During the course of the 1st International Conference “The Atlantis Hypothesis – Searching for a Lost Land” it became obvious that criteria were needed to help identify the resting place of Atlantis and that all seekers of the lost land should use the same criteria. Otherwise the search of Atlantis could well turn into a search for any lost civilization anywhere in the world. Thus, in a special round table discussion at the very end of the conference, the following 24 criteria, derived directly from Plato’s account, were established by consensus.
 | Atlantis was located on an island.
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| The Metropolis of Atlantis had a most distinct geomorphology composed of alternating concentric rings of land and water.
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| On a low hill about 50 stades inland within the capital city itself, an inner citadel was erected to protect the original home of Cleito and Poseidon.
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| Atlantis had hot and cold-water springs, with mineral deposits.
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| Atlantis had red, white and black rocks.
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| Atlantis was located outside the Pillars of Hercules.
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| Atlantis was larger than Libya and Asia combined.
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| Atlantis sheltered a wealthy population with literate, building, mining, metallurgical and navigational skills.
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| The main region of Atlantis lay on a coastal plain, measuring 2.000 x 3.000 stades, surrounded by mountains which rose precipitously high above sea level.
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| The coastal plain of Atlantis faced south and was sheltered from the northern winds.
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| The Atlantes had created a checker-board pattern of canals for irrigation.
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| Atlantis had mineral resources and a rich spectrum of wild and domesticated flora and fauna, including elephants.
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| Atlantis had a high population density, enough to support a large army composed of 1.200.000 men, 10.000 chariots and 1.200 ships.
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| Within the Straits of Gibraltar, Atlantis controlled Libya up to the borders of Egypt and Europe as far as Tyrrhenia (i.e. Italy).
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| The religion of Atlantis involved the sacrifice of bulls.
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| The kings of Atlantis assembled alternatively every 5th and 6th year to consult on matters of mutual interest and it is during those assemblies that they sacrificed bulls.
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| The Metropolis of Atlantis was destroyed by a devastating physical destruction of unprecedented proportions.
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| Earthquakes and floods of extraordinary violence were the precursors of Atlantis’ destruction.
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| The Metropolis of Atlantis was swallowed by the sea and vanished under the water, following the occurrence of earthquakes and floods.
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| At the time of its destruction, Atlantis was at war with Athens.
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| Atlantis should have been reachable from Athens by sea.
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| After the destruction of Atlantis, the passage of ships was blocked by shallows due to mud just below the surface, the remains of the sunken island.
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| The Metropolis of Atlantis was destroyed 9000 years before the 6th century BC.
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| No physically or geologically impossible processes were involved in the formation and destruction of the Metropolis of Atlantis, but could not have been responsible for the destruction of a landmass the size of a continent. Also, no physically or geologically impossible processes were involved in the formation of hot water springs and in the formation of red, white and black rocks. |
The above criteria, along with remarks and comments, can be found at the appendix of the Book of Proceedings of the 1st International Conference “The Atlantis Hypothesis – Searching for a Lost Land” p. 573-576
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Editor:
Stavros P. Papamarinopoulos
Language: English
Hardcover: 592 pages
Dimensions: 17 x 24 cm
Publication date: October 2007
ISBN: 978-960-6746-01-7
Publisher:
Heliotopos Publications
Price: 75 Euro |
The book of proceedings for the Atlantis 2005 International Conference is now available for purchase at our electronic bookstore
