Cyprus Finest (issue 2, Spring 2018) #8 Cyprus Finest (issue 2, Spring 2018) | Page 25

waters with healing powers, and fertile land produced
a variety of nutritious food. On the island, Poseidon
erected temples for Cleito and himself, decorated with
silver and gold and surrounded by golden statues and
also a luxurious royal palace.
It is considered that the island of Atlantis was
at a considerable elevation above sea level, with a
very steep shore. Around the capital city, the flat-
land stretched out, surrounded the mountains, which
reached the sea. There were legends about this flatland
as it was the most beautiful and fertile place on the
Earth. It was populated with settlements, separated
by the lakes, rivers, meadows, where many wild and
domestic animals pastured.
In Plato’s dialogue “Timaeus”, Critias, who is an
Athenian political figure, narrates the war between
Athens and Atlantis, the story is from his grandfather
Critias senior’s narration, who, in his turn, retells the
story from Solon, who heard it from the wise men of
Sais, in Egypt. The plot of the story goes thus: those
times, when Athens was the most glorious, powerful
and virtuous state, the main adversary was Atlantis.
On the island, a kingdom so amazing in its size and
power appeared, spanning the whole of Lebanon all
the way to Egypt and Europe to Tirrena (western part
of Italy). All the forces of the kingdom were aimed at
enslaving Athens. Before long, however, the devastat-
ing earthquake happened, severe flooding followed it,
and one day the island was absorbed by the sea with
all its inhabitants, Atlanteans. Plato puts the time of the
disaster as “nine thousand years ago”, which is around
9500 year BC.
If there is any chance to find Atlantis, did it die
twelve thousand years ago? It is highly possible that
during the time the walls and the buildings of the city
if they are conserved, have changed dramatically by
the sea, becoming muddy, and overgrown with algae,
anemones and corals; metal and copper have dissolved
and wooden constructions disappeared in some centu-
ries after the disaster. Moreover, in the Mediterranean
area, for these millennia, several severe earthquakes
have happened, and as a result, they may have com-
pletely erased the ruins of the enigmatic island.
Whether Atlantis was a reality
or just Plato’s fantasy, an attempt
to describe the ideal state, we
are unable to ascertain this, but
possibly his disciple Aristotle was
right when he said: “The one who
invented Atlantis, then sent it to the
bottom of the sea”.
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