The story reads like a fairy tale.
The time is 3500 years ago. A long hazy summer day was coming to an end. The rays of the sun were shining on a tiny island. The island appeared inexplicably beautiful with sun rays highlighting the volcano. The narrow streets were filled with people. Women enjoyed the pleasant evening. They were laughing and chattering.
The evening passed away. Night came. And with time the pleasant, peaceful atmosphere changed into a turbulent, violent one. The sea changed its color. From within the earth came muffling voices. The islanders grew worried. They thought that 5000 ft. high volcano was about to erupt. They thought that the God controlling the violent forces of the earth had awakened from the ling slumber. They did not know that those were just signs of a great cataclysm. And that happened. Their whole civilization was destroyed.
First a dark smoke engulfed the entire island. Then a blitzkrieg of pumice stones occurred. This was followed by ash which poured down heavily. A big bang occurred. The great volcano erupted forming a crater of 37 miles. Into this gap rushed the sea water and the great civilization finished, leaving behind no trace.
The scientists and seismologists see the destruction of the island in this way. According to them the destructive forces must have been equivalent to 500-1000 atomic bombs. According to them the dark ash which fell down on the Aegean must have plunged the entire area into darkness. The deposits of it were found on the remains of the island and the ancient Greeks called it "Kalliste".
Scientists believe that Kalliste is the only particle which can solve the riddle that has made the historians and geographers mum on the topic, which the great Greek philosopher, Plato had extensively described in his discoveries.
According to Plato, Atlantis was a paradise. It was a vast island with green plains and impressive mountain ranges. The island had variety of animals, even elephants and fruit gardens. The island was rich with precious metals alloy of copper and orichalc. The city was arranged in five zones and was built in perfect concentric circles. The ports were served with canals.
Plato always says that the city had a great palace and a temple, which were covered with silver and gold. The interior of the temple was ivory and walls, pillars and floors were coated with orchil. A statue of the God was built with gold. This God, standing on a chariot with six winged horses has been described as the God of the sea and Shaker of the Earth. The inhabitants worshipped this God.
Plato has not only described the good points of the society, but, being a great judge of human nature describes, “When the divine portion began to fade away, and became diluted with mortal admixture… (Society) became full of avarice and unrighteous power”. Atlantis embarked on the career of war and conquests. They defeated most of the surrounding areas. The only power that stood against them brilliantly was of Athens. But the defeat was not enough to teach Atlantis a lesson. After the moral decay, even Gods grew against Atlantis and punished them with severe earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. And Plato describes, “Afterwards there occurred violent earthquakes and floods; and in a single day and night of misfortune… the island of Atlantis disappeared into the depths of the sea.”
According to Plato this happened 12,000 years ago in the Straits of Gibraltar. And from this point starts the great controversy of Atlantis. Historians ask whether Plato's story can be trusted. And then what were the circumstances in which he wrote it.
Plato's story passed from generation to generation. The main source of Plato's story was his nephew Critias. And Critias claimed that he heard the story from his grandfather - Dropides and the latter heard it from Solan, who was famous for his truthfulness and was considered to be one of the wisest law givers and the seven sages of Greece. Solan lived from 640 B.C. to 558 B.C. Plato wrote the story two centuries later.
Solan himself claimed that the story was not original. He heard it from a priest in Egypt. Solan was so impressed with the story that he translated it into a poem in Grrek.
From this account, it appears that the Egyptians knew about the Atlantis or perhaps trade existed between them.
However, as far as Plato's version matters, it was more philosophical than historical. Plato's student, Aristotle believed that it was not more than a poetic fiction. Many scholars think on the lines of Aristotle.
But there are some scholars who believe in the truthfulness of the story. Crantor (300 B.C.) who was the first commentator on Plato's work believed that the account was true. Even Stoic philosopher and scholar Posidonius (135-50 B.C.) refused to believe it as mind's imagination.
