ancestral home of all mankind. To prove the theory, he used the data of archeology, biology and mythology, compared the legends, languages \u200b\u200band customs of peoples on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Donnelly's work initiated the modern view of the Atlantis problem and became a source of inspiration for other authors. The result is more than 5000 titles of scientific, popular science and fiction books.
Broken phone
As you can see, atlantology is based on a shaky foundation. You are especially convinced of this when you analyze Plato's texts soberly. The philosopher learned about Atlantis from hearsay, and the whole story resembles a child's game of "spoiled phone".
So what does Plato say? His great-grandfather Kritias, being a 10-year-old boy, heard about Atlantis from his then already 90-year-old grandfather, also Kritias. And he, in turn, learned the tragic story of the Atlanteans from a distant relative, the great Athenian sage Solon (640 - 558 BC). Solon, on the other hand, received a "baton" from the Egyptian priests from the temple of the goddess Neith in the city of Sais (it has not survived to this day), who from time immemorial allegedly kept historical records in the form of hieroglyphs on the temple columns. It turns out to be a rather long chain of intermediaries ...
If we assume that Plato did not invent anything, there is still plenty of room for error. Critias the Younger claimed that the history of Atlantis shocked him, so he remembered it in detail. However, there are direct contradictions in the dialogue. For example, in one place Critias says that: "... the story is indelibly imprinted in my memory", and in another - that: "... after such a long time, I did not remember the content of the story enough." Then it turns out that he had some kind of notes. Memorable notes from grandfather or Solon? Yes, and grandfather Critius in his 90s could easily confuse a lot of everything, not to mention the fact that many of the details of the legend about the sunken earth, possibly the fruit of senile bragging. “And I’ll tell you, granddaughter, a great-a-dvd fairy tale!”.
So perhaps Aristotle was fully or partially right. Plato could indeed have invented the history of Atlantis to illustrate his views (remember Thomas More's Utopia). Or, for all his honesty, the philosopher compiled dialogues from some other sources about Atlantis that have not come down to us, historical and geographical works of various authors, legends, myths and his own speculations. Well, Plato simply could have come up with a chain of storytellers for greater reliability.
True, the ending of "Cretius" is most likely lost. Perhaps the "lost files" contained all the answers?
"Pros and cons"
Plato describes the land of the ancestors of the Hellenes as follows: "It stretches from the mainland far into the sea ... and is immersed on all sides in a deep vessel of the abyss." But the ancient Greeks did not know about the presence of depths of more than several tens of meters! Atlantologists believe that Plato's words about the “deep vessel of the abyss” are evidence of the knowledge that has survived since the time of the Atlanteans. However, Plato could use this phrase as a poetic comparison. Or, based on the presence of steep shores of Attica, independently conclude that if the rocks abruptly break off into the sea, it must be very deep there.
On the other hand, the war of the ancient Hellenes with Atlantis is very similar to the war between the Greeks and the Persians. Involuntarily, the thought creeps in that the philosopher projected the events of real history onto the distant past. The description of Atlantis in relief and natural data resembles the island of Crete. The Temple of Poseidon, the main religious building of the Atlanteans, is very similar to the sanctuary of Aphrodite in Cyprus. The sculpture of the god of the seas on a chariot drawn by six winged horses resembles a very real statue of Poseidon by Scopas (4th century BC). Coincidence or fraud?
Where is this street, where is this house?
Atlantologists also argue about the location of the legendary land, although it would seem very clear from Plato's dialogues that the island was located in the Atlantic.
Plato says - to the west of the Pillars of Hercules (the ancient name of the Strait of Gibraltar) there was a huge island, larger than Libya and Asia combined, from which it was easy to cross other islands to the “opposite continent” (America?).
Therefore, many of the atlantologists believe that traces of Atlantis should be sought somewhere at the bottom of the ocean of the same name. Possibly close to existing islands that could have been high mountain peaks sunken land.
At the same time, atlantologists stubbornly ignore the simplest fact - if an asteroid capable of flooding a huge island collapsed on Earth, it would cause such an increase in atmospheric temperature that almost all life on the planet would be destroyed.
Myths of the peoples of the world
The "father" of Atlantology Donnelly and his followers consider mythology to be the key proof of the existence of Atlantis, or rather, several legends that coincide among many peoples.
Firstly, these are flood legends that are found in almost all of humanity. The gods, tired of human mischief, flood the entire earth with water, adding a number of weighty means of re-educating sinners - in the form of a rain of fire, for example.
Secondly, legends about aliens from distant lands (not to be confused with aliens!). An unknown person arrives from somewhere far away, speaking in an incomprehensible language and teaching the natives various useful things.
Thirdly, legends about cosmic cataclysms. Something hefty is falling from the sky - a stone, the moon, the sun, the dragon. It doesn't bring anything good to people. The people left out of business scatter, who where ...
Atlantis in the Mediterranean?
In addition to the Atlantic Ocean, the sunken island is also placed in other parts of the world. The Mediterranean Sea enjoys special love.
On closer inspection, this theory does not seem to be nonsense. Plato wrote that after Atlantis sank, "the sea in those places became ... unnavigable and inaccessible due to the shallowing caused by the huge amount of silt that the settled island left behind." It is unlikely that shallow muddy waters in the Atlantic Ocean, with its significant depths, would seriously hinder navigation. But in the Mediterranean there are plenty of such places. And the nature of Atlantis may well be correlated with almost any Mediterranean island.
The god of the seas Poseidon fell in love with a simple girl Kleito, who bore him 5 pairs of twins, who laid the foundation for the Atlantean people.
The Atlantean state was similar to the Earthsea of \u200b\u200bUrsula Le Guin - an archipelago of several islands, the length of the main of which was 1110 km, width - 400 km. The climate is presumably tropical, as elephants were found on the island. On the southern side of Atlantis was its capital - the city of Poseidonis with a diameter of about 7 km. In the center of the city there was a lake, in the middle of which lay an islet with a diameter of 965 meters, pierced by canals, with the palace complex Acropolis, surrounded by two earthen ramparts. The outer shaft was covered with copper, the inner one - with tin, the walls of the acropolis were faced with orichalcum (a metal unknown to us). The Acropolis included the joint temple of Kleito and Poseidon, surrounded by a golden wall, and the temple of Poseidon himself with a huge statue of the sea god inside. Outside, around the temple were images of wives and relatives of the kings of Atlantis, offerings from their vassals.
The population of Atlantis was about 6 million people. State system - monarchy: 10 kings-archons, the highest of which bore the title "Atlas" and lived in Poseidonis. Every 5-6 years, councils-meetings were held - "courts" of kings, before which "sacrifices of the bull" were organized (a similar custom existed in Crete).
The Atlantean army numbered 660 thousand people and 10 thousand war chariots. Fleet - 1200 battle triremes with a crew of 240 thousand people.
Atlanteans - the ancestors of the Russians?
Some scholars go their own way, placing the legendary land in the most exotic places. In 1638, the English scientist and politician Francis Bacon in his book "Nova Atlantis" placed Atlantis in Brazil, where, as you know, there are many wild monkeys. In 1675 the Swede Rudbeck argued that Atlantis was in Sweden and Uppsala was its capital.
Recently, due to the lack of virgin settlements, they turned to our endless expanses - the Azov, Black and Caspian Seas, too, were honored to embrace the completely lost Atlantis. There is also a charming theory that the Atlanteans are the ancestors of the ancient Russians, and the legendary land of Plato ... the sunken city of Kitezh! True, after the stories that Adam and Eve were from somewhere in the Moscow region, the Russian-Atlantic version does not seem sensational enough.
R. Silverberg in "Letters from Atlantis" shows the events of a thousand years ago through the eyes of a modern man, whose mind moved into the body of an Atlantean prince (an obvious remake of Hamilton's "Star Kings"!).
A time traveler can also become a witness to the events of the past ("Dancer from Atlantis" by P. Anderson, "Atlantis Endgame" by A. Norton and S. Smith).
Sometimes the Atlanteans became aliens from space (A. Shalimov, “The Return of the Last Atlas”), or they were the first earthlings who came into contact with alien intelligence (V. Kernbach, “A Boat Over Atlantis”; G. Martynov, “The Spiral of Time”) ... Perhaps it was the vile aliens who destroyed Atlantis? Here is the hero of the cycle "Atlantis" by G. Donnegan, the tough special forces soldier Eric, together with his comrades from the squad of "Navy SEALs" is trying to stop the insidious alien shads, who once treacherously drowned the unfortunate Atlanteans.
Many books tell about the adventures of outcasts who survived the disaster. Some have preserved the remnants of civilization under water (“Atlantis under water” by R. Kadu, “Maracot's abyss” by A. Conan Doyle, “End of Atlantis” by K. Bulychev). Others have slipped away. To America (“The Temple. Manuscript Found on the Yucatan Coast” by H. F. Lovecraft), to Africa (“Tarzan and the Treasures of Opar” by E. R. Burrows); to Spain (“This distant Tartess” by E. Voiskunsky and I. Lukodyanov); even to Britain ("The Stones of Power" by D. Gemmel). For some Atlanteans, the shock of the death of their homeland turned out to be so strong that other planets seemed to them the best refuge (A. Tolstoy, “Aelita”; A. Shcherbakov, “Cup of storms”).
In the recent novel by V. Panov, "The Department of Wanderers", the catalyst of powerful forces is ancient artifact Atlanteans Throne of Poseidon. Even Batman ("The Black Egg of Atlantis" by N. Barrett) enters the battle for the legacy of the Atlantis when the Penguin Man tries to take possession of an ancient object that gives dark power.
Why did Atlantis die?
There is also no agreement when clarifying the reasons for the death of the island.
In addition to the basic, albeit completely unrealistic, version of the fall of a giant meteorite, the hypothesis of a powerful earthquake is very popular. In history, there are cases of a sharp subsidence of the earth by several meters as a result of such a natural disaster. For example, the death of the pirate capital Port Royal in Jamaica in 1692, when the city sank 15 meters into the sea. Strong earthquakes, especially those with an epicenter on the seabed, can trigger tsunamis. A typical example of such a disaster is the tsunami resulting from the eruption of the Krakatoa volcano in Indonesia in 1883, when the wave height was about 40 meters. Such waves are quite capable of burrowing under a coastal zone of the mainland or even an entire island.
In addition to more or less scientific explanations, there are also occult-fantastic theories about Atlantis, sometimes very specific. For example, members of the Rising Atlanteans sect, founded in the 70s of the last century, believe that the Atlanteans are the descendants of aliens who then laid the foundation for Egyptian civilization.
The bestsellers of the ophthalmologist Ernst Muldashev, terribly popular among some Russians, also contain amazing discoveries. It turns out that the Atlanteans possessed extrasensory perception, and 75,000 years ago, with the help of psychokinetic energy, they built egyptian pyramids... A number of great personalities - Krishna, Buddha, Christ - were also Atlanteans. And somewhere in the depths of Tibet in caves, the surviving Atlanteans still sleep in a special form of suspended animation - samadhi.
Is Atlantis a myth?
For all the many controversies, the only thing that cements the discordant ranks of Atlantologists is the idea that Atlantis did exist. However, there are also many who declare: Atlantis is a myth!
Their main arguments are as follows. First, apart from the dialogues of Plato, there are no other reliable references to Atlantis. Secondly, the island had to be too big, and it is not easy to stick it somewhere in terms of geography. Thirdly, modern geological and oceanographic studies do not confirm the sinking of a large part of the land to the ocean floor. Fourth, 10 thousand years ago there was no developed human civilization. But for any of these arguments, if desired (and many have it!), No less logical counter-arguments can easily be found.
The most impartial scientists nevertheless admit that Plato's dialogues contain a rational grain and they describe real natural disasters that befell the Mediterranean - for example Crete.
The only thing that can draw a line under long-term discussions, undoubtedly proving the truth of the legend, is the discovery of the remains of Atlantis on the sea or ocean floor. But is it possible?
Remnants of a former luxury
Scientists from many countries are constantly exploring the seas and oceans, making from time to time the most valuable archaeological discoveries. True, so far nothing has been found that would prove the existence of a sunken mainland or a huge island. Considering the constant improvement of the technical equipment of such expeditions, epoch-making discoveries may not be far off. Another question is what scientists can find at the bottom?
The main building materials of antiquity were marble, granite, basalt and sandstones. For thousands of years, most buildings will completely dissolve in sea water, except for some of the marble structures. In addition, sunken buildings can be destructively affected by certain types of molluscs and strong undercurrents.
In salty seawater, metals undergo accelerated corrosion. Iron oxidizes after 200 years at sea, copper and copper alloys disappear in 400 years. True, if copper items are large (bells, cannons, anchors), a layer of carbonates is formed on their surface that can protect the item. But high-grade gold can stay in water for a very long time.
Wooden objects die in a couple of centuries, and high-quality ceramics have been lying at the bottom for thousands of years. At the same time, many objects, if they quickly become overgrown with corals, can also be stored for a long time - however, it is difficult to detect them in this case. In general, some of the legacy of the Atlanteans is theoretically capable of surviving to this day.
Perhaps a miracle will happen, and humanity will take a fresh look at its history? Schliemann was also once laughed at, and he, in spite of everything, discovered the legendary Troy ...
Egyptian priests, based on ancient records, told that once in the "Atlantic Sea" (as the ocean was then called) there was a huge island - "more Libya (that is, Africa) and Asia, taken together." On this island "a great and formidable power of kings was formed, whose power extended to the entire island and many other islands. In addition, they (. Owned Libya to Egypt and Europe to Tyrrenia" (as Italy was called at that time). The legend of Atlantis tells that in the original times, when the gods divided the land among themselves, this island went into the possession of the god of the seas.Poseidon settled there ten of his sons, born of the earthly woman Clito.
The eldest of them was named, after his name the island was called Atlantis, and the sea - Atlantic. From Atlanta came a powerful and noble family of kings of Atlantis. This genus "has collected such enormous riches, which had not yet happened in the possession of the kings, and even later it would be difficult for such to form." On the island, earthly fruits grew in abundance, various animals were found - "both tame and wild", in minerals were mined in its depths, including "one rock, which is now known only by name, (...) - the orichalcum rock, which was extracted from the ground in many places on the island and, after gold, was of the greatest value among the people of that time." they erected on their island beautiful cities with fortress walls, temples and palaces, built harbors and shipyards. Main city Atlantis was surrounded by several rows of embankments and channels - "rings of the sea". The city walls were covered with "kakmastika", copper, tin and orichalcum, "emitting a fiery shine", and the houses were built of red, white and black stone. A temple to Poseidon and Clito was erected in the city center. The walls of the temple were faced with silver, the roof was covered with gold, and inside "an ivory ceiling, colored with gold, silver and orichalcum, was presented to the eye. They also erected golden idols inside the temple - a god who, standing in a chariot, ruled six winged horses, and enormous size, the crown of the ceiling touched. "The Atlanteans were busy trading, the harbors of Atlantis" swarmed with ships and merchants from everywhere, who in their mass day and night deafened the area with shouts, knocks and mixed noise. "Atlantis had a strong army and navy two hundred warships. The code of laws that Poseidon himself gave the Atlanteans was inscribed on a high orichalcum pillar installed in the middle of the island. Atlantis was ruled by ten kings, each with their own part of the island.
Once every five or six years, they gathered in front of this pillar and "consulted about common affairs or examined whether anyone had done any wrongdoing, and performed judgment." The Atlanteans were distinguished by nobility and a lofty way of thinking, "looking at everything except virtue, with disdain, they valued little that they had a lot of gold and other acquisitions, were indifferent to wealth as a burden, and did not fall to the ground in the intoxication of luxury, losing power over themselves. "But time passed - and the Atlanteans changed, were filled." the wrong spirit of self-interest and strength. " They began to use their knowledge and the achievements of their culture for evil. In the end, Zeus became angry with them and "in one day and a disastrous night, the island of Atlantis disappeared, plunging into the sea
The legend of Atlantis - a sunken island where a highly developed civilization once existed, lived a strong, enlightened and happy people - the Atlanteans - has been worrying humanity for more than two thousand years.
The only source of information about Atlantis is the writings of the ancient Greek scientist Plato, who lived in the 4th century BC. e., written in the form of conversations-dialogues. In two such dialogues - "Timaeus" and "Critias" - Plato cites the story of his contemporary, writer and politician Critias about Atlantis - "a legend, albeit very strange, but completely true", which Critias heard in childhood from his grandfather, he - from the "wisest of the seven wise" Athenian legislator Solon, and Solon from the Egyptian priests.
Egyptian priests, based on ancient records, said that once in the "Atlantic Sea" (as the ocean was then called) lay a huge island - "larger than Libya (that is, Africa) and Asia taken together." On this island “a great and formidable power of kings was formed, whose power extended to the entire island and many other islands (...). In addition, they (...) owned Libya up to Egypt and Europe up to Tyrrenia ”(as Italy was called at that time). The legend of Atlantis tells that in the original times, when the gods divided the land among themselves, this island went into the possession of Poseidon, the god of the seas. Poseidon settled there ten of his sons, born of an earthly woman, Clito. The eldest of them was called Atlanta, after his name the island was named Atlantis, and the sea - Atlantic.
From Atlanta came a powerful and noble family of the kings of Atlantis. This clan "has collected such enormous riches, which had not yet happened in the possession of the kings, and even afterwards it will not be easy to form this way."
On the island, earthly fruits grew in abundance, various animals were found - "both tame and wild", minerals were mined in its depths, including "one breed, which is now known only by name, (...) - the orichalcum breed, extracted from the earth in many parts of the island and after gold, it was of the greatest value among the people of that time. "
The inhabitants of Atlantis erected on their island beautiful cities with fortified walls, temples and palaces, built harbors and shipyards.
The main city of Atlantis was surrounded by several rows of earthen ramparts and canals - “rings of the sea”. The city walls were covered, “like mastic”, with copper, tin and orichalcum, “emitting a fiery shine,” and the houses were built of red, white and black stone.
A temple to Poseidon and Clito was erected in the city center. The walls of the temple were faced with silver, the roof was covered with gold, and inside “the ivory ceiling, colored with gold, silver and orichalcum, seemed to the eye. They also erected golden idols inside the temple - a god who, standing in a chariot, ruled six winged horses, and himself, due to its enormous size, touched the ceiling with the crown.
The Atlanteans carried on a lively trade, the harbors of Atlantis "were swarming with ships and merchants from everywhere, who in their mass deafened the area day and night with shouts, thuds and mixed noise."
Atlantis possessed a strong army and navy of one thousand two hundred warships.
The code of laws that Poseidon himself gave the Atlanteans was inscribed on a high orichalcum pillar set in the middle of the island. Atlantis was ruled by ten kings, each with his own part of the island. Once every five or six years, they gathered in front of this pillar and "consulted about common matters, or tried to find out if anyone had done any wrong, and performed judgment."
Atlanteans were distinguished by nobility and a lofty way of thinking, “looking at everything except virtue, with disdain, they did not value much that they had a lot of gold and other acquisitions, were indifferent to wealth as a burden, and did not fall to the ground in the intoxication of luxury, losing power over oneself. "
But time passed - and the Atlanteans changed, filled with "the wrong spirit of self-interest and strength." They began to use their knowledge and the achievements of their culture for evil. In the end, Zeus became angry with them and "in one day and a disastrous night (...) the island of Atlantis disappeared, sinking into the sea." According to Plato, this happened in the X millennium BC. e. Modern scientists are of the opinion that the destruction of the island was caused by a catastrophe caused by some of the man-made achievements of the ancient Atlanteans.
The debate about whether Atlantis really existed or was invented by Plato began in ancient times. The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, a friend and disciple of Plato, argued that Atlantis was completely fictional (according to legend, it was on this occasion that Aristotle uttered the famous dictum: “Plato is my friend, but the truth is dearer”). Nevertheless, many believed that Atlantis really existed and traces of it can be found.
Interest in Atlantis over the next centuries either faded, then reawakened, but never completely disappeared.
It is estimated that about 3,600 scientific papers have been written about Atlantis to date (not to mention numerous works of fiction). Atlantology has become an independent branch of science. Atlantologists have expressed many guesses about the location of Atlantis and the reasons for its death, put forward a hypothesis about the influence of the Atlantean civilization on the development of world civilization.
Vladimir Obruchev
THE TALE OF ATLANTIS
An excerpt from the story
1. Strange find
I spent the summer in a small resort on the Atlantic Ocean in Brittany. Actually, it was not a resort, but a small fishing village, to which people from large cities came in summer, seeking complete peace and relaxation in direct contact with nature. This is not given by any resort with its congestion of the healing or just having fun, with its Kurhaus, music, exhibition of women's toilets, and if it is on the seashore, then the beach, on which there are more people than grains of sand.
It is possible to give rest to the nerves weary of city life only in a place where there is no Kurhaus, no music, no city crowd.
Such truly "resorts" can be found in the most remote corners of the French coast, known to few nature lovers. Along with modest housing and sufficient, albeit monotonous food (milk, eggs, fish), they have a beach, albeit a small one, and the sea, and picturesque rocks, clean air and complete peace. The fishermen have already adapted to summer guests: they lease them the best room in their hut [house], moving for the summer to a barn or under some kind of shed, if they have only one room.
It is enough to move a quarter of a mile away from the village and you will find yourself all alone on the seashore, on the sand or among the rocks, or in the vast fields stretching inland, and you can enjoy hours of communion with nature and serene peace.
I spent the summer in one of these villages: it consisted of a dozen huts [houses], half of which were occupied by those who like real rest, like me. Knowing why each of us chose this place, we tried not to interfere with each other. Everyone had their favorite place on the seashore, which others did not occupy. Only during lunch, and especially after sunset, we were going to chat for an hour or two at the edge of the village, exchange Parisian news before going to bed, and the fishermen, if they were not busy, took part in conversations and told us their "sea »News about fishing, storms and mishaps. We were often present when unloading fishing from boats and learned to distinguish all types of fish that we had no idea about before, knowing them only as an integral part of the restaurant menu.
I often went several miles from the village, climbing over rocky headlands, at the foot of which the surf was rustling; I rested on the sand of a small bay formed between them. The entire coast of this area consisted of such an alternation of picturesque rocky capes protruding into the sea, and soft, more or less wide bays. In calm weather, lying on some boulder, you can look for hours into the neighboring transparent-green depth, follow the underwater life, watching how fish glide in groves of green and red algae, sparkling with sharp turns with silvery scales, like crabs crawling, like various shells open and close their doors; or, in strong winds, watch the waves crashing against the rocks, weaving the ever-changing lace of foam, listen to their lulling noise. In the bays, stretching out on the sand under a retreating cliff, you can bask in the sun for hours, throwing off your shy clothes, watch the clouds floating across the blue sky, then the waves running onto the beach. And at low tide, when the sea recedes dozens of fathoms, what a pleasure it is to wander barefoot on the hard wet sand, collecting rich curiosities left by the sea - shells, jellyfish, fish, catching crabs and then hurrying to the shore before the coming surf that floods your feet.
On one of these long excursions, I lay down on the sand of a small bay, bounded by two far-out headlands. Eyes are tired of the glitter of the waves, hearing - from the noise of the surf. I lay down with my back to the sea and plunged into dreams of half-sleep. In the interval between the capes, the bay was bounded by a cliff of three fathoms, over which stretched a sparse pine forest, battered by storms. It was possible to get into the bay only through the rocks of one or another cape, since the cliff was almost vertical, so the bay was visited very rarely. During storms, waves rolled up to the very foot of the cliff, maintaining its verticality. Everything that accumulated with constant destruction in the interval between storms and could eventually smooth the cliff, was carried away by waves.
Lying facing the cliff, I first drew attention to its composition: in the lower part the same rocks emerged that formed the rocks of the capes, but at the top, on their uneven surface, there was a layer of pebbles, in one and a half or two fathoms a product of the work of waves of a long past time when the sea level was higher than it is now. Large and small boulders and pebbles formed irregular layers, alternating with gravel and sand; this material was tied to each other quite tightly, which is why it was held vertically.
Following mechanically the individual layers of pebbles and boulders in their whimsical combination, I noticed in one place a boulder of some strange, completely quadrangular shape, as if the sea had not worked on it at all to round off its sharp corners and edges. It was located almost directly above the rocky part of the cliff, in the lower layer of boulders.
“It will be necessary to examine it somehow,” I thought, and again plunged into dreams.
A few days later, getting ready for a usual walk along the coast, I remembered this strange boulder and grabbed my geological hammer, which at first I constantly carried with me, but then, having studied the composition of all the rocks, I left it at home as unnecessary, preferring to take a net for catching crabs ... So, armed with a hammer, I reached the bay and climbed the slope, strewn with boulders, to the foot of the cliff.
A mysterious boulder was sticking out over my head at a height of two feet, and I hardly got it with a hammer. The first light blow struck me. It sounded hollow, like I hit a tree. I began to examine the boulder attentively now from a close distance and was even more surprised - it had the shape of a regular rectangular parallelepiped, a foot and a half long and up to one foot high, matte black color, except for the ocher-brown incrustations and spots that in places hid its real Colour.
“Probably a fragment of a beam from some ship,” I decided; and since this was no longer of geological interest, he got off the cliff and lay down in his usual place on the sand, indulging in his lazy dreams.
But then the thought returned to this wooden boulder. He was buried under a thickness of two fathoms of pebbles and boulders, and this circumstance made me think. This thickness could have accumulated over a very long time and when the sea level was much higher than it is now. Consequently, the fragment fell into place a very long time ago, not centuries, but many [?] Millennia have passed since then. And if this is part of a ship, then some ancient Vikings, Normans, maybe Romans before the birth of Christ. And although I was not involved in archeology, it seemed interesting to me to take a closer look at this fragment. But how to get there? There was no ladder or any scaffolding material nearby. I had to postpone the inspection until the next day.
But the next day, in the morning, a violent storm broke out, and the road along the seashore became inaccessible. Huge waves crashed down onto rocky headlands and burst into bays one after another, like green monsters with a curving neck and white mane. The cliffs trembled under the blows of this frenzied attack, spray soared in fountains above the ridge of the cliffs. Admiring various pictures of the mad surf from above, I completely forgot about my yesterday's find, and when I saw how high the waves poured into the bays, I thought that I would never see her again - she must have been washed by the surf and carried away.
Only two days later the storm subsided, the sea calmed down and only slightly agitated under the warm rays of the sun, as if tamed by someone's domineering hand during a furious gust. I set off on the usual route to the distant bay, secretly hoping that the wreck of the ancient ship had not been carried away by the water and, perhaps, even remained in my refuge, in which I had lain for so many centuries. But the hope was so weak that I did not take with me the small staircase, which I had spotted in the attic of my master's hut.
Descending from the rocks to the bay, I noticed from a distance that in the place where this fragment should have been, some dark object was strongly protruding in the cliff. I quickened my steps - and in a few minutes I was already at the foot of the cliff. What happiness! The fragment not only remained in place, but became unexpectedly easily accessible - it was already three-quarters or more freed from the surrounding gravel, washed out to its full height by the impact of waves. It stuck out, holding its narrow end in the cliff, and it was clear that another such storm - and he would find himself in the waves.
I touched it with a hammer and felt that it gave in to the pressure slightly. Several light blows to the right and left on the protruding part - and the fragment fell out, accompanied by a heap of boulders and pebbles, to the foot of the cliff. I even had to jump back so that my leg would not be hurt by a hail of stones. I managed to notice that these stones, falling on a fragment, made dull sounds, as if they were hitting a hollow object. This, of course, increased my curiosity, and I, barely waiting for the end of the shedding, rushed to the prey, like a kite to a gaping chicken. Throwing away the stones, shaking off the sand - it was a matter of a few seconds. And now something really strange lies in front of me. This, of course, is not a wreck of an ancient ship, but something incomparably more interesting. It was immediately apparent that this something was sewn into a coarse tarred fabric, the threads of which clearly stood out due to the light dust that had accumulated in the cells.
“Have I found some ancient treasure? - I thought. - How did he get here? Who buried it and when? "
Inspection of the cliff above the depression, which remained after the object fell out, showed me that there was no question of buried treasure. The layers of pebbles and boulders passed through normally, there was no disruption to the structure, which would have been discovered inevitably if people dug a hole in order to lower this object into it. Consequently, the only possible explanation for his presence was that he was thrown by the waves into that ...
Chapter 1. Legend of Atlantis
"Atlantis is supposed to be discovered, but not in the Atlantic, but in the Aegean Sea," read the headline of an article in the Norfolk Ledger-Star for July 19, 1967. The same article under the heading "City of Minoa, found 3400 years later, associated with Atlantis "appeared in the New York Times on the same day. The articles are devoted to the discovery of the city of Minoa, buried under a 9-meter thick volcanic ash on the island of Tira in the Aegean Sea. The excavations were supervised by Dr. James W. Mavor of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute and Emily Vermeuli, professor of arts and Greek at Wellesley College. Mavor and Vermeuli linked their discovery to Atlantis, as evidence of a highly developed civilization and its sudden and violent death was found on the island ... Note both titles. The value of these messages was seen not only in the discovery of a practically preserved city that flourished around 1500 BC, but in its possible connection with the mythical Atlantis. This was the most recent attempt to make the legend of Atlantis a reality by changing its location and time of existence.
The most ancient and known to us mentions of Atlantis are contained in Timaeus and Critias - two dialogues of Plato that date back to the 5th century. BC Plato introduces information about Atlantis into a conversation between Solon and a certain Egyptian priest at Sais. It is spoken of as big island in the Atlantic Ocean, which was submerged in a volcanic eruption about nine thousand years earlier.
Since the time of Plato, mainly in the last two hundred years, hundreds of books and articles have been written about Atlantis. Some have tried to prove that Plato's story of Atlantis is not only possible but probable. Others argued that Atlantis was just a myth or viewed it as historical fact, but did not correlate with Atlantic Ocean, but with other places and with a later time.
A significant part of the literature on Atlantis is the numerous works of esotericists of all kinds, as well as the chaotic production of eccentric personalities. The attention paid to the legend of Atlantis by pseudoscientists and adherents of various cults was the reason why representatives of official science avoid even discussing this issue.
Several medieval authors mention this legendary country, probably the most famous and most popular is Ignatius Donnelly's book Atlantis: The World Before the Flood. First published in 1882, it was corrected and edited by Egerton Sykes in 1949. None of the books published before or after her contains such a volume of geological, archaeological materials, information from legends, and does not present so many simple ingenuous and eloquent arguments confirming the legend of Atlantis.
Donnelly's arguments are based largely on evidence of cultural similarities ancient egypt and the cultures of the Indians of Central and South America. A 365-day calendar was used on both sides of the Atlantic, embalming of the dead was practiced, pyramids were erected, flood legends were preserved, etc. Donnelly argues that both ancient cultures - Egyptian and American Indians - are a product of Atlantis, and when it was destroyed, spread west and east. According to Donnelly, the legacy of Atlantis can explain the fact that the Basques of the Spanish Pyrenees differ in appearance and language from all their neighbors. (“The Basque language is the only non-Aryan language in Western Europe.” Lincoln Library, vol. 1, p. 516). Also, the inhabitants of the Canary Islands have little resemblance to any African people and had the custom of mummifying the dead. Donnelly says Spain, Portugal and the Canary Islands could be the likely refuge for settlers from the dying Atlantis. He compared the names of cities in Asia Minor and those cities in Central America that already had names by the time the first European explorers appeared:
SMALL ASIA CENTRAL AMERICA
Chol Chol-ula
Colua Colua-can
Zuywana Zuivan
Cholina Colina
Zalissa Gzalisco
In Donnelly's opinion, it would be too bold to attribute such similarities to coincidence. He cited 626 references to sources. Despite the weaknesses that critics found in his argument - and he was accused of "building a mountain of assumptions on the molecules of facts" - this work was a startling achievement. Donnelly's arguments are interesting to read these days, so it would make sense, using modern methods, to do the work of separating fact from speculation in his intriguing book.
Egerton Sykes, an Atlantean explorer who has arguably the richest collection of Atlantean literature in the world, claims that thousands of books and articles have been written on the subject since Plato. However, only a few authors have added anything significant to Donnelly's arguments. For example, an article supporting the likelihood of Atlantis appeared in the November 1948 Science Digest. Originally published in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Technical Engineering News in June 1948, it again refers to Donnelly's strongest arguments regarding the possibility of the island nation's existence and sinking. The article discusses the presence on the ocean floor of a relief close to the continental, namely, mountains, valleys, plains with troughs and hollows, similar to the channels of rivers and lakes. Interestingly, a relatively small deformation of the earth's crust (1/8000 of the earth's diameter) can lead to the rise of a large area of \u200b\u200bthe ocean floor above the water level and the submersion of other parts of the land. Confirmations of such phenomena that occurred in the past are discussed in detail in the article. In 1898, the ship's crew, which was laying a submarine cable in the Azores region, tried with the help of "cats" to find this cable, which was lost at a depth of about 3.7 km. The rugged, rocky ocean floor made the task difficult, and the tool often had to be cleaned of adhering pieces of soil. Then I quote from the article: “It was determined by microscopic examination that these pieces of soil were lava, which had a glassy structure and, therefore, should have hardened in atmospheric conditions. (Lava that hardens under water is crystalline.) Since over the past 15 thousand years the lava has eroded significantly, we can assume that at that time the surface covered by it was located above sea level. " This is another recent confirmation of the existence of land in the Atlantic. An article by R.U. Kolbe in 1957 ("Science", vol. 126.) reports on the studies of a deep-water core, raised from a depth of 3.7 km in one of the sections of the underwater Mid-Atlantic ridge. Finds of exclusively freshwater diatoms in sediment samples provide confirmation that the investigated section of the ridge was above sea level.
