City of Atlantis: Legend or Reality? – Immortal Monday

Image via Wikipedia

In the wake of Sandy, Immortal Monday is stepping back and taking a look at the legendary city of Atlantis, believed to be destroyed by nature’s fury. Historians and adventurers have searched for her for so long that many have thought the city to be nothing more than a myth. So famous is the legend of Atlantis that it has made its way into a plethora of books, movies and television shows.

Based on Plato’s detailed description of the long lost kingdom, the search had often focused on the Mediterranean and Atlantic, assuming that would be the best possible location. The writings of Plato are over 2600 years old and talk of an island situated in front of straits referred to as Pillars of Hercules, so it was only logical most searches focused in the same areas.

Atlantis was destroyed by a great Tsunami.

Tsunamis are not uncommon in the region. In fact, they have been documented in the area for centuries. But a Tsunami that would bury and entire city? Could Atlantis be real? At one time many thought the city of Troy to be myth. But in 1868 a German American explorer located the site, after reading Iliad and taking its words as truth. He followed the clues to the city of Troy’s location.

Between 2009 and 2010, with the aide of satellite, deep-ground radar, digital mapping, and underwater technology, Richard Freund, a professor from the University of Hartford, Connecticut and his team set out in search of Atlantis. Satellite photos had their search focus just north of Cadiz, Spain where it appeared an ancient city may have been buried in the vast marshlands of the Dona Ana Park. The significant feature of the site was that the buried city looked to be multi-ringed as Atlantis is described.

When measurements between structures on the grid where checked, they matched with what Plato had given for the monuments within the lost city. Excavation of the site will take time and money, as there is a lot of ground water to be dealt with. But small artifacts found on site and inland memorial sites found in recent years lead the team to believe they’re on the right track.

What do you think? Could the legend of Atlantis finally become a reality after all these years? If you’re a writer, has the legend ever inspired one of your story ideas?

If you are interested in taking the time and would like to find out what the team discovered, you can view the footage here in four increments of 11 ½ minutes each. It’s a very interesting watch.

To continue watching, you can view part 2/4, part 3/4 and part 4/4 here.

______________________________________________________________

I was so busy writing, blogging, and playing mom that I blew right through October and forgot to notice it was my one-year blogging anniversary. So – YAY! Thank you to everyone to reads this blog. It’s come a long way since that first month at a thousand views. Woo hoo!

______________________________________________________________

Thor update: He just arrived at Louise Behiel‘s adobe in Canada. We should be hearing from him soon. It’s his last Canadian stop. Where will he go next?

______________________________________________________________

~oOo~

Reminder: this blog will be relocating to a self-hosted site at some point near the end of the year. I hope you’ll follow us to the new digs. My fabulous designer, Laird Sapir, is working her tail off for us. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with.

46 thoughts on “City of Atlantis: Legend or Reality? – Immortal Monday”

  1. Louise BehielLouise Behiel

    Atlantis could be real? Way too cool. wow.

    By the way, thos is struggling in our snow. He’s a bit flummoxed by this white stuff….

    • Debra KristiDebra Kristi

      Wouldn’t that be cool? I’d like to see them excavate it.
      What? Is it that he’s too short for the snow level? LOL! Ah, the mighty Thor isn’t looking so mighty. 😀

  2. Tracey LivesayTracey Livesay

    I like to believe it existed. 🙂 I’ve never used Atlantis as inspiration, but I’ve read several series that have, one as an original take on vampires!

    Congratulations on one year! I can’t wait to see your new site… and maybe get some advice!

    Tracey

    Sent from my iPhone

    On Nov 5, 2012, at 3:11 AM, Debra Kristi’s Blog wrote:

    WordPress.com Debra Kristi posted: “[caption id="attachment_5869" align="alignright" width="300"] Image via Wikipedia[/caption] In the wake of Sandy, Immortal Monday is stepping back and taking a look at the legendary city of Atlantis, believed to be destroyed by nature’s fury. Historian”

    • Debra KristiDebra Kristi

      Vampires in Atlantis. Ha ha. Why am I not surprised? Maybe that’s where they started / landed. 😀

      Thanks, Tracy. I find it hard to believe I’ve been blogging for over a year. I find it even harder to believe so many people read this blog. LOL!

  3. Diana BeebeDiana Beebe

    Atlantis has always been one of my all-time favorite mysteries! Love it! I wrote a novella years ago with Atlantis in mind (it was modern times with underwater descendents). It was also a mess of a book. LOL.

    I’m going to have to take time to watch all four videos. I love watching how people speculate and search for “holy grails.”

    I’ve often wondered why Plato was the only ancient writer who wrote about Atlantis. Could he have been a science fiction writer? LOL. I think there must have been a city. The world changes so much and lost cities are being found in jungles and oceans.

    • Debra KristiDebra Kristi

      Oh! One of mine as well. I am super curious about it. A messy novella about Atlantis, huh? Maybe you’ll feel like cleaning it up someday. I thought about writing about it at some point, but this info kind of changes my thoughts a bit. Buried in a marsh doesn’t fit with being at the bottom of the ocean with merpeople. I hope you take time to watch the videos. I thought they went by pretty quickly and I found them rather interesting.

      I agree with you about Plato and the City. Look at the city of Troy example. We see other examples often enough not to dismiss this one.

      • Diana BeebeDiana Beebe

        The discovery of Troy is fascinating! You’ve got me all giddy with the possibilities of Atlantis. 🙂

        I’ve often thought about cleaning up that book. It’ll have to be someday and with massive rewrites. I think I’d have to start over. There are very dark elements to it that I wasn’t ready to write then–could be interesting now. Hmm… Going to watch those videos now.:-)

        • Debra KristiDebra Kristi

          Giddy is good! Oh! I saw your blog pop up when I hoovered over your name. It has reminded me how mad I am at myself for not mailing my absentee ballot in on time. Now I have to go stand in line at the elementary school after dropping my kids off in order to vote in the morning. I like mailing it in so much better. You can call it lazy, I call it convenient.

          If you ever decide to clean up that book you’ll have to let me know. Maybe blog about it. Speaking of books…what did you ever decide about Unbecoming?

        • Diana BeebeDiana Beebe

          I hope your voting experience went well today! If I decide to revamp that book, I will definitely let you know. I haven’t read Unbecoming yet, but I will–I’m looking forward to it. My daughter has banished me from reading fiction until I finish writing about 13K words. She means business.

          • Debra KristiDebra Kristi

            That’s a good banishment. I totally understand it, too. I tend to do the same thing to myself. I haven’t been very productive on the word count lately and I have two books here I need to read – want to read. But I will have time on the plane. Soon, very soon.

  4. Rebecca EnzorRebecca Enzor

    I love things like this, when we can find some legendary thing and prove it was real. The Atlantis mythology is one of those great stories that could very well be true (although I read something once about Cuba being the real Atlantis – so who knows if we’ll ever find the place that we know for sure is Atlantis).

    I have a novel set in the distant future in which Atlanta has become Atlantis, and the only way they can keep it from submerging is with massive walls to hold back the water.

    • Debra KristiDebra Kristi

      Doesn’t it just make you want to be on that exploration team? That would be so amazing! I think people have wanted to believe in Atlantis so badly for so long that they have theorized about multiple locations. Your novel idea sound pretty cool. And in light of what we just experiences, it kind of hits home. Think of Katrina and the walls. Very real.

  5. vb holmesvb holmes

    Look forward to viewing the videos–thanks for posting them.

  6. susielindaususielindau

    Congrats on your blogiversary!
    I saw a story on Atlantis and how they found a wall and foundations under water. So very cool! Anything is possible!

    • Debra KristiDebra Kristi

      Thank you, Susie. Can you believe I didn’t even notice until it was behind me? It’s like forgetting your birthday, almost.
      I believe I saw that same show you are talking about. I was so enthralled. Of course they never showed us more than the wall and a large broken pot, I think. This looks much more convincing, if today’s technology can be trusted.

  7. EmmaEmma

    I’d love if it was real, quite possible. Beautiful Santorini is said to to be the lost city of Atlantis.

    • Debra KristiDebra Kristi

      So many stories about where the lost city is today. People love a mystery. It would be great if that mystery was solved in our lifetime.

  8. Coleen PatrickColeen Patrick

    I remember being fascinated with the concept of Atlantis as a Kid. Although I don’t think I knew it was because of a tsunami. Fascinating!

    • Debra KristiDebra Kristi

      I used to think it was due to an earthquake or something. I don’t know where I got that idea. Glad I learned better as I grew older.

  9. Jennifer Jensen (@jenjensen2)Jennifer Jensen (@jenjensen2)

    I remember how amazed I was as a child when I learned that Troy was real. Atlantis? Wow! That would be so cool. Will watch the videos when I get a moment. Thanks!

    • Debra KristiDebra Kristi

      Exactly! And what will the next day bring? 😉 I hope you got to enjoy the videos.

  10. August McLaughlinAugust McLaughlin

    If Atlantis turned out to be real, what ELSE is? That’s what you’ve got me thinking. I hadn’t realized the tsunami bit either. 🙂

    • Debra KristiDebra Kristi

      That’s a very good question, August. I think there are limitless answers to that. Honestly, there is so much we don’t know about this world we live in and its history. I have no doubt it full of surprises just waiting to be found. Maybe Noah’s ark?

      • August McLaughlinAugust McLaughlin

        Ooh, that’d be a great one. The Bermuda Triangle also comes to mind, with a funky, mythical-seeming twist. 😉

        • Debra KristiDebra Kristi

          The Bermuda Triangle fascinates me. I saw a story on the internet just the other day where the theory was an underwater pyramid was the cause of it all. 😀 Maybe it’s an underwater pyramid spaceship!

  11. deborahjhughesdeborahjhughes

    I totally believe Atlantis existed! And I do believe we’ll discover it one day…if we haven’t done so already! It makes for a fascinating study…for so advanced a people, how could we have gone backwards with our technology? Makes me wonder if our own future will wind up like that of Atlantis! I watch anything airing on TV concerning this fascinating city! Thanks for sharing.

    • Debra KristiDebra Kristi

      BK (before kids) I used to watch all those kinds of shows as well. Now I must fight for television time with all members of the house. I hardly bother. I have my internet, when I’m allowed to sit down. LOL. I often wondered about the backwards movement in technology as well. It’s as if that line of people with the knowledge just disappeared and took the knowledge with them. We are the descendants of the lesser advanced civilizations that populated the areas around them. Haha! It’s a thought, anyway.

  12. Jennette Marie PowellJennette Marie Powell

    Very cool – one theory on Atlantis that’s very believable! It’ll be interesting to see what else they unearth.

    My upcoming release deals with a much newer legend — Hangar 18, where the aliens and wreckage from Roswell was taken before Area 51… 😀

    • Debra KristiDebra Kristi

      Area 51 was another spot of fascination for me. I was watching a video where a guy had claimed he’d found Atlantis on Google earth. He had it over by Hawaii, I believe. Everyone was knocking him down as to it being Atlantis, but there was clearing something under the water. Everyone agreed to that. A buried city that technology picks up if you know where to look. Someone came on and said that if you looked at area 51 the right way you would see grid work under the earth that went on for an area much larger than the base itself. Rather curious. Almost makes you want to give Google earth a try and take a closer look at that base now doesn’t it?

      I recall reading a snippet about this book. It had me very intrigued. 😀

  13. Marcy KennedyMarcy Kennedy

    I’m sorry I’m a day late commenting on this. Atlantis is one of my favorite stories. While I’m sure there’s a lot of myth mixed in with truth, I actually do believe Atlantis existed somewhere at some time. I don’t know when or if it will happen, but Atlantis is on my list of “want to write a story about someday” ideas.

    • Debra KristiDebra Kristi

      Don’t be sorry, we all get busy. This falls under that same category of stuff we discussed before. What was it when we said everything stemmed from some basic truth? Was it the dragon post? I have a lot of faith in you. I have no doubt that you will write that story, Marcy.

  14. tedstrutztedstrutz

    HAPPY BLOGDAY, Debra!!! Nice post on Atlantis.

    One question??? What did Thor do to be sent to Canada?

  15. Serena Dracis, AuthorSerena Dracis, Author

    Love me some Atlantis and ancient history! Awesome post! Yes to inspiring novels and blog posts. I have one on ‘lost cities’ coming up. Happy Blog Day to you! Here’s to many, many more years my friend!

    • Debra KristiDebra Kristi

      Ooh! I look forward to that post. Thanks for the blog birthday wishes and for stopping by.

  16. Melinda VanLoneMelinda VanLone

    Oh this is so cool! I do hope it’s real! It does inspire me in many ways but hasn’t made it into one of my stories. Yet.

  17. Karen RoughtKaren Rought

    I had no idea they were that close to finding out if Atlantis was real or not. That’s fantastic! I’m always intrigued by stories of lost cities or artifacts. They’re so mysterious and enticing, how could you NOT be inspired by that?

    Also, congrats on the blogiversary! I’m so happy to have found your blog all those months ago. As I’ve said a million times, I’m sure, Immortal Mondays is my favorite blog series and everything else that comes out of here is stellar. Here’s to another great year for you, Debra! *hugs*

  18. Naomi BaltuckNaomi Baltuck

    Hi Debra,
    Congratulations on your blogiversary! Today’s is another great post. I remember reading about this–it is the sort of story that I can be very excited about, like finding the remnants of the lost Roman legion in China, in a tiny secluded village of redheads whose DNA confirms ancient Latin blood. There is still wonder and mystery in the world. They said Troy was only a legend until they found the ruins. Finding The Lost City of Atlantis is SO exciting!

    Reply
    November 27, 2012
    • Debra KristiDebra Kristi

      Isn’t it though? I love when things like this happen. Thanks, Naomi.

      Reply
      November 28, 2012
  1. Armageddon-Proof Survival Pod Proves a Big Hit | CNT News
  2. Archeology and Ancient Advanced Technology « Kindredspirit23's Blog

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badge