The legend of Atlantis, born in Ancient Greece, has been of interest for more than two millennia. A variety of sources have been analyzed, analyzed and compared - historical, ethnic, zoogeographical, astronomical, etc. The successes achieved as a result of archaeological excavations and geological study of the seabed have provided such rich material that now we can look at the problem of Atlantis in a different way . What was previously based only on guesses and assumptions has received real confirmation thanks to new facts. Now you can even imagine the cultural level of the Atlanteans and describe the nature of the geological disaster that led to their death.
In order to answer the question of why Atlantis died, you need to know where it was. Most atlantologists, including our greatest specialist in this field N.F. Zhirov, placed the drowned country in the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean.
In the last decade, bathymetric, geological and geophysical knowledge of the Atlantic Ocean has advanced greatly. Now we can definitely say that there is no submerged Atlantis at the bottom of the central part of the Atlantic Ocean, in particular on the mid-ocean underwater ridge.
Science is accumulating facts in favor of the fact that the oceans, in particular the Atlantic, are relatively young formations (100-50 million years), and there used to be continents in their place. It is quite possible that individual sections of the Atlantic Ocean became involved in troughs later - at the beginning or middle of the Tertiary period, i.e. 25–10 million years ago. But we have no reason to assume that the subsidence of any land areas in the central part of the Atlantic Ocean has occurred over the past 12 thousand years.
IN last years Geological and geophysical research in the Atlantic Ocean developed very intensively. Using automatic echo sounders, the topography of the ocean floor was studied in detail. The structure of the earth's crust in the Central and North Atlantic was studied in detail using seismic and magnetic methods. The soil-bearing pipes lowered to the bottom provided abundant material about the composition and age of sediments on the ocean floor. Finally, in the 70s, deep drilling of the ocean floor was carried out in many points of the Atlantic from the research vessel Glomar Challenger, specially equipped for this purpose. Drilling has shown that in the central part of the Atlantic, near the mid-ocean ridge, exclusively carbonate sediments are developed, the thickness of which reaches many tens of meters. Towards the European and American coasts, carbonate silts are gradually replaced by clayey ones, and only near the continental slope do interlayers of fine-grained sands appear. These new data indicate that not only in the last 10-20 thousand years, but also 5-10 million years ago there was no land within the central part of the Atlantic Ocean. The transport of fine clastic material into the ocean occurred only from the margins of the ocean. Sea currents did not carry even the smallest clay particles to the central part of the Atlantic Ocean, and only carbonate sediments accumulated there, resulting from the death of organisms living in the water. If land had existed at least temporarily in the central part of the Atlantic Ocean, then the fragmentary material removed from it would certainly have been found in the sediments of this part of the ocean.
Modern ideas about geological processes occurring now or that happened in the recent geological past make it possible to narrow the number of natural phenomena that can cause a catastrophe somewhat close to Plato’s descriptions.
It would seem that one of the most natural reasons for the death of Atlantis was the rise in sea level or the lowering of the land where Atlantis was located. There are a huge number of examples when, at the bottom of lakes, seas and oceans, ruins of buildings and entire cities are found, which a thousand years ago were located on land or even far from the sea. Raising and lowering ocean floor cover vast areas. Thus, a large part of the Netherlands is constantly submerged. To sea ​​water did not penetrate into populated areas and did not flood pastures, fields and cities, the Dutch constantly have to build up dams that protect their country from the invasion of waters of the North Sea.
No matter how tempting the explanation of the death of Atlantis by the general subsidence of the island is, it cannot be accepted: there is nothing catastrophic in the subsidence of the land. Ups and downs on the earth's surface due to geological reasons occur everywhere. Maximum speeds ups and downs of the earth's crust are measured by several millimeters per year. For a flat country to submerge even a few meters, time measured in millennia is required. If we remember that, according to Plato’s description, Atlantis abounded in mountain ranges, then it is obvious that this reason will have to be abandoned.
The extraordinary slowness of geological uplift and subsidence confused many atlantologists, and some of them, in search of reasons that sharply accelerate the subsidence of land, turned to the so-called eustatic fluctuations in the level of the World Ocean. What it is?
As is known, in the recent geological past, our planet experienced several eras of glaciation. During the glaciation, a huge amount of water was transformed into continental ice, covering large areas in northern Europe, Asia and America with a thousand-meter shell. So much moisture accumulated in the ice sheet that the water level in the World Ocean dropped by 100 m. When the ice began to melt, the level of the World Ocean began to rise again and ultimately rose by the same 100 m. Raising the ocean level to a similar height is enough, to absorb many countries. However, no matter how tempting this reason is to explain the death of Atlantis, it is also unrealistic.
The warming at the end of the last ice age was not catastrophic. Radiocarbon dating of organic remains found in late and post-glacial sediments and paleobotanical materials indicate that the rise in sea level at the end of the Ice Age was gradual. In the first stages of ice melting, the level in the ocean increased by 12-7 mm/year, and then (about 6 thousand years ago) - by only 2-1 mm/year.
It is not possible to drown Atlantis as a result of “ordinary”, i.e., geological processes that occur constantly and everywhere. In this case, the cause of the death of the legendary continent should be sought in random, catastrophic phenomena. Events of this kind can be divided into two groups: a) cosmic events, b) geological disasters.
The cosmic causes of the death of Atlantis attract more attention of atlantologists. The famous Polish astronomer L. Seidler brought them to the fore. He proposed several different options for cosmic disasters, namely the meeting of the Earth with an asteroid, the fall of a comet, etc. Let's consider how valid this hypothesis is.
The death of a large area as a result of a meteorite fall is a real thing. It should be emphasized that until recent years, the role of such disasters in the historical past of our planet was downplayed, since the Earth’s surface was not yet sufficiently surveyed and most of the known meteorite craters were not discovered. A reassessment of ideas about the scale of such meteorite disasters has occurred in recent years in connection with the successes in the study of the Moon, Mars, Mercury and other planets.
And yet, such a reason for the death of Atlantis, although possible in principle, is unlikely. And the point is not only that the fall of large meteorites is an unusually rare phenomenon (during the historical period of human life, we do not know of reliable cases of such a fall). No matter how large the meteorite that fell to Earth was, it could not have formed an oceanic depression at the site of its fall. Even in a meteorite crater like the Popigai Basin in Siberia, the surface of the crater is only a few tens (maximum hundreds) of meters below the space beyond the explosion. Thus, if the legendary Atlantis was overtaken by a giant meteorite, then it, of course, would be destroyed, but would not sink to the ocean floor. Such a large meteorite crater, measuring tens of kilometers, would have been discovered, and especially in the last decade, when the entire globe is covered with photographs from aircraft and satellites.
Is the destruction of Atlantis possible as a result of the Earth's encounter with a comet? Judging by the force of the explosion and the size of the affected area, then undoubtedly. However, the comet could only destroy and burn legendary country, but not destroy it, much less lower it below sea level. If such a catastrophe had occurred, then the ruins of the destroyed Atlantean state would have been preserved. Cosmic reasons, no matter how tempting they may seem at first glance, should be abandoned upon careful analysis.
Let us turn to geological processes of a catastrophic nature. Here, attention should be drawn to three phenomena that serve as a constant source of human disasters: earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis.
Over the course of history, hundreds of destructive earthquakes have occurred, resulting in the formation of giant cracks, large rockfalls occurred, cities were destroyed, and thousands of people died. The cataclysms of the last two centuries have been most fully studied.
An earthquake, especially on the ocean coast, is much closer in nature to the descriptions of Plato than cosmic catastrophes. It is also significant that even the most powerful seismic paroxysms occur a thousand times more often than the fall of large meteorites.
We wrote that earthquakes such as the Chilean one can be considered close to the maximum possible. Studying them allows us to assess the likely consequences of the maximum possible seismic cataclysm. Since a catastrophic earthquake occurs along an extended fault, the zone of greatest destruction extends into a relatively narrow strip, a maximum of 20–50 km in width and up to 300–500 km in length. Outside this zone, the underground impact no longer has catastrophic force. Due to the limited width of the destruction zone, an entire country, including Atlantis, would not be completely destroyed by one shock, no matter how strong it was.
During catastrophic earthquakes, significant areas are lowered (or raised), measured in tens of thousands of square kilometers. If the zone subject to earthquakes is located near the sea, then such a phenomenon can lead to a vast territory sinking below sea level, as during the Baikal earthquake of 1861. Then, in the delta of the Selenga River, the so-called Gypsy steppe with an area of ​​more than 200 km2 went under water.
This phenomenon seems to resemble the situation conveyed by Plato - Atlantis went under water. However, it is impossible to drown Atlantis with the help of an earthquake. The fact is that one catastrophic earthquake will lower the zone adjacent to the epicentral line by only a few meters, no more. Consequently, the ruins of Atlantis on the coastal bottom could be discovered not only by a scuba diver, but also by any swimmer.
An earthquake could destroy part of the Atlantean state and turn its capital into ruins, but it could not plunge Atlantis into the depths of the ocean without leaving a trace.
Could a giant tsunami have caused the destruction of Atlantis? As is known, tsunamis occur as a result of an underground impact or a volcanic explosion that occurs near the sea.
Tsunamis from underwater earthquakes are practically non-existent in the Atlantic Ocean. No, because tsunamigenic earthquakes do not occur under the bottom of these oceans.
Let us dwell on the possibility of tsunami waves occurring in the Mediterranean Sea. Greek seismologist A. Galanopoulos devoted a special article to this issue. The information he collected showed that tsunamis that occur off the sea coast are caused by two reasons: underwater earthquakes, volcanic eruptions under water and near water. It turned out that the height of tsunami waves from earthquakes is small, which means there cannot be catastrophic destruction on the shore.
In the previous chapter it was shown that in terms of the energy released and the size of the area subject to devastation, volcanic explosions have no equal. Their danger to humans also lies in the fact that they are accompanied by a number of catastrophic phenomena: shock waves, ashfall, tsunamis.
Finding out the maximum possible strength of the geological catastrophe is of exceptional importance for solving the problem of Atlantis. Firstly, if you follow Plato’s text verbatim, where it is said that Atlantis was larger than Libya (Africa) and Asia (Asia Minor) combined, then it is obvious that for the complete destruction of such a huge country, a geological catastrophe thousands of times greater than known to us. Secondly, for our further conclusions it is extremely important that the eruption of Santorini in the 14th century. BC e., which we associate with the death of the Minoan sea power, is one of the maximum possible geological cataclysms, which means that if we want to explain the destruction of Atlantis by a geological catastrophe, then the Santorini eruption, judging by the force of the explosion and the area of ​​​​devastation, is more suitable for this purpose than that -or else.
Until the beginning of our century, almost nothing was known about the existence of a large maritime state with a high culture on the islands of the Aegean Sea 4–5 thousand years ago. In March 1900, the English archaeologist A. Evans began excavations on the island of Crete. Already the first months of work have yielded amazing results. The ruins of a huge palace with magnificent frescoes were discovered, which, with its many rooms, passages and courtyards, was strikingly reminiscent of the Labyrinth, known from the ancient Greek myth of Theseus.
Thanks to archaeological excavations in Knossos, as well as at the site of other ancient settlements of Crete and the Cyclades islands, the world learned about the existence of a new Cretan-Mycenaean culture, about a powerful maritime power that dominated the Mediterranean in the 3rd–2nd millennium BC. e. Evans' discovery shed a completely new light on the problem of Atlantis.
There have been reports in the press that excavations are underway in the Aegean Sea, on the island of Thira in the Santorini archipelago, 120 km north of Crete. ancient city, covered with volcanic ash. The discovered works of art and crafts belong to the heyday of the Cretan-Mycenaean culture. In the southern part of the island of Thira, under many meters of volcanic ash, entire blocks of houses, including multi-story ones, were found covered with ash.
Some with small loggias, others with vestibules and stone benches. Tall plastered corridors lead to interior rooms with numerous niches and projections. There are fireplaces in the main rooms. The walls are colorfully painted.
Frescoes found on the walls of houses depicted the blue of the sky, the green of the trees, blooming lilies, crocuses, myrtles, and climbing ivy. There are many images of lilies on ceramics; even a whole room is painted with lilies. A large number of ritual vessels, figurines of sacrificial animals and small altars were found. Frescoes have been unveiled showing a life-size procession of women with sacred gifts. Another beautiful fresco with half-naked female figures also saw the light of day.
Excavations allow us to imagine the original dimensions of the prehistoric city. It is assumed that antique city once stretched across the entire island. In those days, up to 30 thousand people lived on the edge of the crater. When Santorini exploded and the caldera sank, the northern part of the city was destroyed. The southern one was partly filled up, and partly went under water.
In 1939, an article by S. Marinatos appeared on the pages of the English magazine Antiquity, outlining a hypothesis according to which the colossal eruption of Santorini was the root cause of the death of the Minoan civilization. Crete was also destroyed at the same time. Attention was also drawn to the fact that the civilization described by Plato, in which bronze was intensively used, resembled the Minoan one, destroyed 900 years before the era of Solon.
Not for 9000 years, as Plato wrote, but for 900. The Greek seismologist A. Galanopoulos drew attention to the fact that the numbers differ by exactly 10 times, and suggested that Solon, who did not know the Egyptian language and spoke with the Egyptian priests through an interpreter, made a mistake and mistook the Egyptian designation of the number 100 for 1000. But in this case, the other numbers given in Plato’s description of Atlantis should be more than 10 times? Galanopoulos checked all the measurements given by Plato and came to the conclusion that the size of the country, the canals, the ditches around the castles, the number of ships and all other items mentioned in the legend were exaggerated by 10 times. Knowing geography well, Plato understood that such a large kingdom could not be located in the Mediterranean Sea. Therefore, Galanopoulos believes, he moved the pillars of Hercules from the Peloponnese to Gibraltar, and the island of Atlantis to the ocean located beyond the Iberian Peninsula.
By placing the disappeared country of Plato in the region of the Aegean Sea and linking its death with the eruption of Santorini, we can quite fully restore the size of the legendary Atlantis, imagine the flourishing of culture and art that existed there, and describe its tragedy.
Let's try to imagine the scale of the catastrophe that occurred 1400 BC. e. in the Aegean Sea and caused the death of the Minoan kingdom. Some idea of ​​this can be given by comparing the Minoan eruption of Santorini with the disaster in the Sunda archipelago, when the Krakatoa volcano exploded. Studies by many geologists have shown that the mechanism of caldera formation for both volcanoes was similar. But the Krakatoa caldera is significantly smaller in size than the Santorini caldera. The caldera's three to four times larger area, as well as a layer of tephra up to 30 m thick, preserved on the islands of Thira, Thirasia and Aspronisi, suggest that the Minoan eruption of Santorini was more catastrophic than the paroxysm of Krakatoa.
One must think that this event, as in 1883 in the Sunda archipelago, was not instantaneous, but lasted several hours, and maybe days. “In one day and a disastrous night...” says Plato.
The Minoan eruption of Santorini was preceded by a long period of calm. Volcanic ash lies on rocks that, before the eruption, had been on the surface of the earth for a long time and were heavily weathered. But in such a geologically active area, peace does not last forever. Excavations at Tire provide evidence that giant eruption preceded by earthquakes that destroyed some buildings. There were also volcanic eruptions, which, however, did not become destructive - on the layers of ash and pumice that covered the debris from the earthquakes, traces of life were noticeable, which continued even after the natural disasters began.
A striking feature of the volcanic disaster is that, unlike Pompeii, no human remains were found in the ash. We must conclude that even before the main eruption, the inhabitants of Atlantis managed to flee the city. Having grabbed the most valuable things, they rushed to the shore. They managed to collect and carry clay vessels to the shore, but were no longer able to take them with them. This is evidenced by excavations on Tire. During the eruption of the Bezymianny volcano, the ash cloud rose to a height of 40 km. In Ust-Kamchatsk, located 120 km from the volcano, i.e. at the same distance as Crete from Santorini, a cloud obscured the entire horizon, and soon it became dark there, like night. Apparently, a similar phenomenon was observed at the beginning of the eruption of Santorini. The roar and black cloud that rose above the volcano dismayed the inhabitants of the Minoan state, forced them to get out of their houses and flee further from the raging elements. Undoubtedly, Crete suffered less from the volcanic disaster than the island of Atlantis, but one should not downplay the disastrous consequences of the eruption on Santorini for Crete. Most likely, Crete, like the Cyclades Islands, was simultaneously affected by all the consequences of the volcanic catastrophe.
The first consequence of the Santorini disaster is a blast wave. During the eruption of Krakatoa, the roar was heard over an area equal to 1/13 globe. The air shock waves broke glass in houses as far away as 150 km, and in some cases damaged old houses as far away as 800 km from Krakatoa. The Santorini caldera with an area of ​​83 km2 and a 30 m layer of ash on its fragments - the islands of Thira, Thirasia, Aspronisi - suggest that the Minoan eruption was stronger than the eruption of Krakatoa. This means that on the Cyclades Islands and Crete, located 100–150 km from Santorini, the blast wave should have caused significant destruction.
Tremors almost always accompany volcanic eruptions. Such a monumental geological event as the eruption of Santorini was almost certainly accompanied by underground shocks. Even moderate earthquakes can destroy or damage stone buildings. The destruction of cities on Crete and the Cyclades by earthquakes is the second consequence of the volcanic catastrophe.
Following the roar of volcanic explosions and an earthquake, ash began to fall from a rising black cloud, covering the settlements of ancient Santorini. The ashfall contributed to the partial preservation of Minoan buildings, just as one and a half thousand years later the ashes of Vesuvius covered and preserved the city of Pompeii to this day. When, following the eruption and explosions, the collapse of the Santorini caldera began, only those buildings on Atlantis that were located within the collapsed caldera were destroyed. The buildings on the island of Thira, covered with a 30-meter layer of ash, have survived to this day.
Ashfall, as we now know, occurred during three successive eruptions of Santorini, of which the first was the most powerful and ash-rich. On Atlantis, the layer of ash measured tens of meters, i.e. it was more than enough to cover everything.
Using material from Iceland, one of the most active volcanic regions in the world, the disastrous impact of ashfalls on agriculture was studied. After analyzing historical materials, scientists found that local population left the villages in cases where the layer of freshly fallen ash reached 10 cm or more, and did not return until the water and wind carried away the ash. This took several decades, or even more.
After the Minoan eruption, the central and eastern parts of Crete and all the Cyclades islands were covered with a layer of ash more than 10 cm thick. Consequently, not only the entire crop died there, but also a lifeless desert was formed, which, of course, people abandoned.
There is some evidence that the tremors, explosions and caldera collapse that accompanied the eruption of Santorini in the 14th century. BC e., caused a very strong tsunami. On the island of Anafi, located 25 km east of Santorini, a layer of tephra 5 m thick was discovered, located in the upper reaches of one of the valleys at an altitude of 250 m above sea level. It consisted mainly of pumice, which usually forms in water. According to researchers, this pumice was deposited in the sea during the Minoan eruption of Santorini, and then was carried onto land by a tsunami wave. Undoubtedly, the tsunami from the Santorini disaster was one of the strongest. The northern coast of Crete is most open to the raging elements. After the collapse of the island of Atlantis, the entire northern coast of Crete should have been flooded within 20–30 minutes.
Signs of the destructive effects of the Santorini tsunami were found in east coast Mediterranean Sea during archaeological excavations in Syria. The port and half of the ancient city of Ugarit are destroyed by a sea wave around 1400 BC. e. A Phoenician poem found in the library of Ugarit tells of the destruction caused by a hurricane and tsunami.
The Santorini disaster not only caused colossal destruction in the Cyclades Islands and Crete, but also killed many people. There were casualties on other islands of the Aegean Sea. The greatest number of victims was undoubtedly caused by the tsunami. Coastal villages and the population of seaside cities were destroyed by surging sea waves. Unlike Crete and the Cyclades, mainland Greece suffered less from the disaster. Wind-driven ashfall spread from Santorini mainly to the southeast. The tsunami waves also proved to be mainland Greece less dangerous, since most of the population of Greece at that time was engaged in cattle breeding and lived in the mountains. Most cities were located beyond the reach of the waves. This can be seen in the example of the cities of Tiryns or Mycenae, located on the hills. They suffered little from the Santorini disaster and after the death of the Cretan state they remained the largest centers of Aegean culture.

Main Location Options

Many atlantologists believe that Atlantis was located in the Atlantic Ocean. Since the Strait of Gibraltar was always called the Pillars of Hercules in antiquity, Plato places Atlantis directly beyond the Strait of Gibraltar, near the coast of Spain and present-day Morocco [Appendix 1]. The most consistent supporters of the real existence of Atlantis join these same considerations, pointing out that according to Plato it could only be in the Atlantic Ocean and nowhere else. In particular, they noted that only in the Atlantic Ocean could a land of the dimensions described by Plato fit - a central island of 530x350 km and several large accompanying islands. Therefore, to look for remains as evidence of its existence, it is necessary either on the ocean floor or near existing islands, which 11,500 years ago were high mountain peaks.

In Plato's story, Atlantis perished as a result of a natural disaster (earthquake, flood or some other cataclysm); such a historical event could be the eruption of a volcano on the island of Santorini in the Mediterranean Sea. Based on these data, another theory about the location of Atlantis emerged. In this case, the area of ​​Atlantis given by Plato and the 9-thousand-year-old occurrence of the event are considered as an exaggeration, and the prototype of Atlantis is the island of Crete and the island of Santorini, partially destroyed by a volcanic explosion and the collapse of the caldera.

These are the two most popular and best known concepts about the location of Atlantis. But there are also many other assumptions. For example, Francis Bacon referred to South America. And Jurgen Spanut spoke about the North Sea. At the beginning of the 19th century there were legendary quest Atlantis, during which the location of Atlantis was attributed to Brazil, Scandinavia, Palestine, the Pas de Calais Strait, etc. But recently, the views of researchers are increasingly turning to the islands of Crete and Thira.

Dating the existence and death of Atlantis.

As with the location of the island, opinions differ. Numerous disputes and discussions among atlantologists led to the fact that opinions about the existence, including the death of Atlantis, were divided. Let's look at the most basic of them.

The first opinion is that Atlantis existed in 9500 BC.

Second opinion - Atlantis existed in the period from 1550 BC. to 1226 BC

The third opinion is that according to Plato, the death of Atlantis occurred approximately 12 thousand years ago (between 9750 and 8570 BC). She plunged into the depths of the ocean “in one day and a disastrous night” as a result of a monumental natural disaster.

Thus, we see that opinions are very much divided. But the above opinions are the most basic. And do not forget that along with them there are a large number of other datings and each has its own evidence.

Causes of death

All researchers, including atlantologists who adhere to the concept of the existence of Atlantis, are similar in only one thing - the death occurred as a result of a global catastrophe. But even here we do not see a consensus on what kind of global catastrophe resulted in the death of the mythical archipelago.

Many Atlantologists believe that the natural disaster that sank Atlantis to the bottom of the ocean could have been an earthquake. In accordance with the new concept of the block structure of the earth's crust and the movement of lithospheric plates, the strongest earthquakes occur at the boundaries of these plates.

Around 1500 BC. e. in the Mediterranean Sea, not far from one of the possible locations of Atlantis, something similar to a tsunami occurred. Which is another concept about the death of Atlantis.

The concept of an asteroid impacting the Earth has been demolished by modern scientists, based on the belief that such an impact would destroy all life on Earth. This point of view was shared by the Polish astronomer L. Seidler, astronomer O. Muk and others.

Plato himself, in his dialogue “Critius,” speaks about the death of Atlantis as follows: “And so Zeus... thought about the glorious race that had fallen into such pitiful depravity, and decided to impose punishment on it, so that, having sobered up from trouble, it would learn decorum. Therefore, he called all the gods... and addressed those gathered with these words...” Where the text inexorably ends, referring to the fact that the continuation was lost in the centuries.

Hans Schindler Bellamy suggested that Atlantis was wiped off the face of the Earth by giant waves resulting from the Moon falling into the Earth's gravitational field.

V.A. Polyakov tells us that the destruction of Atlantis took place in several stages. “...the first terrible catastrophe shook the entire continent about 800 thousand years ago. The capital was washed away by the waves of the ocean, millions of people died.” The second catastrophe, which occurred about 200 thousand years ago, is not described, citing the fact that it was not so significant and only divided Atlantis into two islands. It is not difficult to guess that most likely it was an earthquake. Quite important was the catastrophe that occurred 12 thousand years ago, described as similar to a tsunami. And he believes that this left a memory of the great flood in people's minds.

According to Plato, “one day and one disastrous night... all of Atlantis went under water...”. However, a certain mistrust arises in these words of the ancient Greek thinker, if you seriously think about possible reason the death of an entire country. And therefore a completely natural conclusion was made: Atlantis could not exist only because it could not simply disappear.

As we can see from this, opinions are very divided. As the people say: “how many people, so many opinions.”

When creating his dialogues, the ancient Greek philosopher Plato could hardly imagine what task he was setting for many generations of scientists for the next 2.5 thousand years.

Particularly great interest in this topic has manifested itself in recent decades due to intensive research in the oceans and the emergence of new scientific methods: underwater photography and television; submersible vehicles capable of accommodating pilots and specialist observers; high-resolution seismic-acoustic methods; echo sounding, etc.

Be that as it may, since the appearance of Plato’s dialogues, numerous disputes have not subsided, constantly giving rise to certain hypotheses and guesses about this great secret, left to us by Plato.

What was it?.. A genuine message, which is based on sources completely unknown to us today, or a legend, just a literary work in which the author described an ideal, in his opinion, state, corresponding to his philosophical, political, aesthetic and even national ideas?

Let us note that the background to all these disputes is not simple curiosity. The existence of Atlantis could explain the striking similarity of many cultural features of the peoples inhabiting the shores of the Atlantic Ocean in Europe, Africa and America. And besides, confirmation of the real existence of Atlantis in the past would push back the boundary of human history known to us today by many millennia into the depths of time.

Rice. 31.Image of the Sun in Ancient Egypt during the time of Pharaoh Tutankhamun

Here, for example, is what Valery Bryusov, a specialist in ancient cultures and a man of encyclopedic knowledge, who once published the book “Teachers of Teachers”, wrote on this issue with the clarity of a scientist and the laconicism of a Russian poet:

“That commonality of principles that underlies the most diverse and distant cultures of “early antiquity”: the Aegean, Egyptian, Babylonian, Etruscan, Japhetid, ancient Indian, May and, perhaps, also the Pacific and the culture of South American peoples - cannot be fully explained by the borrowing of some peoples from others, their mutual influences and imitations.

We must look for some common influence at the basis of all the most ancient cultures of mankind, which alone can explain the remarkable analogies between them. We must look beyond the boundaries of “early antiquity” for some “X” still unknown to science cultural world, which first gave impetus to the development of all civilizations known to us.

Rice. 32.Isis. In Egyptian mythology, goddess of fertility, water and wind

The Egyptians, Babylonians, Aegeans, Hellenes, Romans were our teachers, teachers of modern civilization. Who were their teachers? Who can we call the responsible name “teacher of teachers”? Tradition answers this question - Atlantis!..”

Rice. 33. Horus the child under the protection of his mother Isis

According to V. Bryusov, such a country undoubtedly existed:

“If we assume that Plato’s description is fiction, it will be necessary to recognize Plato as a superhuman genius, who was able to predict the development of science for thousands of years to come, to foresee that someday historians will discover the world of Aegean and establish its relations with Egypt, that Columbus will discover America , and archaeologists will restore the civilization of the ancient Mayans, etc. Needless to say, with all our respect for the genius of the great Greek philosopher, such insight in him seems impossible to us and that we consider another explanation simpler and more plausible: Plato had materials at his disposal (Egyptian), going back to ancient times.”

Rice. 34.The priest waters the seedlings that have sprouted from the image of Osiris

As already mentioned, the great interest of specialists in Atlantis was largely caused by individual inaccuracies and obvious riddles that are found in the texts of Plato’s dialogues at almost every step.

The author of the book offers the reader a new hypothesis about the reasons for the death of Atlantis that does not contradict many circumstances... But this is only a general premise. And science, as we know, operates with specific data.

So, let's return to the fundamental questions that arose from the analysis of various sources about Atlantis.

Firstly: what happened in those distant times?

Secondly: where or in what region of the globe was Atlantis located?

And finally, thirdly: when was this?

What caused the death of Atlantis?

No matter what is said, in this case we need to find an answer to such a “simple” question: could the legendary Atlantis exist and perish in such a short time (almost a day?!)

Yes, it could, answers modern marine geology, relying on knowledge about the turbulent tectonic life that literally “boils” on the bottom and surface of the World Ocean. There, liquid rocks erupt through enormous faults in the mid-ocean ridges, underwater earthquakes rage there, islands appear and disappear there, giant waves - tsunamis - roll in, land-based and underwater volcanoes rumble there - our planet continues to constantly change its face.

Historical, archaeological, ethnic, zoogeographical, astronomical and other studies of modern scientists have provided such rich material that the problem of the disappearance of Atlantis can be looked at completely differently than before.

Moreover, experts today see the reason for the death of the legendary continent not in its coincidence with the end of the last ice age and, accordingly, not with the rise in sea level, about which neither Plato nor his contemporaries knew anything.

Some atlantologists, such as Doctor of Geographical Sciences O.K. Leontyev, believe that the warming at the end of the last ice age was sudden and that the onset of the subsequent transgression was “catastrophic” in nature. But numerous data obtained from studies of fossil pollen and plant spores, as well as determinations of the age of organic remains buried in late post-glacial deposits, do not support this opinion.

In this regard, the death of Atlantis, as most scientists are convinced, could only have occurred from unfavorable combinations of random and catastrophic phenomena that occurred at that time.

Today, many scientists believe that in a relatively recent time, IX–X or XI–XII millennia BC. e., a global catastrophe occurred on the globe, which had many unpleasant consequences for earthlings...

More than enough hypotheses have been put forward. It seems to us that today they can be reduced by the nature of the alleged causes to two types: cosmic and geophysical (geological). Here is a short list of these main hypotheses and their authors:

A). Space:

The fall of a huge meteorite to the Earth and the displacement of the earth's axis (S. Bashinsky, O. Muk, F. Barbiera, M. Vissing);

Flight of an asteroid in the Earth's atmosphere (N. Bonev);

Collision of the Earth with the nucleus of a comet or meeting with its tail (G. Carli, M. Kamensky, I. Velikhovsky, L. Seidler);

- the “capture” of the Moon by our planet approximately 10–15 thousand years ago and its transformation into a satellite of the Earth (G. Bellamy, G. Gerbirger, G. Urey, Gesternkorn).

b). Geophysical (geological):

Strong earthquake (L. Seidler);

Displacement of the Earth's magnetic poles relative to its axis of rotation (H. Brown);

Inversion (reversal of polarity) of magnetic poles (V. Golovko, Ch. Hapgood);

Significant lowering or rising of ocean levels (I. Rezanov);

Energy-intensive atmospheric phenomena (typhoons, hurricanes, prolonged rains), as well as volcanic explosions (I. Rezanov), etc. This short and, naturally, incomplete list could be continued...

Let's be honest that today we do not find any reasons of geological origin that could lead to a catastrophic and fairly rapid disappearance in the sea depths of Atlantis. At the same time, the cosmic hypothesis about the death of Atlantis looks quite reliable.

Any of the cosmic causes (meteorite fall, collision with an asteroid and passage through the Earth’s atmosphere) causes an ensemble of geophysical consequences (earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes). Mutually reinforced, all these phenomena could lead at least to the death of a small continent, a large island or a collection of small islands, that is, those formations that, apparently, Atlantis could have been at that time.

In other words, the reason that destroyed Atlantis seems to us to be associated exclusively with... the fall of a large meteorite onto the earth's surface or with its passage through the Earth's atmosphere and the unprecedented catastrophe that followed.

Our planet experienced this tragic event for earthlings about 13–14 thousand years ago.

The consequences of such a “cosmic impact” could be the following most typical incidents: geological “movements” of the lithospheric plates of the earth’s crust, climatic anomalies, increased seismic volcanic activity and other natural phenomena.

Until recently, the weakest point of supporters of the existence of Atlantis was the lack of a reliable theory of a global catastrophe that stopped the existence of an ancient civilization.

In one of his publications, the famous Russian writer A. Gorbovsky said the following:

“...Now, perhaps, what is important is not so much a definite answer about the cause of the catastrophe as various kinds of material evidence of the very possibility of such a catastrophe: traces and evidence that such a phenomenon could really take place.”

The materials cited above by the author of the book allow us to answer this question and draw the following conclusions: a cosmic body that accompanied Halley’s comet or was “knocked out” by it from the Lagrange points in the Earth-Moon system, the diameter of which was perhaps several kilometers, and the mass was more than a hundred million tons, moving at a speed of about 30 kilometers per second, collided or flew into the Earth’s atmosphere on close range from its surface. This apparently happened in the area of ​​the notorious Bermuda Triangle, and happened 13.5 thousand years ago (more precisely, in 11542 BC).

This hypothesis could explain, for example, the catastrophic “turbidity” of the atmosphere expressed above by the German atlantologist M. Wissing.

By the way, this is how the Polish writer and astronomer L. Seidler describes it:

“...It is quite possible that in some areas there was darkness for several days (and possibly longer)... Chemical analysis of the gases formed after volcanic eruptions shows the presence of hydrogen, carbon dioxide, hydrocarbon compounds and argon. Such a cloud brings death to people, animals and plants. Dust in the atmosphere contributes to the condensation of water vapor, and consequently, rainfall. This is undoubtedly the origin of the traditional story of a flood caused by heavy rains.

Together with volcanic dust, the rains formed mud pouring from the skies..."

Such a “turbidity” of the earth’s atmosphere could continue after the disaster for more than 2000 years. Only after this the earth's atmosphere began to gradually become more and more transparent. From the ashes, it was as if a new world was being born.

According to M. Vissing, from that time on, in the memory of mankind, myths about primordial chaos remained in the memory, that heaven and earth were at first a single body, and then there was a separation of light and darkness, heaven and earth. M. Vissing believes that humanity, having survived chaos and emerged from darkness, has lost much of its previous achievements and conquests.

According to modern archeology, the earliest states arose in Mesopotamia and the Indus River valley about 6 thousand years ago. The history of Ancient Egypt goes back 4–5 thousand years, however, at first glance, modern science has not discovered any traces of developed civilizations 8–10 thousand years ago. This fact alone makes many researchers doubt the reliability of Plato's dialogues.

Let us remember that only during the period of the end of the 4th and all of the 3rd millennium BC. e. resurgent humanity made a giant leap in its development - it was then that, as we believe today, the first civilizations and states were formed in several territorially limited pockets separated by hundreds of kilometers.

There were three of these first centers: Egyptian, which arose in the Nile River valley, Sumerian - in the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, and, finally, another in the Indus Valley. All these three societies were the first, in our opinion, to cross the line between the state of “primitiveness and civilization.”

And already in the next historical period - in the 2nd millennium BC. e. - the zone of civilizations has expanded significantly. To the three first centers, many others were added: in the far west of the then civilized world, ancient Greek culture arose, Asia Minor and the Eastern Mediterranean, Northern Mesopotamia and the south of Central Asia, part of Iran entered the general flow of development, and, finally, in the east, in the valley of the Yellow River, it began to form ancient Chinese civilization. At the same time, on the American continent and in many other areas of the globe, other civilizations and ancient peoples successfully developed.

So, we are convinced that humanity needed a very long time (several millennia!) for the losses it had previously suffered to be at least partially compensated. How can one not agree with the biblical legends that the creation of the modern world took place 5–5.5 thousand years before their appearance? But this is a completely different conversation...

The consequences of this catastrophic event for our planet were as follows:

Deviation of the Earth's rotation axis by 30 degrees in the direction of the external force and displacement (shift) of the earth's surface relative to the fixed axis. (Since the position of the planet’s rotation axis in space remains unchanged, a displacement (shift) of the Earth’s surface relative to the axis occurred, that is, the earth’s poles also moved accordingly. This is confirmed by the data of the American geophysicist A.O. Kelly that the north pole at that time was located in the area of ​​​​Akpatok Island in the Hudson Strait);

Movement and “excursion” of magnetic poles;

Powerful earthquakes and volcanic eruptions;

The occurrence of multi-kilometer tsunamis;

Pollution of the earth's atmosphere with dust, ash, soot, small particles of lava and pumice. (This is confirmed by data from an in-depth survey of Antarctic glaciers, according to which about 14 thousand years ago the Earth’s atmosphere was six times more polluted than it is now);

Change climatic conditions on Earth, at least in its northern hemisphere (rapid temperature rise, retreat of glaciers, emergence of the Gulf Stream, etc.);

The appearance of energy-intensive atmospheric phenomena (hurricanes, typhoons, etc.);

Significant rise in sea level, etc.

Yes, there are good reasons to believe that as a result of this global cataclysm, a highly developed human civilization was... wiped out from the face of the Earth, which the ancient Greek philosopher Plato, who received fragmentary information about it from the Egyptian priests, called Atlantis in his dialogues...

Let's summarize the above facts... What do they mean? Accident or strange coincidence?..

But aren’t there many such coincidences, as we have seen, during the ill-fated period for earthlings - the middle of the 12th millennium BC? e. No! All this can indicate only one thing: the death of earthly civilization (we can call it Atlantis) occurred from an unfavorable combination of several unlikely and therefore unforeseen circumstances.

Where was Atlantis?

Plato gave the exact coordinates of Atlantis: opposite the mouth, behind the Pillars of Hercules in the Atlantic Ocean. In the 4th century BC. e. The Greeks thoroughly explored the surroundings of Gibraltar, so there is no doubt that Plato had some information about this area and, in particular, about Atlantis.

We believe that Plato was right in placing Atlantis in the Atlantic, which, as we saw above, according to seismology is still one of the most restless regions of the Earth.

This is what V. Shcherbakov writes about Plato’s dialogues in one of his articles:

“...The most amazing thing is that his writings are so precise in detail that in themselves they already provide food for serious thought. So, from the island of Atlantis, as the Egyptians reported, it was easy for travelers of that time to move to other islands, and from the islands to the entire opposite continent, which covered that sea... Islands in the Atlantic beyond Gibraltar.

Opposite continent. The sea in the proper sense of the word, that is, the ocean. All this in Plato’s text cannot but cause amazement. After all, the “other islands” are the West Indies, discovered by Columbus two thousand years later. The opposite continent is America, discovered by him and his followers. The true sea is the Atlantic.

Yes, the Egyptians knew about all this, they were reliably aware of America and much more (the rest of humanity would only gain this knowledge much later). Is this why the Egyptians knew about Atlantis, that Egypt was the possession of the Atlanteans? After all, Plato talks about this too!”

By the way, V. Bryusov also writes about this fact, but draws attention not to the ancient Egyptians, but to the ancient Hellenes:

“The ancient philosopher writes that Atlantis was located beyond the Strait of Gibraltar and from it it was possible, sailing further west, to get to another continent. But the ancient Greeks knew nothing about America!”

In his book “The Atlantic without Atlantis,” published in 1972, the famous popularizer of science L. Kondratov nevertheless admitted the following:

“...Data from modern oceanology suggest that once in the Atlantic Ocean and its seas there were more islands than now, but they disappeared, absorbed by water, and this can be explained either by an increase in the level of the World Ocean, or by the subsidence of the earth’s crust, or by intense volcanic and seismic activity (remember the “failure” of the Lisbon pier)..."

Atlantis was supposed to be an island directly opposite the Pillars of Hercules. And if we are inclined to favor the Atlantic Ocean, then the remnants of the former Atlantis could be called the Azores, the Canary Islands or, finally, the large island... Madeira.

It (the island) is located southeast of the Azores, closer to the coast of Africa. The capital of the island, Funchal, is located “only” 960 kilometers from the Portuguese capital Lisbon and 640 kilometers from the African coast, 860 kilometers from Santa Maria, the nearest island of the Azores archipelago, and 430 kilometers from the city of Tenerife in the Canary Islands. For experienced sailors, these are ordinary distances that can be overcome without much difficulty even on primitive ships.

In fact, Madeira is not an island, but a small archipelago, covering an area of ​​slightly less than 800 square kilometers and including two inhabited islands (Madeira and Porto Santo), as well as two groups of uninhabited islands, or rather rocks, Desertas and Selvagens, located southeast of Madeira towards the Canary Islands.

The largest island of the archipelago, Madeira, has an elliptical shape. The length of its coastline is about 150 kilometers. The island is a single complex volcanic dome. Its highest mountain, Ruivo de Santana, reaches a height of almost 2000 meters, but there are several other, lower cone peaks on the island.

In Madeira we can find only volcanic rocks, mainly basalts and to a lesser extent trachytes. The nature of the island is very contrasting.

Here you can find both volcanic mountain peaks and deep valleys. The northern coast of the island is steep, cliffs reaching a height of several tens of meters plunge sharply into the sea, while the southern coast is calmer, with many beaches composed of the famous black sands.

The island of Madeira is famous for another natural feature that is relevant to the history of atlantological research. The fact is that in the eastern part of the island there are outcrops of Pleistocene limestone sandstones and sandy limestones. And although these are young rocks of the Quaternary period, they are nevertheless quite dense. Erosion caused by sea abrasion and the influence of rainwater led to the fact that the initially intact structures were broken into small cliffs, pillars and other formations that from a distance resemble the remains of some buildings.

They were once considered as such.

It was very difficult to imagine that nature, especially inanimate, could create such, in the literal sense of the word, fantastic formations. However, geological studies carried out back in the 1930s showed that in this case we are talking about inorganically formed beach formations (beach rock). They are a calcareous rock formed on sea ​​coast from originally loose sand, cemented by calcite or aragonite under the influence of sea and rain water vapor.

This archipelago arose simultaneously in a large fault zone that stretches from the coast of Africa to the Atlantic Ocean. Its islands, including Madeira Island, are the peaks of seamounts, the foothills of which are located on the continental slope of the African Plate.

Volcanic activity here began in the Tertiary period (or even earlier), as a result of which volcanic lavas and tuffs rose above sea level. Then the entire archipelago disappeared under water. The second phase of volcanic activity in these places began at the beginning of the Quaternary period. The erupted lava and ejected pumice again emerged above the water surface in some areas and formed modern islands.

What can be said about Madeira and the possibility of identifying it with the remains of Atlantis?..

Alas, so far no evidence has been found that it was here that any large island sank into the sea; naturally, there is no evidence of the existence of a highly developed civilization in ancient times. And yet, it is sincerely surprising that there are no assumptions about the identity of these places, in particular the island of Madeira, with Plato’s Atlantis. After all, the location of this area is ideal - firstly, opposite are the Pillars of Hercules (meaning the Strait of Gibraltar) and, secondly, the relatively large area of ​​​​the island of Madeira, as well as the presence in its eastern part, as already mentioned, of fantastic “buildings” - All this, it would seem, should have given rise to more than one such version or assumption?..

Let's consider this possibility in more detail.

About 200 million years ago, during the Jurassic era, between the northern continents - Europe, Asia and the southern ones - Africa, India and Australia, there was a huge Tesis Ocean, connecting the Paleotic Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean, which was beginning to open. After the southern continents began to move northward, Tesis began to decrease in size and “slam shut.”

Over the past 60 million years, during the Cenozoic era, the Tesis Ocean almost completely “closed”, and the African plate began to inevitably move towards Europe. This onslaught continues to this day. The frequent earthquakes accompanying it shake the “unhealed” lithospheric seam between Africa and Europe. Here, in the eastern Atlantic, in a zone of huge faults running along the so-called Azor-Gibraltar crack zone, the border between the African and Eurasian plates passes. It stretches west from the Strait of Gibraltar to the Azores.

It is in this geologically complex zone that the place of interest to us is located.

This is a horseshoe-shaped group or chain of ancient underwater volcanoes. It is called “Hosshu”, which in Russian means “Horseshoe”. These flat-topped mountains hidden under the water are, indeed, to the west of Gibraltar, one might say, exactly where Plato indicated.

Scientists who discovered this group of mountains, in particular marine geologists, consider it quite likely that this is a rock formation - the Horseshoe is a fairly significant archipelago, which, as a result of tectonic activity, sank in historical times!

In previous chapters we talked about the study of seamounts from this group of Ampere and Josephine. So, these two underwater mountains are also interesting because, rising not far from one another, they are located on different lithospheric plates. Mount Ampere is located on the African plate, and its neighbor, Mount Josephine, is already on the Eurasian plate. It is quite clear that a detailed study of the boundary between two lithospheric plates can shed light on how the plates move in the area of ​​their contact and how the formation and further existence of ancient volcanoes is related to this.

The underwater Horseshoe Archipelago, located 200–300 nautical miles from Gibraltar, is connected to the surface islands of Madeira, Porto Santo, Deserta, and Gettysburg Bank. From the shores of the Iberian Peninsula to the Atlantic, there seem to be two arms stretching here: one in the form of the Azores-Gibraltar Range to the west to the Azores Plateau, and the second to the southwest, to the Canary Islands.

This place is very “suspicious” from the point of view of the search for ancient Atlantis.

It has been established that Mount Ampere and Mount Josephine were once islands and only later sank into the water. They are broken by cracks, which are located strictly at an angle of 45° relative to the fault zone.

Is this a coincidence?.. If a plate of solid material is compressed with a force exceeding its strength, then, according to the laws of mechanics, cleavage cracks form in it at an angle of 45° to the direction of the main compression. This means that the section of Mount Ampere experienced strong compression from south to north, that is, right where the African plate collides with the Eurasian plate.

The results of deep seismic research obtained in this area along a profile that intersects the edges of both plates just perpendicular to the Azores-Gibraltar zone are interesting.

It turns out that the oceanic lithosphere of the African plate seems to be moving or “diving” here under the lithosphere of the Eurasian plate. Because of this compression, forty-five-degree cracks arise! Moreover, new outbreaks of volcanic activity may be associated with the ongoing compression.

Indeed, volcanic eruptions often occur in the Azores even today. And the splitting of the oceanic lithosphere can cause a rapid and catastrophic subsidence of its individual sections (parts), along with the islands formed on them. Isn’t that how the volcanic islands of Ampere and Josephine went under water?.. On the slopes of Mount Ampere, for example, along with “land” types of basaltic lavas, lavas were also discovered that were formed exclusively during underwater eruptions. These lavas - the youngest - erupted after Ampere Island went under water...

But what about the existence of Atlantis in this area?.. By the way, remembering the presence of supposedly “traces of man” on Mount Ampere, we will still try to speculate a little about whether it could have existed here, on these peaks of seamounts and ridges , civilization... Yes, of course not! Are human settlements located somewhere on the peaks? If we talk about the former civilization, then it should have been located at least at the foot of the mountains or, most likely, on the nearest plateaus or plains.

True, in this case one must still remember that over such a huge period of time (since the death of Atlantis) artificial structures could have changed so much in appearance that now they cannot be immediately distinguished from the general natural background.

Therefore, it is probably too early to draw a final conclusion...

And yet, let’s ask a slightly modified question: is there any reason to look for traces of Atlantis here?

To answer it, you should turn to the opinion of Doctor of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences A.M. Gorodnitsky. In the essay "How Many Miles to Atlantis" in 1988, he wrote:

"Alas! Today, numerous facts indicate that there are no submerged areas of continental crust in the ocean. And this, at first glance, contradicts the existence of Atlantis... Well, continents really cannot submerge. What about the archipelagos?..

The lithosphere formed in the ocean is heavier than the melt from which it crystallizes.

Therefore, the thicker it becomes, the deeper it sinks into the semi-liquid asthenosphere located underneath...

So, the surface of the ocean floor gradually sinks with everything that is on it - islands, ridges and archipelagos. The cut off flat tops of volcanoes such as Ampere are just typical signs of such a dive... And other volcanic mountains included in this system (meaning the Horseshoe seamount system. - A.V.) - Atlantis, Pleito, Cruiser , Hyeres, Erving, also have flat tops and, therefore, were formerly islands.

But, on the other hand, such a lowering of the surface occurs very slowly and cannot be the cause of a sudden catastrophe!..”

Yes, all this is really true, as we noted above, in the case of a calm and consistent lowering. And if somewhere nearby a huge celestial body falls into the water and breaks through the earth’s crust, which leads, firstly, to the release of a huge amount of magma into the atmosphere and, secondly, to geological disasters.

A. Gorodnitsky continues:

“When I estimated at what speed the former islands of Ampere and Josephine were sinking into the water, it unexpectedly turned out that this speed was several times greater than it should be according to Sorokhtin’s formula (O. G. Sorokhtin is one of the founders of the theory of tectonic lithospheric plates. - A.V.). The same traces of rapid subsidence were found by American geologists who studied the flat-topped Mount Atlantis, also part of the Horseshoe system, several years ago...

This means that the islands that were part of the Horseshoe system sank catastrophically quickly, which could not have happened with a simple thickening of the oceanic lithosphere! What made them plunge so suddenly?..

Where the plates collide, the thinner and more deeply submerged oceanic lithosphere breaks and “dives” under the continental lithosphere, carrying the oceanic islands into the depths on its back ... "

Rice. 35.Edgar Cayce

So, it is quite possible that from a global catastrophe caused by the fall of a huge cosmic body into the Atlantic, a huge archipelago stretching from the Azores to Gibraltar broke up and sank into the water, and the legendary Atlantis could have perished along with it?!

Let us clarify that this is only the place where Atlantis could have been and possibly died... And, moreover, this the only place in the Atlantic Ocean, where you need to look for it. I would like to organize a special expedition that would explore the bottom of the Atlantic in the area of ​​​​the underwater volcanic mountains of the Azores-Gibraltar system.

First of all, it will be necessary to find out whether this huge mountainous country was on the surface of the ocean.

And if so, when did it submerge? The question is very important, because if its immersion coincides with the World Catastrophe that took place, then it will definitely become clear that it was here that Atlantis perished!

However, it would not be a bad idea to conduct a search in all, as they say, “suspicious places.”

The geography of searches can be very wide - from the Azores to the southern coast of Greenland, from the seamounts beyond Gibraltar to the Bahamas and further east. It is necessary to examine in detail the areas of the Bahamas, where an underwater pyramid was allegedly discovered (?), as well as the area of ​​the Amazon basin, where 12 pyramids are allegedly visible in a space photograph (?).

But first of all, you need to explore the peaks of the seamounts and the flat areas of the Horseshoe Archipelago. Technically this is not very difficult. It seems to us that it is there, at the bottom of the Atlantic, that scientists will finally find real evidence of the existence of an ancient civilization.

When did Atlantis disappear?

For serious scientists, the date of the death of Atlantis has always been a stumbling block, although it would seem that it can be established very simply. For example, according to Plato it is calculated as follows.

The Sais priests told Solon that 9,000 years had passed since the war between the Atlanteans and the Greeks. Solon's visit to Egypt dates back to approximately 570–560 BC. e. From here the date of the death of Atlantis is determined - 9570 BC. e.

But here is what the Polish atlantologist and astronomer L. Seidler writes about this in his book “Atlantis”:

“...It should be noted that 9000 is a rounded number. It is difficult to imagine that Solon visited Sais precisely on the year of the nine-thousandth “anniversary” of the disaster... We also do not know how the Egyptians measured the duration of these years? It is known that the 365-day year was introduced in Egypt around 4240 BC. e. Before this, the Egyptians used a 360-day year, but from what time we do not know... Having made these reservations and not having information for “amendments,” we will accept 9570 BC. e. as the most likely date of the disaster. And one should not be surprised if the actual date differs from the above by a thousand or more years ... "

Taking into account this statement by L. Seidler, we can, for example, safely say that the time of the “birth” of baked brick is... the time of the possible heyday of Atlantis. Brick, as recently established, appeared in Egypt about 14 thousand years ago. This is precisely the age of the ruins of a wall made of baked bricks found during excavations in modern Egypt.

We have already referred to the works on Atlantis by the American Republican Congressman Ignatius Donnelly, published in 1882-1883. They immediately became bestsellers, since I. Donnelly for the first time aroused serious interest in the problems of Atlantis and, in particular, argued that Egypt was its colony.

Ancient Egypt- a country of secrets and mysterious phenomena - is associated with a pre-existing “proto-civilization”, judging by numerous legends and chronicle Egyptian sources.

But we will talk about this again in the future...

If you agree with the opinion of I. Donnelly, then you can, for example, remember that in the second book of his “History” the ancient Greek historian Herodotus lifts the curtain on the time of some genuine events from the history of Egypt.

Egyptian priests told him about 345 statues in Thebes. This is the number of generations of high priests - this figure indicates the long history of Egypt. Even the great Newton in his time drew attention to the fact that the “father of history” Herodotus had three human generations fitting into one calendar century, that is, the duration of one generation was taken to be 33.3 years. If each high priest performed his duties for an average of this period, then the date of formation of the Egyptian state will correspond to the value of 33.3x345 = 11968 years.

The statements of the priests that they kept counting time - along with important records in all areas - for at least ... 10 thousand years, causes us, at first glance, obvious bewilderment. But according to the ancient writer Diogenes Laertius, who lived in the first half of the 3rd century AD. BC, the ancient Egyptians had records of 373 solar eclipses and 832 lunar eclipses. Calculations show: in order to obtain such data, they really had to conduct observations for at least 10,000 years!.. And the last point, in the Alexandria Library of Egypt there were more than half a million manuscripts. This fact also indirectly confirms the age of the Egyptian chronicles.

Yes, the above figures seem too impressive!.. We are talking about the middle of the 9th millennium BC. e., as the time of the destruction of Atlantis, in this case can no longer go.

The date of the death of Atlantis is 11542 BC. e. is characterized by another phenomenon that we have not previously mentioned - the so-called “parade of planets”. It occurs when the planets gather in a “clump” to the right or left of the Sun.

Calculations carried out, in particular, by Academician G. Morozov together with his colleagues indicate that these “oppositions” of planets (located in the same direction from the Sun) are periods of cataclysms on our planet.

Both identified and calculated, the most complete “oppositions” of planets occur once every 72 million years, coinciding with serious geological disasters in past history Earth.

Cataclysms of smaller scales correspond to cycles of less complete “confrontations” that occur once every 676, 1881 (two-thousand-year), 6305 and 14,596 (fifteen-thousand-year) years. So, the coincidence of these cycles occurred in... 11542 BC. e., having determined everything major disasters that time and, naturally, the death of Plato’s Atlantis?!

By the way, the last two-thousand-year “confrontation” - the “parade of planets” - occurred during the approach of Halley’s Comet to the Earth in 1986.

The result of the “opposition” of the planets is disturbances and gravitational influences:

- “tidal” processes on the Sun, leading to an increase in its activity,

The appearance of “spots” on the Sun

The separation from the Sun of proturberans (clumps of plasma), moving away from it at the second escape velocity,

Increased electromagnetic impact and energy transfer due to solar wind,

- “disruptions” of fireballs and comets from the “Oort cloud”, etc.

Thus, it turns out that the date of the disappearance of Atlantis, which, as we have established, falls on 11542 BC. e., moves away from us in time further and further into the depths ancient world.

One more, last legend

Enthusiasts are still searching for the legendary Atlantis today. They search persistently, persistently... Why?..

For what?..

The number of applicants for the discovery of Atlantis today is not decreasing: they live in Brazil and Greece, in Lagos and Yugoslavia, in Sweden and the Canary Islands, and in other regions of our planet. And this means only one thing: even today people think about Atlantis, and therefore need it.

But why? Do we lack beautiful, exciting legends and fairy tales?.. Apparently, the matter is different...

At one time, Vladimir Mayakovsky wrote: “But only the imagination that on the right there is no land to the pole and that on the left there is no land to the pole, ahead is a completely new, second world, and below you, perhaps, Atlantis - only this imagination is the Atlantic Ocean...”

The poet was right: without Atlantis there is and cannot be the Atlantic Ocean. And not only him!

Let’s imagine that some “terrorist” from the 4th century BC. e. destroyed... all copies of the dialogues “Critias” and “Timaeus” written by Plato - the primary sources (let’s not be afraid of this word!) about Atlantis. The result of this “sabotage” would be worse than the consequences of the actions of the notorious Herostratus...

Modern culture, by the way, would not know many of the works of its science fiction writers, who placed the inhabitants of Atlantis wherever they pleased. Pierre Benoit in his book Atlantis locates the Atlanteans in the Sahara; Alexey Tolstoy in his “Aelita” even transfers them to Mars; in C. Conan Doyle’s “The Abyss of Maracot,” as well as in chapters from Jules Verne’s “80 Thousand Kilometers Under Water,” Atlanteans live on the bottom of the ocean; Vladimir Belyaev’s novel “The Last Man from Atlantis” shows the most interesting, although, of course, fictitious picture of the death of Atlantis.

There would be no interesting articles and poems by V. Bryusov, many other works of literature, cinema, popular science... And most importantly, there would not be a whole scientific direction of Atlantology, with its passions, hypotheses, searches, expeditions, etc... Others in other words, world culture would be much poorer.

Yes, people have always had an interest in the mysterious and enigmatic. But this is one side of the coin, and the second and most important thing is that people always strive to know the truth, and the real truth in this case is somewhere at the bottom of the ocean. And what is the fundamental significance of the fact that this truth is called: Plato’s Atlantis or Aegean, Arctida or Lemuria, Pacifida or Hawaii, or something else?..

No, Plato was not an inventor, but a wise and perspicacious oracle, who, apparently, left us the legend of Atlantis for a reason...

I think that if there had not been Plato’s dialogues about Atlantis in the history of mankind, then some other legend or narration by another author would have appeared, but the legend of Atlantis would still have existed and continued to live!

Let's summarize... Plato's story is mostly true. The Egyptians told Solon about ancient Atlantis - a powerful state or set of states that left their traces in the history of mankind in the form of megaliths, menhirs and dolmens on the shores of many coastal countries.

Atlantis, whose metropolis was located in the Atlantic Ocean, was a powerful maritime power. Its colonies were located in Europe, Africa, Asia, America and... Antarctica.

It is possible that this circumstance can explain the contours of the continents depicted on the ancient maps that have come down to us, which were compiled taking into account the information left by the Atlanteans.

Now we know when and why Atlantis died: as a result of either the passage of Halley’s comet or its fragments at a very close distance from the Earth, or from the collision of our planet with a fragment of this comet or with one of the giant meteorites accompanying it.

But Plato simply could not know the achievements of the Atlantean civilization in science, technology and culture.

Plato apparently based his story about Atlantis on a description of a city on the island of Santorini, which was destroyed by an explosion about 1000 years earlier during a volcanic eruption. In other words, Plato could “combine” in his dialogues the information he had: ancient Egyptian, Mycenaean-Cretan and others.

This is exactly what M. Romanenko talks about in the article “Alternative: Aegean Option”, published in the magazine “Technology for Youth” No. 7, 1981:

“The eruption of Santorini took place: it was this that destroyed the Cretan civilization. This is a reliable fact... But the fall of the asteroid Muka into the Atlantic is also a fact, and no less reliable!

So, maybe both disputing sides are right? Maybe the “legends of deep antiquity” combine memories of the cataclysm in the Atlantic and more recent (“only” thousands of years ago) information about the explosion in the Aegean Sea?”

But why do Plato’s dialogues talk about the death of not only the Atlantean empire, but also the islands they inhabited, which sank into the water? After all, the Minoan civilization did not so much perish as fade away, and the island of Crete itself did not disappear into the depths of the sea? And one more, perhaps the last question: is it necessary to connect all the amazing events that seem to us (from the Flood to the history of the destruction of Atlantis and the Aegean) with one single eruption of Santorini?

Over the past 100 years alone, humanity has witnessed several disasters, each of which could have been disastrous for isolated civilizations of antiquity. This is the explosion of the Krakatoa volcano and the eruption of the Chichon volcano in Mexico, which affected the climate of many regions of the Earth. It is worth remembering here the huge tidal wave that hit the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta in 1969 and claimed the lives of more than 150 thousand people. In the same series are earthquakes in Central America, Central Asia, the Tyrrhenian Sea and other parts of our planet, terrible in their tragic consequences.

So, everything falls into place. One Atlantis (Platonida itself) perished in the Atlantic approximately 11–12 thousand years before the era of Solon, and the other, which we above called the Aegean, disappeared into the abyss of the Mediterranean Sea approximately 1100 years before the creation of Plato’s dialogues, which are still considered literary works...

Thus, only a few adjustments need to be made to Plato's dialogues. The island of Atlantis itself was much smaller than the ancient Greek thinker told us. But the Minoan Empire, within which the Aegean culture flourished, was even larger. And the Aegean art that was revealed to us in the excavations turned out to be more beautiful, more perfect, more subtle than we could have imagined after reading Plato’s dialogues.

It seems to us that the “discovery of Atlantis” as it was or is imagined by the “hot heads” of atlantologists is impossible. Still, the Atlantis that Plato described in detail in his dialogues did not exist. But in many areas of the globe, on the seabed, there still lie undiscovered cities of the Atlanteans or their immediate descendants, who died as a result of a global catastrophe and which our civilization has yet to discover.

We must continue to search for Atlantis, although they have been searching for it for more than one millennium. The latest effective technology for underwater research could significantly reduce the time required for these searches. For this purpose, it is necessary to examine in detail many areas of the World Ocean.

However, it is not enough for archaeologists to descend, for example, to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. They require unusually labor-intensive and complex excavations at great depths. Now this is an impossible task.

But when humanity copes with the difficulties of our era and is able to spend more energy and money on underwater research, it will undoubtedly cope with archaeological excavations at the bottom of various oceans. Then many amazing secrets of our civilization can be revealed, including the secret of Plato’s Atlantis.

It rarely happens in historical science that several controversial issues are resolved so easily at once.

But, as happens all the time, having solved some problems, it is necessary to solve others: new and more complex ones. And the final solution to the problems of Atlantology depends on the efforts of scientists from various fields.

Sooner or later, earthly science will reveal the secret of Atlantis, because humanity’s desire for knowledge is unstoppable.

Well, if Atlantis turns out to be a myth, it will still remain part of the history and culture of modern humanity. It will always be a stimulating factor for researchers of the most ancient civilizations on earth, and a constant theme for science fiction writers and poets. Atlantis will always be with us!..

Everyone knows that the mysterious island civilization of Atlantis was first mentioned by Plato. According to him, Atlantis existed nine thousand years before the time when the philosopher himself lived, that is, it was incredible ancient history. A utopian island kingdom that had enormous sea power disappeared underwater in just one day. For centuries, various writers, historians, scientists and explorers have debated whether Atlantis existed and, if so, where it might have been located.

Atlantis - Mid-Atlantic continent that suddenly sank

Until the end of the nineteenth century, the idea that Atlantis might have been a real historical site rather than a legend invented by Plato was hardly raised. In 1882, writer Ignatius Donnelly, in his book Atlantis: The World Before the Flood, theorized that the scientists of the time were not advanced enough to create all the inventions, so they were most likely passed down by the more advanced civilization of Atlantis. Assuming that the Atlantic Ocean was only a couple of hundred feet deep, Donnelly wrote that Atlantis was sunk exactly where Plato described it. However, modern oceanography has already refuted such a theory, largely due to knowledge about the movement of tectonic plates, but many still believe exactly what Donnelly thought about this.

Atlantis was swallowed up by the Bermuda Triangle

Inspired by Donnelly's work, many writers began to create their own theories regarding what might have happened to Atlantis. One of them was Charles Berlitz, who in the seventies of the twentieth century stated that Atlantis was a real continent, which was located near the Bahamas. And he suggested that the reason for the disappearance of the continent was the famous Bermuda Triangle, which became the site of the mystical disappearance of a large number of ships.

Atlantis is Antarctica

In his 1958 book, another author, Charles Hapgood, proposed the idea that Atlantis was just a much more impressive version of what is now Antarctica. According to this theory, about 12 thousand years ago there was a massive shift in the earth's crust, which led to Atlantis being in a completely different position. And the thriving civilization was doomed to destruction, as it was buried under a thick layer of ice. This theory appeared a little earlier than the moment when humanity learned the whole truth about the movement of tectonic plates - and this truth completely shattered Hapgood’s theory.

Atlantis is a mythical retelling of the Black Sea Flood

This theory suggests that the very existence of Atlantis is a myth, but the story of its sinking was based on real events: the breakthrough of the waters of the Mediterranean Sea into the previously closed Black Sea around 5600 BC. At that time, the Black Sea was a freshwater lake half the size it is now. This event led to the fact that the peoples who flourished along the shores of the Black Sea were forced to leave their place of residence, spreading news of a terrifying flood, which could become the basis for Plato's later narrative of Atlantis.

Atlantis is the history of the Minoan civilization

One of the most modern theories tells of the Minoan civilization, named after the famous king Minos, which flourished on the Greek islands of Crete and Thera between approximately 2500 and 1600 BC. It is believed that the Minoan civilization was the first great European civilization, whose inhabitants built palaces, laid roads and used writing. And at the very height of its greatness, this civilization suddenly disappeared from the chronicles, which made it possible to admit its connection with the famous Atlantis. Historians believe that around 1600 BC, a massive earthquake shook the volcanic island of Thira, causing an incredible eruption. The eruption was followed by tsunamis that were powerful enough to wipe out large numbers of Minoan cities, rendering them virtually powerless against invasions from the continent.

Atlantis did not exist - Plato invented it

Most historians and scholars have for many years concluded that Plato's story of the lost civilization of Atlantis is a fiction. The philosopher created Atlantis as his version of an ideal civilization and made its disappearance look like a cautionary tale about how the gods punished humans for their arrogance. There is no written evidence for the existence of Atlantis other than Plato's writings - even among the many surviving texts found in ancient Greece from the time Plato lived. Moreover, despite enormous progress in oceanography and cartography of the ocean floor, no traces of a sunken civilization have been found.

Plato spoke about the destruction of Atlantis. They didn't believe him. But every year more and more facts appear in favor of his rightness. How are things really going?
Several years ago, one of my friends wrote a fiction book about Atlantis - “The History of Navrung”. The book intrigued me, and after reading it I decidedly plunged into the world of Atlantis and everything connected with it.
Studying numerous sources, I grasped what they had in common. And the following picture appeared before the eyes of my mind.

The history of Atlantis began about a million years ago with the rise from the waters of the sea plate on which the Atlantic Ocean and both Americas - South and North - rest. This is how the planet breathes: the lands rise and fall.
About 800 thousand years ago, a fairly developed civilization already existed in Atlantis.
It was a huge territory, subordinate to a single administrative center. But the structure of the power of Atlantis is interesting. It was a Theocracy - the power of the Gods who spoke through people. And the Delphic Oracle is just a reminder of the radiance of Light that was then.
There was a White Island. It was located in the Central Asian Sea, which, with the rise of Asia, turned into the Gobi Desert, and the island became an oasis.
On White Island (just like Buyan Island from Pushkin’s fairy tale) wise people lived in white stone chambers. Books were kept there that described the entire experience of mankind. There was also a powerful school there that taught light to the nation.

Periodically, the wisest and most knowledgeable gathered for service in the central Temple of the White Island and served, as a result of which the Knowledge of how to govern the state descended on them. They recorded this Knowledge and passed it on to managers, who, in turn, implemented this knowledge.

These are the legislative and executive branches of power - only the Laws are dictated by Heaven. And Atlantis flourished. Plato describes this theocracy as the highest type of state, where there is the will of the Gods, and the King is God's anointed one who carries out the will of Heaven. As I understand it, this model was the main one in Atlantis, and it is probably very strong in the minds of people, since so much has been said about it.

The world prospered, people worshiped the Cosmos (later the philosophy and worldview of the Atlanteans smoothly passed into the Hellenic idea of ​​​​Cosmos and Movement), and everyone was happy to work under the guidance of the Gods. The gods even sometimes descended from Heaven and walked among people and taught them various crafts and sciences. Truly it was a golden age, and it lasted approximately half a million years. It is noteworthy that the Atlanteans had a different type of thinking, more figurative, based more on sensations and insight than on mental insinuations. They knew how to touch and believe, trusting not their minds, but their own feelings.

But as we know from Hindu philosophy, everything is cycles, and after the Golden Age a smooth descent begins, a fall into materiality. We also know that the use of Powers and Knowledge, which were so developed during the times of Atlantis, largely depends on the moral component. And then the fall of some Knowers followed. They decided that the power of the Gods is imposition and enslavement. And this group became rebels against the theocratic system. They first peacefully and then militarily decided to destroy the power of the White Island over the executive branch, taking leadership into their own hands.

Thus began a period of wars and destruction.
The first big war between rebels and supporters of the hierocracy took place about 200 thousand years ago. Formidable weapons were used, and as a result, the continent of Atlantis itself was shaken by powerful earthquakes, and it collapsed, turning into many islands, and was partially submerged in the waters. This is how the straits were formed between the Americas and the islands of Atlantis. In the legends of South American peoples we find that there was a cataclysm in the East (and North American Indians say in the West). The land was separated by a strait, which only expanded over time.

Many powerful cities went under water, and only hills and mountains remained above the ocean.
During this first grandiose war, the rebels were destroyed, some of them escaped, and a new religion, a new worldview was born in Atlantis, which differed from the first in the Doctrine of the perfect man as a co-worker of the Cosmos. This is how priests appeared, speaking about everyone’s responsibility before the Universe and about the interaction of processes on Earth and in the solar system. This was the first conscious step towards cooperation with the Cosmos, before which a more contemplative model of worship had prevailed.