Discussion starter · a theory from the Credible Theories team
Atlantis was a memory of the Thera eruption
Plato says Atlantis was a rich island sea power destroyed "in a single day and night." Around 1600 BCE the volcano on Thera (Santorini) blew apart an island at the heart of the Minoan world, a rich sea power on Crete that faded soon after. Our theory: Plato or his sources reworked a garbled memory of that disaster.
What fits
- A real island sea power really was hit by a huge eruption and sea waves.
- Plato says the story came to Solon from Egyptian priests, and Egypt traded with the Minoans.
What does not
- Plato puts Atlantis beyond the Pillars of Heracles (Gibraltar), not in the Aegean.
- He dates it 9,000 years before Solon, thousands of years too early for Thera.
- Most scholars think Plato made Atlantis up to make a point about Athens.
Your turn: A real memory, pure invention, or a mix of both?
Read the files first
This is a theory for discussion, labeled as ours. The files linked above say what the record actually shows.
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