Hey look, they found Atlantis (again)

[DangerousBeliefs]

Scientist believes Atlantis found off Cyprus (http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1098162.htm)

Well, that wraps things up without providing a single shred of information.

[DangerousBeliefs]

More info found here... from the folks at Hindu News (chuckle)...

http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/holnus/001200404301623.htm

[Jesus]

I'm disappointed that ABC would not, despite reporting this as nothing more than "alleged," try to get a counterpoint from a scientist who doesn't swallow this one whole.

[scotth]

Well, I liked this part.

The alleged discovery has been greeted with barely concealed mirth by the Mediterranean island's tourism office.

[Cleopatra]

It seems that they find Atlantis in Cyprus at least once a year.

Have a look here (http://www.randi.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=27910&highlight=atlantis).

[Aoidoi]

Sheesh, every 6 months they're stumbling across Atlantis. So far I've heard it located:

Several places within the Mediterranean: ignores the description in Plato of it being beyond Gibralter
Cuba: not underwater
That road thing in the carribean: natural formation
Antarctica: a bit chilly, doncha think?

Frankly, I think it was made up as a counterexample to Athenian govenment. But that never seems to stop people from finding it.

[Batman Jr.]

Despite the cynical intentions of Cyprus' tourism office, Atlantis still may very well be out there. Remember, people used to say that the existence of Troy was far-fetched before Schliemann rediscovered the lost city in the 1870's.

[odorousrex]

My mistake, I thought R'yleh had risen finally.

[Checkmite]

The stars aren't right yet.

[Kopji]

The Hindu News article at least got the guy's name right.
It is Robert Sarmast

Useless news "Filler" probably included because Cypress has been in the news recently. - Accuracy Beyond Compare news...

[Archangel]

Originally posted by Aoidoi
Sheesh, every 6 months they're stumbling across Atlantis. So far I've heard it located:

Several places within the Mediterranean: ignores the description in Plato of it being beyond Gibralter
Cuba: not underwater
That road thing in the carribean: natural formation
Antarctica: a bit chilly, doncha think?

Frankly, I think it was made up as a counterexample to Athenian govenment. But that never seems to stop people from finding it.

You forgot Peru...
http://www.atlan.org/articles/checklist/

[Exposer]

I always thought Crete was the inspiration for "Atlantis." Isn't that the going theory with most scientists and non-kooks? It makes sense to me. Minoan Crete really was the epicenter of the spread of modern civilization, if I recall my history books correctly.

[Checkmite]

Originally posted by Exposer
I always thought Crete was the inspiration for "Atlantis." Isn't that the going theory with most scientists and non-kooks? It makes sense to me. Minoan Crete really was the epicenter of the spread of modern civilization, if I recall my history books correctly.

It's a theory, but not the going theory with most, because there's simply no evidence - and could there ever be? The going theory with most is that it's just invented by Plato. To be sure, there was no real "epicenter" of civilization; there were many spots hither and thither which functioned as the centers of their respective civilizations and Crete, while it chugged along, never quite reached the cultural peak that, say, Athens or Memphis achieved.

Besides which, the only similarity between Plato's Atlantis and Crete is that they were both islands - and even in that they differed; Atlantis was much, much larger. Crete's still in the wrong place, and was destroyed in the wrong manner, and at the wrong time.

[Exposer]

Originally posted by Joshua Korosi


It's a theory, but not the going theory with most, because there's simply no evidence - and could there ever be? The going theory with most is that it's just invented by Plato. To be sure, there was no real "epicenter" of civilization; there were many spots hither and thither which functioned as the centers of their respective civilizations and Crete, while it chugged along, never quite reached the cultural peak that, say, Athens or Memphis achieved.

Besides which, the only similarity between Plato's Atlantis and Crete is that they were both islands - and even in that they differed; Atlantis was much, much larger. Crete's still in the wrong place, and was destroyed in the wrong manner, and at the wrong time.

Well, Atlantis is a legend. Who knows what might have inspired it. Dragons are legendary creatures. What inspired them? I'm sure it wasn't anything that would line up "factually" with dragons.

The smallest grain of truth, passed down through hundreds of generations, can be turned into huge legends.

[Cleopatra]

Originally posted by Exposer


Well, Atlantis is a legend. Who knows what might have inspired it. Dragons are legendary creatures. What inspired them? I'm sure it wasn't anything that would line up "factually" with dragons.

The smallest grain of truth, passed down through hundreds of generations, can be turned into huge legends. It's not difficult to understand what has inspired Atlantis if you read the platonic text , once you read the text it becomes crystal clear that it's an allegory. The concept of the story is not that original. Hesiod in his Geneology has a similar story.

[Temporal Renegade]

Huh...the old place sure looks different from the drawings I've seen...

[Quixote]

I'm don't know if it supports or undermines the idea that Atlantis was inspired by a real place, but most people, in discussing Plato's account ignore the fact that Plato was apparently ignorant of even the contemporary geography of the Atlantic Ocean. In Timaeus, he wrote "For which reason the sea [just outside the strait of Gibraltar] is impassable and impenetrable, because there is a shoal of mud in the way; and this was caused by the subsidence of the island."

Shoal of mud?

[Exposer]

Originally posted by Quixote
I'm don't know if it supports or undermines the idea that Atlantis was inspired by a real place, but most people, in discussing Plato's account ignore the fact that Plato was apparently ignorant of even the contemporary geography of the Atlantic Ocean. In Timaeus, he wrote "For which reason the sea [just outside the strait of Gibraltar] is impassable and impenetrable, because there is a shoal of mud in the way; and this was caused by the subsidence of the island."

Shoal of mud?

This is another reason why I would not rule out Crete as the inspiration for "Atlantis".

[Zep]

Originally posted by Exposer
Dragons are legendary creatures. What inspired them? I'm sure it wasn't anything that would line up "factually" with dragons."Dragons" have been assigned to a number of possible sources: Reports of large lizards from the Far East, possibly kimodo lizards (dragons). Chinese fossils of dinosaurs. Maybe the large riverine crocodiles of north Africa and the Indian subcontinent.

The second one would appear to be more likely than it appears at first glance: The Chinese have reported finding "dragon bones" for centuries (dragon symbols appear on metalwork and in art from long ago), and they may conceivably have been the first people to find and reasonably describe whole fossil reptiles (possibly discovered while digging crop fields?). Descriptions of dragons as very large lizards certainly bear a remarkable likeness to fossilised dinosaur reptiles in appearance, although the fierce fire-breathing stuff was definitely artistic license!

Interestingly, heroes of the Middle Ages (St George!) who fought and killed dragons were often said to have gone off into the eastern world to do so, as that is where dragons supposedly resided.

Personally, I would think the crocodile explanation is the most likely.

[Exposer]

Zep, it could be a combination of all those things, culminating in Asia.

I imagine "Atlantis" is also a culmination of many different stories and myths, with some real inspirations, possibly from more than one island.

In any case, the idea of a real "Atlantis" with advanced techonology and all that jazz is cleary no more real than fire-breathing dragons flying through our skies today. :D