According to ancient myth, the name of a vast island continent, and the many civilizations which flourished on it, before being destroyed in a cataclysm.
The name Atlantis literally means “Daughter of Atlas” and, according to legend, it was actually the chief city of the island of Atlas, and capital of the Atlantean Empire.
The island of Atlas was named after its chief mountain, a dormant volcano, and its most important city and imperial capital was Atlantis, arranged in alternating rings of land and water interconnected by canals.
The tale of Atlantis has captivated people for thousands of years. According to the so-called Atlantists, it vanished from the face of the earth in a day and a night, and so complete was this devastation that Atlantis sunk beneath the ocean, taking with it every trace of its existence.
Atlantis: Secret Star Mappers of a Lost World
~ DVD ~
Lost Human History! Submerged Megalithic Sites! Ancient Advanced Technology! Discover the hidden secrets of a timeless mystery in this fascinating film about the origins of Atlantis. Scientists are now discovering at the bottom of the earth's oceans stunning evidence of Atlantis that pre-dates the last ice age. Submerged megalithic sites have been discovered that may be the remains of this lost ancient civilization. Packed with bonus features and expert analysis. Filmed and Produced in HD.
Is it just a fairy story? Of all the mysteries that shimmer in the realm of the unknown, just outside the grasp of scientific proof, few can claim the continuing fascination of lost lands and vanished civilizations, especially those that are said to have slipped beneath the dark waters of the sea.
Legends of sunken lands, islands and continents abound in ancient peoples mythology. Celtic lore is rife with these stories, such as the tales of Lyonesse, of Avalon from Arthurian legend, of the lost French city of Ys, the disappearing low-lying island of Lomea, and of Ireland's Tir-fo-Thuin, the "Land Under Wave."
Germanic peoples also have their share of sunken lands legends, in particular the one about the pre-historic island-kingdom of Atland, which supposedly sunk beneath the North Sea. In the Americas as well, native folklore tells of sunken lands, from which infinitely wise mentors to their civilizations — specifically the Aztecs, Mayans and Incas — escaped from impending doom. And we must also not forget Mu, the lost continent supposed to have been situated in the Pacific, Lemuria, the legendary vanished continent allegedly located in the Indian Ocean, and the universal flood myths.
In the numerous legends regarding Atlanteans more often than not they were portrayed as an ideal society that enjoyed an abundance of natural resources, great military power, splendid building and engineering feats, and intellectual achievements far advanced over those of other lands and peoples — and how eventually their superior civilization was destroyed by either their misuse of power or as punishment for moral decay.
In the Middle Ages few doubted that Atlantis had existed. Many theories suggesting the exact location of the lost island have been advanced (most focusing in the area currently occupied by the Atlantic Ocean), and the nature of its utopian political system has been discussed extensively. Explorers have traveled thousands of miles looking for traces of its culture and over forty locations for the site have been identified around the globe, but no real evidence of its existence has ever been discovered.
Plato gave the first account of Atlantis in various dialogues around 350 BC, describing the Atlanteans as a wealthy, successful, politically advanced and militarily powerful society that overrun Europe with their armies, being only defeated and repulsed by the Greeks.
Shortly afterwards an earthquake caused Atlantis to sink beneath the ocean. Plato recounts the story of Egyptian priests who 200 years earlier had portrayed Atlantis as a powerful island empire seeking to dominate the Mediterranean world more than 9,000 years before Plato's time. The island was supposed to be larger than Libya and Asia Minor combined and to have been located in the Atlantic Ocean, west of the Pillars of Hercules.