Civilizations and cultures flourish, fade, and then disappear. The Mayan civilization was a perfect example of this phenomenon. Could it be that Atlantis also suffered something of the same fate? However, a sobering thought. Ancient history is full of tales of lost civilizations or treasures beyond imagination. All of them have mystified and captivated humanity since the beginning of recorded history. The images of the legendary city of El Dorado, the Ark of Convenience and the Lost Continent of Atlantis have sent many explorers and archaeologists searching for fame and glory only to fail. Many have perished in their attempt to fulfill man’s destiny to discover the truth behind the legends. Long-lost artifacts, forgotten cities, or hidden treasures that have lain dormant waiting to be discovered have stood the test of time. However, many remain undiscovered. It may happen that man is not yet ready to discover these most elusive treasures in all of antiquity. History has proven over and over again what Plato wrote over 2,500 years ago. In Plato’s writings, he was the first to write about human nature and what great wealth and power eventually do to the human spirit. In almost all cases, great power and great wealth eventually corrupt the individual or nation that wields that power and controls that great wealth. Man to this day is so often corrupted by power and wealth.

However, it was Plato, through one of his final writings, who first awakened the world to the legend of a lost civilization far beyond the Pillars of Hercules, commonly known today as the Strait of Gibraltar. An unfortunate civilization that succumbed to its own thirst for more power, control and wealth. A question for us now keeps occurring. Are we now going to share that same fate? One has to wonder.

History tells us that it was hundreds of years before Plato, his ancestor, Solon in the 6th century BC. C. will hear stories of this legendary island of Atlantis from the ancient Egyptian priests. Although no written account has managed to survive, Solon passed down the story of Atlantis and for centuries the story survived only to be written down by Plato three hundred years later. Atlantis, this Holy Grail of ancient times for the modern archaeologist could be the next find, like the lost city of Troy of ancient Greek legend. Could the remnants of this land that time forgot be under the seabed somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic? Many have tried to locate any tangible artifact that would indicate such a legend was real only to fail.

However, it wasn’t until recently that a discovery of ancient coins was found off the coast of Crete in a sunken ship known to have sailed the waters of ancient Greece around 600 BC. C. This finding caused a new awakening for the search for Atlantis. These coins discovered in the soil of the Mediterranean were made of orichalaum metal, a bronze-like alloy known to have existed during the early Bronze Age. It was found that they were not indigenous to the part of the Mediterranean or anywhere near where they were found. A first link that could contain the answer to a civilization that for a long time was thought to be just a myth. This find attracted the interest of many scholars and historians who now assume that these coins came from a different place than where they were found. Bronze Age coins are the first tangible evidence that a civilized society existed earlier than previously thought. More questions than answers keep coming. Could they have come from Atlantis? If not, where did they come from?

At the end of the Ice Age, the world was changing rapidly. Man had survived and was entering the Bronze Age. An age of discovery and civilized societies inhabited the corners of the known world. Continental shifts separated vast land masses. Could it be that during this change part of the continent of Africa broke away and remained in the mid-Atlantic when both South America and Africa broke up? A land mass four times the size of present-day Madagascar might have been all that was left when the great change ended. A civilization cut off from the rest of the world. With his abundant resources, this isolation became a blessing and then a curse. However, the evolution of the Atlantean society says a lot about all the societies that have followed.

This isolation turned out to be a great blessing at first because they were able to move their society forward without the confines of other warring nations destroying the societies progress. What happens in all wars is a total interruption of the evolution of society for both the victor and the vanquished. Atlantis’ achievements went deeper because the rest of the ancient world had yet to catch up with the advances that were made. For the last 2,000 years, no one really gave much thought to Atlantis. Many thought it was just a legend, a myth, or a story made up by an ancient Greek philosopher. It was not until Ignatius Donnelly in his writings that Atlantis was hypothesized to be the source of most of the important achievements of the known ancient world, such as metallurgy, agriculture, religion, and language. This was the first time that the idea of ​​Atlantis was an actual lost land that time had forgotten.

Many argue that the Maya had the same degree of skills and technology as the Egyptians and Babylonians. Questions have always been raised about how these ancient civilizations came to be so similar. The people’s book, Popol Vuh, the sacred book of the Mayan people that was compiled in the early 16th century is the historical narrative of the Post K’iche Kingdom located in what is now Guatemala. This book claims that there was once an empire that existed only to suffer a catastrophic disaster and disappear without a trace. It is quite possible that the survivors managed to reach South America and Africa.

Despite the fact that some scientists argue that Atlantis is pure fiction, many other scientists and archaeologists agree that there must be some truth behind the myths and have speculated as to where Atlantis might be located. In Plato’s writings, however, he is very clear about where his Atlantis is: “Because the ocean was then navigable; because in front of the mouth that you Greeks call, as you say, ‘the pillars of Heracles, lay an island which was bigger than Libya”. In other words, it is located in the Atlantic Ocean beyond the Strait of Gibraltar. However, it has never been found in the Atlantic or anywhere else.

However, no trace of Atlantis has ever been found. Many suspect that the vast unexplored depths of the oceans could, in fact, hide vast amounts of artifacts, treasures, and clues that would lead to the discovery of ages. To this day there remains much mystery at the bottom of the world’s oceans. It is conceivable that the world’s oceanographers, scuba divers, and deep-sea probes somehow remain unable to locate traces that would ultimately solve the mystery of Atlantis. If the destruction of this land was so intense that time forgot, the remaining remnants may be no match for current technology. Then again, maybe we’re not destined to find it at all.

Atlantis continues to capture people’s imaginations because it offers hope that some day lost ideals or some untapped human potential will be discovered. We may never know what really happened to this civilization, but one thing that history has shown time and time again is that when people succumb to temptations where power and wealth take precedence over benevolence and compassion, those who destroy soon follow. Human history when the wickedness of human beings goes beyond measure, something or someone will eventually lead these civilizations to destruction. Such destruction first occurred with the Great Flood.

To ignore the real Atlantis is to ignore the lessons that human history teaches us. The undiscovered country of human ideals where many other Civilizations followed only to fade and then disappear will repeat itself because we have always failed to learn the lessons that history should teach us. The history of humanity will undoubtedly repeat itself because after all we are only human. Will we ever find all those lost artifacts from ancient times? Again, maybe we never should have.