An ideal country in which there are neither poor nor rich, there are no diseases and senile infirmity, life is carefree and happy ... Each of the 6 billion people living on Earth would like to look at such a miracle at least for a minute, at least with one eye. Therefore, the history and magic of Atlantis, a country covered with secrets and mysticism, so attracts the attention of people.

For the first time, Atlantis is mentioned in Plato's treatises as a state with an ideal political system, a country of demigods and prosperity. Among the ancient myths and legends, the legend of Atlantis is the most colorful and viable. Until now, attempts are being made to decipher the treatises in a new way and to find the place where Atlantis was located in ancient times.

According to Plato's descriptions, Atlantis is an island of enormous size, located behind the Pillars of Hercules. In this regard, modern scientists determine the location of the continent in the Mediterranean Sea, beyond the Strait of Gibraltar.

Plato also mentions that Atlantis was on a plain, and a hill towered exactly in the center, on which the temples of the Gods were located. The city was surrounded by several spiraling rows of canals filled with water and earthen embankments. Inhabitants legendary country reminiscent of today - they were black-haired and brown-eyed, athletic.

The Atlanteans lived in harmony with nature, and possessed the knowledge lost today: telepathy, hypnosis, they could treat diseases and slow down the heartbeat. On these natural abilities is based the legend of the magic of Atlantis, due to which this continent was flooded.

According to legend, over time, the Atlanteans became more selfish and greedy, striving for material well-being, ignoring spiritual development. The gods were angry with Atlantis and destroyed it within a day. forever hid the mainland in the depths of the sea.

The death of a great civilization

Atlantis was swallowed by the waters of the Atlantic ocean about 10-12 thousand years ago, although traces of a lost civilization are still being sought today. Indeed, in all the ancient myths and legends of the world, a global flood is mentioned, as a result of which almost all of humanity perished. Scientists suggest that Atlantis died as a result of a fall to Earth, which caused a tsunami of a universal scale and caused the displacement of the earth's axis, and, consequently, climate change on the planet.

Another interesting fact, which is included in all the myths and legends of the world, is that the founders of all the civilizations that emerged after the Flood appeared suddenly, sailing from some other, disappeared mainland. It is believed that the Atlanteans, who survived the cataclysm, scattered all over the world and passed on their knowledge to the Egyptians, and the Mayans, and the Aztecs ... That is why the historical heritage of these great civilizations is so similar - they all built pyramids, worshiped the Gods, and the priests were the highest caste and mediators between gods and people.

Atlantis still attracts people and scientists like a magnet, bewitches with mysticism and suspense. Where only they did not look for this continent in Atlantic Ocean- on the Bahamas, in , in Mexico, Crete, Cuba, even in the waters of Antarctica!

In the Bermuda Triangle, deep under the ocean, a pyramid of unknown origin was discovered at the bottom - the first version appeared.

On the island of Thera, one of the islands of the Greek archipelago, ancient ruins of temples and buildings were discovered - the second hypothesis.

On the Altiplano plateau in South America, a plateau with a hill in the middle, surrounded by rings, is a third possible hypothesis.

Off the coast of Cuba, with the help of a sonar during scientific research of the bottom, the ruins of a city that may have sunk in ancient times were accidentally discovered - 4th hypothesis.

And the last, relatively recent hypothesis that Atlantis is Antarctica! This idea was led by the fact that on ancient maps Antarctica is indicated free of ice, near the equator, between Africa and America. Over time, having shifted to the south, under the influence of deep processes, Antarctica ended up at the South Pole. The mysticism of this fact also lies in the fact that the outlines of Atlantis, presented on the old map of 1665, completely coincide with the contours of Antarctica!

For a long time in the hearts of people there will be a hope that it is possible to find an "earthly paradise" and unravel the mystery of the fabulous Atlantis. The attraction and magic of Atlantis lies precisely in the fact that it is not known for certain whether there was a beautiful country in general, or is it the fruit of Plato's fantasies about an unrealizable, but such a desirable world.

History of Atlantis: myths, conjectures, riddles and real facts

More than one generation of researchers has been arguing about the existence of Atlantis, a mighty ancient state that disappeared from the face of the Earth once and for all. Interest in this topic arose after the works of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato saw the light. It was Plato who first wrote about Atlantis, described the ancient civilization, the strength and power of the Atlanteans. Whether it was a deliberately and skillfully created myth, or we are dealing with a description of the real facts of the ancient history of human civilization - remains a mystery. Neither before nor after it was possible to obtain and find evidence of the existence of the Atlantean state. The secrets of Atlantis remain unsolved until now, forcing historians to put forward new hypotheses, and researchers to look for the place of the disappeared island-state on the planet's map.

The civilization of Atlantis is a source of controversy

Today about the disappeared mighty civilization ancient world a huge number of works have been written, ranging from poetic essays and literary descriptions to serious scientific treatises. In each individual case, one has to deal with a huge set of assumptions and hypotheses that the ancient world looked different than today's map of the world looks like. Another new hypothesis gives rise to a new myth, which instantly acquires new details, assumptions and details. Another thing is the complete absence of facts capable of answering the question: did Atlantis exist in reality or not. This meager research material remains the lot of science fiction writers and atlantologists. Skeptics believe that the history of Atlantis is an artificially created phenomenon in modern historical science.

It is necessary to consider the problem of Atlantis in two aspects: from the point of view of the historical epic, and using a scientific approach. In the first case, one has to deal with the evidence base and materials, the existence of which is never disputed by anyone. The palm in this area belongs to the works of Plato. The ancient Greek philosopher mentioned the mighty state of antiquity in the dialogues Critias and Timaeus, which were compiled on the basis of the diaries of another prominent ancient Greek philosopher Solon, who was Plato's great-grandfather. With the light hand of Plato, the name of the ancient state appeared, and its inhabitants began to be called Atlanteans.

In his notes and books, the ancient philosopher relied on a legend according to which the ancient Greeks fought against the state of the Atlanteans. The confrontation ended with a grandiose cataclysm that led to the death of Atlantis. According to the ancients, it was this catastrophe that led to the fact that the city-island of Atlantis disappeared forever from the face of the planet. What catastrophe on a planetary scale has led to such consequences is still not known and has not been proven. Another question is that in the scientific community at the moment there is a point of view that 12 thousand years BC. the world really suffered a major catastrophe that changed the geography of the planet.

Plato's dialogue "Timaeus" quite accurately indicates the location of the country of the Atlantes, is full of descriptions of the details of the culture and life of the Atlanteans. Thanks to the efforts of the ancient Greek philosopher, the lost civilization is being persistently searched for in the Atlantic Ocean. Just one phrase "opposite the Pillars of Hercules", recorded by Plato, indicates the location of the legendary country. There are no more accurate data on the location of the mysterious ancient state, so many researchers on this topic believe that Atlantis could be located in any other part of the ancient world.

The inconsistency of many of the facts set forth in the works of Plato raised a number of questions for subsequent generations. The main secrets of Atlantis are as follows:

• whether there is a high probability of the existence of an island of such a large size, traces of which are almost completely absent today;
• what catastrophe that occurred in antiquity could lead to the instant death of a large state;
• could there have existed in such ancient times a civilization with such a high level of development, which is attributed to the Atlanteans by ancient and modern researchers;
• why today there are no real traces from the past, indicating the existence of Atlantis;
• whether we are descendants of a highly developed culture of the Atlanteans.

How did the contemporaries of the ancient Greeks see Atlantis

Studying Plato's works, one can briefly summarize the information that has come down to us. We are dealing with the history of the existence and mystical disappearance of a large archipelago or a large island, which was located in the west of the then ancient world. The central city of the superpower was Atlantis, which owes its name to the first king of the state, Atlantis. The island location explains the state structure of the empire. Probably Atlantis, like many cities of ancient Greece, was a union of island rulers united under imperial rule. Perhaps there was a different state system in Atlantis, but Plato's dialogues give the names of kings, after whom other islands of the empire are named. Hence, ancient civilization took the form of a union or confederation.

Another question lies in Plato's detailed description of the life order of the mysterious power. All the main buildings and structures of the state are located on the central island. The acropolis, royal palace and temples are protected by several rows of earthen ramparts and a system of water channels. The inner regions of the island are connected to the sea by a huge shipping channel, so we can safely say that the power of Atlantis was focused on achieving sea power. Moreover, according to Plato, the Atlanteans worship Poseidon (the ancient Greek god, the ruler of the seas and oceans - the brother of Zeus). In Plato, the temples of the Atlanteans, their architecture and home improvement shine with luxury and wealth. Reaching the shores of Atlantis, surrounded on all sides by water, and the path to the island lay only by sea, was not an easy task for sailors of that time.

Plato in his narratives is very fond of describing the improvement of the capital of the Atlanteans. The most interesting thing in this aspect is that the descriptions of the ancient Greek philosopher strongly resemble the descriptions of other ancient Greek cities found in other ancient sources. The described infrastructure, weapons, ships, religion and lifestyle of the inhabitants of Atlantis look like the height of human perfection and a model of well-being.

The mystery of Atlantis in Plato's descriptions is present at every turn. Is it not surprising that people live far from the centers of civilization known to the then world, but they have enough high level development, can make long sea voyages, trade with everyone around, eat spices and other crops. The Atlanteans have a powerful army and a numerous fleet capable of confronting the armies of the ancient states of the Mediterranean.

This should be the point. Only Plato was able to describe the life and structure of the legendary state in such a clear and detailed way. To find other sources that would point to such facts was not, is not, and probably will not be. Neither the Sumerians nor the ancient Egyptians say anything about a large state in the Western Hemisphere. The ancient ruins of the Indian civilizations of North and South America are silent about interaction with the mysterious and powerful state. How many years ago could such a powerful civilization be located in the central Atlantic, about which there is still no real evidence.

Secrets of Atlantis: myths and legends against real facts

Some researchers continue to feed the world with illusions that Atlantis really was. Following the lead of Plato, who indicated the exact location of the island, researchers in search of Atlantis check the territory in the Azores, in the Bahamas. This is facilitated by the consonance of the names of the Atlantic Ocean and the legendary island.

According to one version, Atlantis was located in the Azores. Studies of the seamount Ampere, located on the way from Europe to America, and the adjacent areas of the Atlantic mid-ridge did not give any results. The geological and morphological structure of the seabed does not give grounds to believe that a large geological formation existed in this area of ​​the earth's crust in ancient times. Even a gigantic cataclysm that wiped out such a large island or archipelago from the face of the earth would have left behind indisputable evidence. If the island sank as a result of a successive chain of earthquakes and floods, then its remains could be found today.

Modern scientists do not have data on a major geological and tectonic catastrophe that befell the earth in antiquity. The biblical data about the global flood that befell the Earth and mankind take us to a completely different era. All information, events and facts that speak in favor of the existence of Atlantis in this part of the globe do not stand up to criticism, if you rely on the theory proposed by Plato.

Supporters of another hypothesis, the Mediterranean one, have stronger evidence in their favor. However, there are also a number of points that cause controversy. What were the real boundaries of such a powerful union, and where could such a large island or a small mainland be located. The western border of the world known to people of that time lies along the Pillars of Hercules - now the Strait of Gibraltar, connecting the Mediterranean Sea with the Atlantic. Why, with such eventfulness and tightness, the ancient world did not have cartographic data on the location of a large state that influences the political and economic structure of the world. On the maps compiled by the ancient Greeks, Phoenicians and Egyptians, which have come down to our times, the known areas are limited to the Mediterranean region, the territories of Southern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.

Many atlantologists increasingly agree that a civilization of this size could exist in the Eastern Mediterranean, in the explored sphere of political and economic interests of ancient states. The disappearance of the island and the death of the country of the Atlanteans can be tied to the catastrophic eruption of the Santorin volcano, which erupted around the 17th century BC. This hypothesis takes place, since it is during this period that the heyday of the Cretan state falls. According to this theory, the volcanic eruption not only destroyed half of the island of Thera, but also destroyed the numerous city-states that existed in this region. If we put aside the question of names and the link to Plato's statements about the Pillars of Hercules, such a picture of the ancient world has the right to life.

In this context, the version about the existence in ancient times of a powerful state that competes with the ancient Greek cities-policies coexists perfectly. The facts of the strongest cataclysm of that time were also noted in ancient sources. Today, volcanologists and oceanologists reasonably consider this version of the death of Atlantis to be quite real. Scientists have found evidence that the Minoan civilization really had a huge military power and had a high level of development, allowing it to wage confrontation with the Greek states.

Sparta and Athens are located 300-400 kilometers north of the islands of Thira and Crete, which are ideal for the location of the Atlantean state. The explosion of the volcano, which destroyed a mighty state in one night, destroyed the balance in the world that existed until that moment. The consequences of such a large-scale disaster affected the entire southern Europe, North Africa and the coast of the Middle East.

Versions in favor of another location of the legendary power today have no basis. Researchers are increasingly linking the existence of Atlantis with Plato's philosophical view of the existing world. This is echoed by other sources in which the land of the Atlanteans is associated with other mythical territories and states that existed in the imagination of the ancient Greeks.

Hyperborea and Atlantis - ancient mythical states

When asked where to look for Atlantis today, the answer may sound prosaic. You have to search everywhere. Relying on ancient sources is possible only in cases where the question is raised about cultural heritage that has come down to our times. In the sense in which we perceive Atlantis today as an imaginary country and highly developed civilization, the ancient Greeks at one time represented Hyperborea. This mythical country, located in the far north, a thousand kilometers from the coast of Ancient Greece, was considered by the Greeks as the habitat of the Hyperboreans, the descendants of the gods. Is this not the Atlantis that Plato wanted to tell the world about when writing his treatises?

Hyperborean lands, according to modern scientists, should have been located on the territory of the current Scandinavian countries: in Iceland or in Greenland. The Greeks directly pointed out that even Apollo himself, the god of the sun, was considered the patron of this people. What are these lands, do they really exist? It was assumed that Hyperborea is a fictional country for the ancient Greeks, where perfect and powerful people live, the gods rest. The country that Apollo regularly visits may be the same Atlantis - the state that the ancient Greeks aspired to in their development.

Stories about the mysterious disappearance of ships and planes in the Bermuda Triangle, supported by the legends of the sunken Atlantis, still excite the minds of many people today. The fate of our highly civilized predecessors, whose existence has not yet been proven, according to Charles Berlitz, has become the reason for writing more than twenty-five thousand books and articles. Atlantologists to this day argue about whether Atlantis existed. Many of them believe that she was not in the Atlantic Ocean and not even on Earth. Others rely on the meager information that has come down to us from the depths of centuries.

Most theories about the existence of Atlantis are based on biblical legends and the works of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato. In his dialogues Timaeus and Critias, he refers to the impressions of the Athenian legislator Solon, who visited the ancient Egyptian city of Sais. During a meeting with the Egyptian priests, he was shown the written monuments of Atlantis and told the story of its existence, which he later told to Plato's great-grandfather.

Plato's Dialogues says that “... in Atlantis there was a large and wonderful empire that ruled almost the entire island and several others (islands in the Atlantic Ocean), as well as part of the continent. They owned riches such as kings and lords had never before had, and which they probably never would have.

They lined their temples with silver, and belvederes with gold… The roofs were made of ivory, decorated with gold, silver and origalkum (perhaps an alloy of bronze). Everything around was densely populated, the canals and the largest ports were full of ships and merchants sailing from all over the world ... In addition, there were many elephants on the island.

According to Plato, the end of the beautiful empire came suddenly: "... After that, terrible earthquakes and floods appeared, in one single day and night of rains ... the island of Atlantis disappeared and sank into the sea ..."

Where was Atlantis and when did it disappear? Plato writes: “... in these days (9000 years before Plato), i.e. 11500 years ago, ships sailed in the Atlantic Ocean because there was an island located opposite the strait, which you call the Pillars of Hercules. The island was larger than Libya (North Africa) and Asia (Asia Minor) put together, and served as a path to other islands, and from the islands it was possible to cross the entire opposite continent, which surrounded the real ocean, since that sea that is between the Strait of Hercules ( Mediterranean Sea) - only a bay with a narrow passage, but that, the other - a real sea and the land surrounding it can be called a continent with confidence ... ".

It is not clear from the writings of Plato whether some of the inhabitants of Atlantis survived and what their fate is. Does the disappearance of Atlantis have anything to do with the Flood, or perhaps the biblical legends of Noah's Ark, the stories of the Mahabharata and the Babylonian traditions are different versions of stories about the same cataclysm? And if we ask this question on the pages of our book, it is because modern interpreters of the problems of Atlantis connect the "mysterious" disappearance of ships and planes in the Bermuda Triangle with the return of the descendants of the mythical Atlanteans to their native places.

But let's go back to the geological history of our planet. Is it possible that the cases described by ancient legends, myths, biblical traditions and Plato were real? Is it possible that an ancient continent existed in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean? These questions also affect the history of the formation of the oceans.

Modern geophysical research makes it possible to detect significant differences in the structure of the earth's crust of continents and oceans. Using seismic methods, geophysics proved that the thickness of the continental type of the earth's crust is about 30–40 km under high mountain ranges. And the thickness of the earth's crust of the oceanic type is only 5-15 km. The boundary between the two types of the earth's crust passes near the 2000 m isobath, where some significant differences also arise in their structure.

These data confirm the initial assumptions that the coastal areas of the sea were once vast plains. Sound ranging, a powerful tool for measuring the depth of the sea, offers us an excellent opportunity to map the topography of the seabed. Such maps clearly show the mouths and canyons of ancient rivers that have gone under water, the coastline that existed tens of millennia ago, former terraces, as well as other features of modern coastal regions. With such data, today we can reconstruct the position of the ocean surface over a period of tens of thousands of years.

Deviation of the ocean level from the present day in meters. On the abscissa - time in millennia. 1 - according to Fairbridge - 1961; 2 - according to Carrey - 1968

It is generally accepted that in the last 12 thousand years, after the end of the Würm Ice Age, the contours of the continents have not changed significantly. This means that the change in the level of the ocean can be a consequence of its own internal oscillations of the ocean-atmosphere system. As a result of the warming that began 15,000 years ago, the ocean level, which was then 110 m lower than today, began to rise at a rate of 2 cm per year. This increase continued until a period that existed 5–6 millennia ago, after which the rate of increase dropped to 1–2 mm per year.

Similar processes apparently led to the flooding of vast coastal areas and many island systems. But is it possible to refer to them in the case of Atlantis? Obviously not, because Plato believes, and the same follows from other legends, that this happened suddenly, and the speed of climatic processes is extremely low. Then we will have to look for an explanation in the tectonic activity of the Earth.

Today, there are two main theories about the formation of the ocean - the theory of neomobilism (global plate tectonics) and the theory of oceanization of the continental crust. The first theory is based on the hypothesis of the German geophysicist Alfred Wegener about the drift of the continents. Wegener suggested that about 230 million years ago there was only one continent on Earth - Pangea and one ocean - Pantalas. The rotation of the Earth led to the fragmentation of the macrocontinent and the horizontal movement of the continents. As a result, the Atlantic and Indian Oceans were formed.

Assumed configurations of Pangea and Pantalas 200 million years ago.

The location of the continents by the end of the Triassic - 180 million years ago.

One of Wegener's strongest arguments in favor of the mechanism he proposed for the formation of continents and oceans was the similarity of coastlines on opposite shores of the Atlantic and other oceans. His theory, however, went through a crisis until the sixties of our century, when it was revived again, this time as the theory of neomobilism. Adherents of this theory argue that the Earth is covered with solid plates that move under the influence of convective movements that occur at a depth of more than a hundred kilometers below the earth's surface. The boundaries between two plates, according to this theory, coincide with seismically active zones, and not with the boundaries between continents and oceans, as Wegener argued.

According to the theory of neomobilism, by the end of the Triassic period (about 180 million years ago), the formation of the basins of the Atlantic and Indian oceans began. The Tethys Sea divided Pangea into two pra-continents - Gondwana and Laurasia. In the same period, South America and Africa separate, as well as Hindustan, which begins to rapidly move north. Today this is evidenced by the traces left by the Hindustan drift at the bottom of the Indian Ocean. Later, as a result of the movement of Africa counterclockwise, and Asia - in the opposite direction, the Tethys Sea disappeared.

On the basis of information about the geological evolution of the Earth, it is possible to make assumptions about its future structure. Geologists assume that the Atlantic Ocean will continue to expand, especially in its southern part, while the Pacific Ocean will shrink. Australia will move north and join the Eurasian Plate, while Asia and North America will join in the Aleutian Islands.

There is reason to believe that the Red Sea, one of the most active seismic zones, will continue to expand, Africa will shift to the north, and the future ocean will arise in place of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. This is also evidenced by the data of geophysical measurements, showing that today the African and Indian plates are moving away from each other at a rate of about 2 cm per year. In addition, the temperature and salinity in the deep waters of the Red Sea reach extraordinary values ​​\u200b\u200b- 64.8 ° C and 313% o, that is, ten times higher than normal. This anomaly is explained by the rise of molten earth masses through cracks in the earth's crust.

But enough about the geological future of the Earth. Let's go back to her past. Obviously, the theory of neomobilism does not allow to prove the existence of Atlantis, because the movement of the plates is extremely slow. It remains to turn to the theory of oceanization of the earth's crust.

The location of the continents by the end of the Cretaceous period - 65 million years ago.

In contrast to the theory of neomobilism, the theory of oceanization suggests that the oceans were formed due to the vertical movement of the earth's crust. The continents themselves are horizontally immobile, and the thick continental crust can, under certain conditions, sink into the liquid asthenosphere. This is due to local overheating of the asthenosphere, a decrease in its density and an increase in its mobility. In this case, after the subsidence of the continental crust, part of it melts in the asthenosphere and it becomes thinner, forming the oceanic type of the earth's crust.

And yet, when did the subsidence of the earth's crust occur? By answering this question, we can find the answer to the disappearance of Atlantis and many other surface areas of the Earth. Today it is generally accepted that the formation of the oceans proceeded quite quickly, and over large areas. But the last stage in the formation of the oceans took place tens of millions of years in the last phase of the geological history of the Earth - in the Cenozoic era. And Plato wrote about a catastrophe that happened about 10 thousand years ago (?).

Today, many experts on Atlantis believe that it was located in the interior of the Atlantic Ocean, and some even argue that its location coincides with the so-called Bermuda Triangle. Let's then consider a part of the shelf strip in the area of ​​the Florida peninsula and the underwater Blake terrace, located at a depth of 800-1000 m under water. The data of seismic surveys and soundings carried out by the vessel "Glomar Challenger" confirm that the subsidence of the continental shelf began in the Cretaceous period about 100 million years ago and proceeded very slowly. Later, about 30–50 million years ago, the rate of subsidence began to increase.

All these are processes of the distant geological past. As for the "comparatively recent" sinking of Atlantis, it could have happened as a result of a belated stage in the process of ocean formation. And yet, if Atlantis existed, it was a large island, not a continent. Today, there is strong tectonic activity at the bottom of the ocean. So, for example, it is assumed that the rupture of the transatlantic cable in 1898 occurred precisely as a result of underwater earthquakes. During its repair, rocks were extracted, the formation of which, according to some scientists, is possible only when cooling on the surface of the earth. In this case, once these rocks were above the surface of the sea.

The attention of atlantologists was also attracted by the results obtained by measuring the ocean level with the help of artificial earth satellites. The first radar altimeter was installed aboard the American space laboratory Skylab. During the flight, more than one hundred and fifty series of measurements were taken from an orbit of 440 km. The results were unexpected. It turned out that in the area of ​​the Blake Plateau there is a decrease in the ocean level by almost 4 m, and over the Puerto Rican Trench the ocean level drops to 15 m. The width of the derivation in the Puerto Rico region is about 100 km. The most interesting thing, however, is that these measurements in the topography of the ocean surface are closely related to the measurements of the bottom topography.

The surface of the ocean, although we are accustomed to consider it horizontal, has its own topography. For example, the difference between the ocean levels on both sides of the Gulf Stream is about 1 m per 100 km and persists along most of the North American coast. A direct consequence of this tilt is the speed at which the stream moves ... A simple arithmetic calculation shows that a delevelation of 15 m per 100 km will lead to the formation of currents that will be 15 times faster than the Gulf Stream! With a Gulf Stream speed of 1 m/s, this would mean that the Puerto Rican Anomaly would have a current speed of 15 m/s! But only the wind in the atmosphere blows at this speed, in the ocean it is ten times less.

The sea surface reaches its lowest point in the Puerto Rican Trench.

Skylab trajectory projection on June 4, 1973 (a); ocean level measured with a satellite altimeter (6); relief of the seabed under the satellite's trajectory (c).

Shortly after this discovery, some of the interpreters of the riddles of the Bermuda Triangle were inclined to explain the disappearance of ships by falling into "holes", in which the water rotates at a terrible speed and "sucks" them into the depths of the sea. Such an interpretation is completely untenable, since all these effects may not be associated with sea currents. According to many scientists, areas with a sharp increase in the depth of the ocean contain significant amounts of compacted earth masses. As a result, the earth's gravity in them is stronger, the water is compressed more, and therefore the sea level is lower. Calculations show that in the area of ​​Puerto Rico the surface of the sea should not be horizontal at all. If it were horizontal, then in this case one would expect the appearance of giant whirlpools.

But let's, after all, listen to the assumption of gravitational anomalies, say some modern researchers of the Bermuda Triangle. Then the conclusion involuntarily suggests itself that the Bermuda Triangle and Atlantis are two sides of the same problem. An ancient civilization, for reasons unknown to us, disappeared under water, and its “high-energy” sources led to this compaction, or they still function to this day and are the cause of gravitational and electromagnetic phenomena in the area.

However, ocean surface anomalies are not an isolated phenomenon, characteristic only of the Puerto Rican Trench. Altimetry measurements show that east of Brazil, in the southern parts of the Atlantic Ocean, similar anomalies are also noted, which are associated with underwater peaks existing in these areas. Moreover, a close relationship between underwater peaks and the position of the ocean level has also been discovered over the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the Cape Verde Islands and in a number of other places in the World Ocean.

At the end of July 1979, in the Soviet weekly "Za rubezhom" I caught my eye the headline: "A new expedition in the Bermuda Triangle is looking for traces of an ancient civilization." The message was reprinted from the Brussels Peppl. This information, among other things, said: “A joint French-Italian-American scientific expedition went to the region of the notorious Bermuda Triangle. The purpose of a new journey to this part of the World Ocean, which the rumor called the "Enchanted Sea", is an attempt to discover the remains of an ancient civilization that existed before the civilization of Maya and Ancient Egypt.

It was also said here that some of the most popular researchers of the mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle took part in the expedition: the Americans Manson Valentine - a biologist, paleontologist and archaeologist from Miami, Charles Berlitz - one of the largest propagandists of sensations about the Bermuda Triangle and unidentified flying objects, French archaeologist Jacques Maillol other.

In his book "Without a trace" C. Berlitz placed an image of a pyramid allegedly discovered at the bottom of the ocean.

Jacques Maillol believes that once this region of the Atlantic Ocean was land that went under water as a result of the melting of glaciers. Flying by plane over the Bahama Bank, Mayol saw "artificial changes in the relief" of the bottom, similar to those observed in Peru. Therefore, the main attention of the expedition will be given to the search for artificial structures on the ocean floor.

Recently, there have been many reports about the walls of ancient buildings discovered at the bottom of the ocean, former roads lined with huge stone blocks, and various other structures - “the work of human hands”. Their origin and very essence is still unclear, so most archaeologists have so far refrained from making any conclusions.

In early 1977, the echo sounders of a fishing boat registered on the ocean floor, somewhat away from Bermuda, an irregularity resembling a pyramid. This was the reason for Charles Berlitz to organize a special expedition. In his best-selling book Without a Trace, he describes this pyramid, located at a depth of about 400 m below the surface of the ocean, stating that the height of the pyramid is almost 150 m, the base is about 200 m, and the slope is the same as that of the pyramid of Cheops. One of its sides is longer than the others, but Berlitz believes that this is a consequence of the uneven deposition of sedimentary material. If underwater research shows that the pyramid was built of stone blocks, this will dispel doubts about its geometric correctness. And from here, according to the author, a bridge will be thrown connecting Ancient Egypt with the lands of Maya ...

But for now, this is all just another guess...

Pangea (gr.) - the whole Earth, Pantalas - the whole ocean.

Altimeter - a device for measuring height.

The legend of Atlantis - a sunken island on which a highly developed civilization once existed, a strong, enlightened and happy people - the Atlanteans - has been worrying mankind 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, although very strange, but completely reliable", 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 developed, whose power extended to the whole island and many other islands (...). In addition, they (...) owned Libya to Egypt and Europe to Tirrenia ”(as Italy was called at that time). The legend of Atlantis tells that in the original times, when the gods divided the earth among themselves, this island fell into the possession of Poseidon, the god of the seas. Poseidon settled there his ten sons, born of an earthly woman, Clito. The eldest of them was called Atlant, after his name the island was named Atlantis, and the sea - the Atlantic.

From Atlantis came a powerful and noble family of kings of Atlantis. This family "gathered such huge wealth, which had not yet happened before in the possession of kings, and later on it will never be easy to form such."

Earth fruits grew in abundance on the island, various animals were found - “both tame and wild”, minerals were mined in its bowels, including “one breed, which is now known only by name, (...) - the orichalcum breed, extracted from the earth in many places of the island, and after gold, which had the greatest value among the people of that time.

The inhabitants of Atlantis erected on their island beautiful cities with fortress 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, "which emitted a fiery sheen", and the houses were built of red, white and black stone.

A temple to Poseidon and Clito was erected in the center of the city. The walls of the temple were lined with silver, the roof was covered with gold, and inside “there was an ivory ceiling, colored with gold, silver and orichalcum. They also erected golden idols inside the temple - a god that, standing in a chariot, ruled by six winged horses, and himself, due to the enormity of his size, touched the crown of the ceiling.

The Atlanteans carried on a lively trade, the harbors of Atlantis "swarmed with ships and merchants from everywhere, who in their mass day and night deafened the area with screams, knocks and mixed noise."

Atlantis had a strong army and navy, consisting of one thousand two hundred warships.

The code of laws that Poseidon himself gave to the Atlanteans was inscribed on a high orichalcum pillar, installed 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 "conferred about common affairs or sorted out if anyone had committed any misconduct, and made a judgment."

The Atlanteans were distinguished by their nobility and lofty way of thinking, “looking at everything except virtue with disdain, they valued little that they had a lot of gold and other possessions, were indifferent to wealth as a burden, and did not fall to the ground in the intoxication of luxury, losing power over himself."

But time passed - and the Atlanteans changed, filled with "the wrong spirit of self-interest and power." 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." According to Plato, this happened in the X millennium BC. e. Modern scientists are of the opinion that the death of the island was caused by a catastrophe caused by some of the man-made achievements of the ancient Atlanteans.

Disputes about whether Atlantis really existed or was invented by Plato began in ancient times. The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, a friend and student of Plato, argued that Atlantis is completely fictional (according to legend, it was on this occasion that Aristotle uttered the famous saying: “Plato is my friend, but the truth is dearer”). However, many believed that Atlantis really existed and traces of it could be found.

Interest in Atlantis over the following centuries faded, then awakened again, 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. Scientists-atlantologists 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.

In the works of some ancient Greek historians, geographers, mythographers, mathematicians, theologians and astronomers, there are references to one state that has sunk into oblivion: the legendary island of Atlantis. About two thousand years ago, Plato, Herodotus, Diodorus and other respected authors wrote about him in their writings.

Ancient authors about the sunken island of Atlantis

Basic information about the lost Atlantis is contained in the writings of Plato. In the dialogues Timaeus and Critias, he talks about an island state that existed about 11,500 years ago.

According to Plato, the god Poseidon was the ancestor of the Atlanteans. He connected his life with a mortal girl who bore him ten sons. When the children grew up, the father divided the island between them. The best part of the land went to the eldest son of Poseidon: Atlan.

Atlantis was a powerful, wealthy and populous state. Its inhabitants built a serious system of defense against external enemies and built a network of circular canals leading to the sea, as well as an internal port.

Large cities were distinguished by amazing architectural structures and beautiful sculptures: temples made of gold and silver, golden statues and statues. The island was very fertile, with a varied natural world; in the bowels of the earth, people mined copper and silver.

The Atlanteans were a warlike people: the army of the state included a navy of 1000 ships, the number of crews was equal to 240 thousand people; The ground army consisted of 700 thousand people. The descendants of Poseidon fought successfully for many years, conquering new territories and wealth; so it was until Athens stood in their way.

The Athenians, in order to defeat the Atlanteans, created a military alliance with the peoples of the Balkan Peninsula. But on the day of the battle, the allies refused to fight, and the Athenians were left face to face with the enemy. The fearless courageous Greeks defeated the aggressor and liberated the peoples previously enslaved by him.

But early Greek warriors rejoiced at their achievements: they decided to intervene in the affairs of people, who had been following the inhabitants of Atlantis for the last centuries. Zeus considered that the Atlanteans had become greedy, greedy, depraved and decided to punish them to the fullest extent by flooding the island along with its inhabitants and the Athenians who did not have time to celebrate the victory.

Here is what Plato writes about Atlantis in his two writings. At first glance, this is just a beautiful legend, an interesting fairy tale. There is no direct evidence for the existence of Atlantis in ancient times, nor any reference to authoritative sources.

But these two dialogues survived not only Plato himself, but also two millennia more - during this time many disputes and theories regarding the lost state arose.

Plato's student Aristotle, who listened to the speeches of the Platonist philosophers for about 20 years, eventually categorically rejected the existence of Atlantis, stating that the dialogues "Timaeus" and "Critias" are just an invention, the nonsense of an old man.

It was because of Aristotle that Atlantis was talked about reluctantly, in an undertone until the end of the 18th century. After all, this venerable philosopher enjoyed unquestioned authority in Europe, especially in the Middle Ages. All statements of Aristotle were perceived by Europeans as the ultimate truth.

So why was Aristotle so sure that Atlantis was fiction, because he did not have irrefutable evidence of this? Why was he so harsh in his judgments? Some sources claim that the philosopher simply did not like his mentor, so he decided in this way to spoil the authority of Plato in the eyes of his admirers and admirers.

Mentions of Atlanteans in the writings of other ancient authors

Other ancient authors wrote very little about Atlantis: Herodotus claimed that the Atlanteans had no names, did not see and were defeated by troglodytes - cavemen; according to the stories of Diodorus, the inhabitants of Atlantis fought with the Amazons. Posidonius, who was interested in the causes of land subsidence, believed that Plato's story was plausible.

Proclus in his writings reports on one follower of the ancient thinker: an Athenian Krantor.

Allegedly, he specially went to 47 years after the death of the philosopher to find evidence in favor of the existence of an island state; returning from a trip, Crantor said that in one of the ancient temples he saw columns with inscriptions retelling the historical events described by Plato.

Search for Atlantis

It is quite difficult to indicate the exact location of the lost Atlantis: there are many hypotheses about where the flooded state may be.

Plato wrote that a huge island was once in the ocean behind the Pillars of Hercules (i.e., behind Gibraltar). But his searches in the area of ​​the Canary, Balearic, Azores and British Islands did not lead to anything.

Some researchers suggest looking for the remains of the material culture of the Atlanteans in the Black Sea, linking the flooding of the island with the "Black Sea flood" that occurred 7-8 millennia ago - then the sea level in less than a year rose, according to various estimates, from 10 to 80 meters.

There is a hypothesis according to which Antarctica is the lost Atlantis. Scientists who adhere to this theory believe that Antarctica in ancient times was shifted to the south pole due to a lithospheric shift, or a sharp shift in the earth's axis as a result of a collision of our planet with a large cosmic body.

There is also an opinion that traces of Atlantis can be found in South America or Brazil. But most interpreters of Plato's dialogues are sure: the lost island should be looked for only in the Atlantic Ocean.

In recent decades, the lost state has been looking for many expeditions, most of which returned empty-handed. True, from time to time the whole world is disturbed by news about the found traces of a flooded island.

Have the Russians found Atlantis?

In 1979, a Soviet expedition, while testing a diving bell, accidentally discovered some objects in the Atlantic Ocean that looked like the ruins of an ancient city.

The action unfolded just behind the “Pillars of Hercules” indicated by Plato, 500 km from Gibraltar, above the Amper seamount, which protruded above the surface of the ocean many millennia ago, but then for some reason went under water.

Three years later, the Soviet ship "Rift" went to the same place to explore the ocean floor with the help of the Argus submersible. The aquanauts were amazed by what they saw; from their words, they opened the panorama of the city ruins: the remains of rooms, squares, streets.

But the expedition, which took place in 1984, did not justify the hopes of the researchers: an analysis of two stones raised from the ocean floor showed that it was just volcanic rock, solidified lava, and not the creation of human hands.

The opinion of modern scientists about Atlantis

Atlantis is a fantasy

Most modern historians and philologists are convinced that Plato's dialogues are just a beautiful legend, of which the philosopher has many. There are no traces of this state either in Greece, or in the west of Europe, or in Africa - this is confirmed by archaeological excavations.

The opinion of scientists that Atlantis is only a figment of the imagination is also based on the following: the philosopher writes about the network of canals built on the island, about the inner port, but such large-scale projects in ancient times were beyond the power of people.

Plato indicated the approximate date of the island's sinking into the ocean depths: 9000 years before he wrote the dialogues (i.e., approximately 9500 BC). But this contradicts the data of modern science: at that time, humanity was just emerging from the Paleolithic era. It is not easy to believe that somewhere in those days there lived a people who overtook the entire human race in their development by thousands of years.

Many scientists are convinced that Plato, when writing his works, took as a basis some of the events that took place during his lifetime: for example, the defeat of the Greeks when they tried to conquer the island of Sicily and the flooding of the town of Gelika as a result of an earthquake followed by a flood.

Other researchers believe that the basis for the works of the philosopher was the volcanic eruption on the island of Santorini, which subsequently collapsed on the coast of Crete and other islands. mediterranean sea tsunami - this catastrophe led to the decline of the developed Minoan civilization.

The version is supported by the following fact: the Minoans really fought against the Archeans who inhabited Greece in ancient times and were even defeated by them (just like the Atlanteans were defeated by the Greeks in the dialogues Timaeus and Critias).

In general, many researchers of the thinker's works believe that Plato, being a utopian idealist, with his writings only wanted to call his contemporaries to build an ideal exemplary humane state in which there would be no place for dictatorship, violence and tyranny.

However, the philosopher himself in the dialogues constantly emphasizes that Atlantis is not just a legend, but an island state that once really existed.

Plato doesn't lie

Some researchers nevertheless admit that there is a grain of truth in the writings of the ancient thinker. Excavations carried out in recent years by archaeologists have helped scientists obtain new information about the life and technical achievements of our ancestors living 5-10 thousand years ago.

Modern archaeologists find the remains of grandiose structures created by ancient people everywhere: in Egypt, Sumer, Babylon. Tunnels for collecting groundwater, many kilometers of adits, stone dams, man-made lakes - all these structures operated long before the birth of Plato.

Consequently, the philosopher's dialogues cannot be attributed to fiction only on the grounds that mankind 11 millennia ago was unable to build a network of canals and bridges: recent archaeological excavations prove the opposite.

In addition, since the works of Plato rewritten more than once have come down to us, it is likely that over the two millennia there has been a confusion with dates.

The fact is that in the system of Egyptian hieroglyphs, the number "9000" is indicated by lotus flowers, and the number "900" - rope knots; supporters of the existence of Atlantis believe that the later scribes of the dialogues could easily confuse symbols so similar to each other, thus pushing back the historical event several thousand years ago.

On top of that, Plato, who belongs to a highly revered family in ancient Greece, in his dialogues refers to his ancestor: the wisest of the "seven wise men" legislator Solon. And the ancient Greeks were very kind to their roots, tried to protect the sacred memory of their relatives. Would Plato, given his moral qualities, refer to Solon in his works, because if the whole story with Atlantis is just a fiction, he would tarnish the name of the wisest representative of the family?

Afterword

Atlantis has been shrouded in a halo of mystery for many centuries. People have been trying to find the suddenly disappeared state for almost two thousand years: some - wanting to take possession of the treasures described by Plato, others - out of scientific interest, others - just out of curiosity.

In the 50s of the last century, a doctrine called “atlantology” even appeared, its main task is to identify true information about Atlantis in historical sources and mythical legends.

The debate about whether the mysterious land once existed or the ancient Greek thinker simply invented it does not subside to this day. Various theories are born and die, conjectures appear and disappear. Some of them are supported by science, while others are more like a beautiful fairy tale.

Perhaps our children or grandchildren will solve the riddle of Atlantis. But it may turn out that another two thousand years will pass, and the mystery of the lost island will remain unsolved, and our descendants, just like we are today, will be tormented by conjectures and assumptions.

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