# Humanities & Anthropology > History & Civilisations >  Was Atlantis an allegory mankind’s deterioration?

## MasterDruid

I've read a theory that the story of Atlantis was written as an allegory for human ignorance and without enlightenment, man falls into chaos, just as Atlantis sunk when the kings became greedy and corrupt.

The theory also states that plato was initiated into a "Mystery School" in the Pyramid of Egypt. Apparently these mystery schools were like ancient versions of the Freemasons.

Any thoughts on this?

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## sparkey

> I've read a theory that the story of Atlantis was written as an allegory for human ignorance and without enlightenment, man falls into chaos, just as Atlantis sunk when the kings became greedy and corrupt.


That's not implausible; Plato used a lot of allegory and (IIRC, I haven't read Plato in a while) that interpretation matches what he wrote. 




> The theory also states that plato was initiated into a "Mystery School" in the Pyramid of Egypt. Apparently these mystery schools were like ancient versions of the Freemasons.


This is rather a separate theory; it doesn't really have anything to do with the first one you wanted to discuss. In the Pyramid?  :Laughing:  I assume you meant near the Great Pyramid, that is, in/near modern Cairo. Plato is known to have traveled (he was very wealthy) and very well could have studied in Egypt. Strabo placed Plato's Egyptian studies in Heliopolis (modern Cairo), although Strabo was not contemporary with Plato.

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## Taranis

In my opinion, Atlantis was a piece of fiction, and there is some evidence that many people in Antiquity considered it to be that, or at least were critical to it. However, that doesn't mean that Atlantis doesn't have true aspects to it. But, these true aspects do, in my opinion not have the same origin. Hence, Atlantis may very well be a fabrication taken from multiple historic places. To me, the best candidates for that are:

- The claim that Atlantis lay "beyond the Pillars of Hercules" (ie, the Strait of Gibraltar) fits for the city/kingdom of *Tartessos*, which was probably situated somewhere in the Guadalquivir river area.

- The claim that "Atlantis sank beneath the waves in one night" may fit for *Santorini*, which expirienced a catastrophic volcanic eruption in the 17th century BC.

- The ruins at *Ħagar Qim* on Malta from the 4th millennium BC.

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## Carlitos

_The origin of this civilization did not have any knowledge, however, one must admit that the main elements of real existence or not of Atlantis from an overloaded story of legends, and they typically enclose a truth that has withstood considerable strain, but whose search is not entirely impossible._


Plato's Atlantis story that the Atlanteans knew the writing. Strabo says Turdetaneans peoples, descendants of the Tartessians, preserved historical records and written in a grammar laws dating back over 6000 years before his time. Academic Archaeology is still not accepted that this was true, think it is a mere invention of Strabo, however, in Iberia have been many testimonies of inscriptions engraved or painted in caves, dolmens, and various objects of bone and pottery which dates dating back over 4000 years before Christ (6000 years BP), although some findings reported by Watelman Fein, Georgeos Diaz-Montexano and Jorge Maria Ribero-Meneses show clear evidence of the use of linear alphabetic writing characters in context Paleolithic. 

Diaz Montexano has identified the characters of an entry in prehistoric bones discovered in La Coruna, Galicia, Spain (The inscription appears reported in "Michel Bouvier, Paris, Cat L'Art de l'écriture, 2003), with a clear sequence Ibero-Tartessian written Tartessian the way - which is the oldest used in Iberia - ie, from right to left and the data are very revealing, because apparently it could be making mention of Atlantis and Tartessos. The inscription can be transliterated as "ATEL TARTO." 

http://www.pressbox.co.uk/detailed/S......_33938.html


A set of seventy sculptures depicting images of men, hominids and humanoids, with more than 11,000 years old, were discovered in the Rio Tinto mining area (Huelva). This finding shows that all these species could coexist in the same time and place that supposedly corresponds to Tartesso-Atlantean civilization.



These sculptures, now concentrated Torrecampo (Córdoba), might have wanted to be a faithful representation of the human races existing at the time: Europeoid, Negroid, Mongoloid and Amerindians. Among the hominids displayed various types of Australopithecus. Regardless of the intent with which these sculptures were made, the truth is that we give a reference about our origin. And these humanoids should maintain a close relationship with the inhabitants of the region, as they were represented as part of the community.



The first geological studies of these sculptures put them at a time pretartéssica from the conventional historical view. However, for the most progressive historians Tartessos was a civilization that developed in much earlier times the officially established for this culture, as seen in Atlantis archaeological testimony, as they believe that society could be the heir Tartessos Atlantean direct ancient kingdom.



*An outsider finding* 


Indeed, there are different types of Australopithecus represented that should have been extinct for a million and a half years, also appears archaic Homo sapiens, who allegedly disappeared 300,000 years ago, and Neanderthal Man, whose last known settlement is dated to 30,000 years ago for academic science. 

The questions posed by the sculptures are very uncomfortable for the official science, because it shakes the very foundations of the concept of biological and cultural evolution. Perhaps this is the reason that explains how, despite its possible significance and historical importance, remain neglected in a small private museum in a remote Andalusian village. 

The authenticity of the pieces. 

The sculpture of Torrecampo has been analyzed by the departments of mineralogy and petrology of two Spanish universities: those of Granada and Cordoba. They applied various analytical and dating techniques, including the X-ray Diffraction and Spectroscopy of Plasma induction. In this way authenticity was confirmed by the following report: 

"The rock of which are carved comes from the ancient quarries of the Late Miocene of Niebla (east of Huelva) and its exterior is composed cortificación oxides and sulfates from wastewater of the mining area, as well as a range of chemical elements hatchery minerals such as iron, copper, lead, cobalt and others associated with them, such as lithium, vanadium, barium, lanthanum and zirconium, from, perhaps, of human activity, both mining and metallurgy. The held in Cordoba analytical samples of these sculptures describe the material that were developed as a calcareous sandstone rich in marine fossils. 

http://www.tartessos.info/html2/escu...torrecampo.htm

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