Atlantis on the island of Thera – this view is mainly based upon the theories of the archaeologists Dr Angelos Galanopoulos and Dr Spiridon Marinatos. They claim that the catastrophic volcanic eruption that affected the island of Thera in 1500 BC was in fact the doom of Atlantis.

This eruption tore off a substantial part of the island which then sank in the Aegean Sea. From that point in time the island had the shape of a sickle. Thera is situated north of the island of Crete and southeast of Greece in the Mediterranean Sea.

This map elaborated by the Greek seismologist Dr A. Galanopoulos shows the island of Thera. He suggests that the capitol of Atlantis was located in the centre of the crater.

The circular walls and channels described in the Atlantis report are clearly depicted. Consider the following excerpt from Plato‘s dialogue:

“(...)First of all they bridged over the zones of sea which surrounded the ancient metropolis, making a road to and from the royal palace.(...)“

Scientists have figured out that the explosion of the volcanic eruption equalled the energy of a hundred H-bombs.

Adding to Thera those parts of the island that had been torn off and, in addition, taking into account that the Egyptian priests might have made a mistake in their translation into the Greek language in that they translated the Egyptian sign for “hundred“ with “thousand“ leads to the assumption that Thera or Crete would perfectly fit into the story of Atlantis.


As far as Thera is concerned, the mistake in the translation would point out the following:

the number of inhabitants on Thera would decrease to an imaginable extent
the plain mentioned in the Atlantis report would then apply to Thera
the legendary fleet would be reduced to a few ships
the date would enter a period conceivable to mankind, that is 950 BC

Nevertheless, there remains some doubt: the signs for “hundred“ and “thousand“ look so different that they can hardly be confused.

The blast and the tidal wave caused by the explosion could could have caused the doom of this advanced civilization. Moreover, the Minoic culture on Crete is equally likely to have been hit by the tidal wave and was thus doomed to perish. Hence, stronger nations were put in a position to subjugate the people of Crete without greater effort.

SOMETHING MYTHICAL:

Being a careful reader of the Greek mythology, I came across the following:

ATHENE

When the citizens of Athens made the goddess Athena their patron goddess, the sea god Poseidon got so upset that he instantly flooded Athens and all its surroundings.

Could the catastrophe of Thera be the starting point of that myth? There is no doubt that the tidal wave caused by the volcanic eruption had been powerful enough to flood southern parts of Greece. Is the apocalypse of Thera the starting point of the Flood legends in the Mediterranean area?

POSEIDON



Comprehensive excavations on the islands of Thera and Crete prove that once there had been a very advanced civilization. Evidence is provided by a unique art collection including coloured glasses, water pipes, modern bathing facilities and remarkably luxurious mansions. Temples such as Knossos Palace have been excavated, reminding of Atlantean descriptions.

The island of Crete has been populated since 6000 BC and had its heyday between 2200 and 1450 BC. On Thera, a script had been found that could not be deciphered yet. There is, however, no doubt that the well-known but equally undeciphered Linear A script is based upon that very script. In addition, the script of Linear B was developed on the island of Crete. After World War II, Michael Ventris decoded the Linear B signs and found out that this script was the predecessor of today‘s Greek language.

In his dialogues, Plato also points to the fact that the Greek people had to regain their knowledge including their script again and again. Did Plato use Atlantis to digest Greek history? And could it be that the Atlanteans were in fact the Minoans who suppressed the Greek mainland at that time?

Around 1500 BC, the Minoic High Culture on Thera and Crete was ahead of its time but the volcanic eruption led to the doom of the Minoic empire. The tidal waves caused by the explosion and the volcanic ash rain are likely to have inflicted severe difficulties upon the culture. Accordingly, the Minoans were easy prey for the Achaeans who were next to rule over the country.
 
As is the case with Atlantis, the Minoic culture also maintained a bull cult, therefore bullfights were a familiar sight. In Greek mythology, the reader comes across a section about the Minotaur, a creature with a human body but a bull's head that was held prisoner on the island of Crete. Every year, human sacrifices were made to the Minotaur. The Greek hero Theseus finally killed the beast. The record of the labyrinth is probably an allusion to Knossos Palace with its winding passages.

It is common knowledge that the Minoans were a powerful trading nation with their influence spread over the whole Mediterranean area. Imagine the following situation: After the volcanic eruption, the Egyptians, somewhat limited in their power after the volcanic eruption, never again heard anything about the Minoans. As a result, they created a nice myth of a superior empire that provoked its own doom by the unbelievable arrogance (the lucrative trade routes and the predominance in the Mediterranean area) of its population.

Now this story is passed on by the declining empire of Egypt to the ascendant people of Greece. But not for the myth’s sake – not at all. The story was told in the sense of a warning. That warning was meant to illustrate that excessive power and wealth directly lead to pride. Pride, in turn, results in inattention to the political operations of the surrounding countries. And that was exactly what happened: 100 years leter, Philip II of Macedonia conquered the Greek world – the warning had failed.



Atlantis on Thera – the advantage of this simple explanation of the Atlantis mystery lies in the fact that Thera is still accessible. Researchers can visit and examine the whole island. In his reports, however, Plato claims that Atlantis is situated beyond the Pillars of Heracles, that is west of Europe. Also, the Thera theory misses the opposite continent, for the old Egypts surely did not mean Europe – or did they?

 

 

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