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4 comments
Against
AnnaHubbard5y ago
The Lost City of Atlantis is famously written about by Plato, however there are no other existing accounts of Atlantis by any other sources across history. Surely there would have been more than one account from this great and modern city if it were a real place? Instead it appears that the city was created by Plato’s imagination only and was not a real location. It was only in Ignatius Donnelly’s 1882 book about Plato's description of Atlantis where it was suggested the island could have been a real place. However, the lack of any historical evidence of Atlantis existing in a time where modern archaeologists and scientists are able to efficiently discover and analyse evidence raises questions about the legitimacy of the city’s existence. [1]
There is no core scientific evidence that can prove or even confidently theorise that Atlantis was a real place. Sonar mapping of the ocean floor in the Atlantic waters have found no evidence of this city, even though Plato describes it as being as large as 'Libya and Asia combined'. [2] Of course, there are islands which may fit the basic description of the location of Atlantis, such as the Island of Thera; but these locations have no historical evidence that matches Plato’s description of the city. [3] Modern science is able to explore the ocean floor, and if Atlantis did exist wouldn’t it have been discovered by this?
The lack of scientific evidence that can prove Atlantis existed, combined with the limited number of accounts of the city makes it difficult for me to believe that Atlantis is real.
[1] ‘Myth of Atlantis all took place in Plato's mind’, (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/dec/16/humanities.books)
[2] ‘Where Is the Lost City of Atlantis — and Does It Even Exist?’, (https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/where-is-the-lost-city-of-atlantis-and-does-it-even-exist)
[3] ‘Top 6 Theories About Atlantis’, (https://www.history.com/news/top-6-theories-about-atlantis)
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Turi5y ago
This is so sad.
Can't we make one? Or is that what we're doing with Climate Change and Micronesia?
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Mixed
Lucy_P5y ago
**The exact story seems unlikely but we cannot be sure that no ancient city has ever fallen into the sea due to a natural disaster.**
- The myth of Atlantis is , of course, a [myth](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/atlantis). The idea of the people of Atlantis becoming too greedy and consequently being punished by the Gods seems, unfortunately, very unlikely. This is due to many contributing factors, such as the scepticism around God and the supernatural as a whole.
- However, I also believe that there is a bit of truth in most myths. So it could be possible that a city somewhere fell into the sea, and that observers unable to explain why, blamed the Gods (a very common occurrence in ancient history it seems). Of course this could instead be due to a tsunami or earthquake.
- I WANT to believe in Atlantis, because it makes our world that little bit more interesting.
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Mixed
francesca246015y ago
**Although Atlantis did/does not exist the way which it is presented in mythology, there are many lands/islands where people once lived that are now sunken**
- There is evidence of much [land and sea level change](https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-global-sea-level) and also of sunken islands and [land that once was home to people](http://www.bbc.co.uk/earth/story/20160118-the-atlantis-style-myths-of-sunken-lands-that-are-really-true)
- Although we are likely going to have more sunken islands/ societies such as [Kiribati soon] (https://sites.utexas.edu/climatesecurity/2019/12/31/kiribati-policy-shift/#:~:text=Assuming%20all%20global%20climate%20policy,an%20existential%20threat%20to%20Kiribati.) with sea levels rising due to [climate change](https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-global-sea-level#:~:text=Global%20warming%20is%20causing%20global,expanding%20as%20the%20water%20warms.&text=This%20shift%20of%20liquid%20water,largely%20due%20to%20groundwater%20pumping.)
- Although the [ocean is so vast](https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/oceandepth.html#:~:text=The%20average%20depth%20of%20the,U.S.%20territorial%20island%20of%20Guam.) we should never rule anything out
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