Saturday, November 18, 2006

An hypothetical "City of Atlantis"

According to Plato, Atlantis was located 'Beyond the Pillars of Hercules', which means beyond the Straits of Gibraltar (on either side of which the Herculean pillars once stood) and out into the Atlantic Ocean. Many think that Atlantis was merely a figment of Plato's imagination; a pure myth that the Greek philosopher used as a vehicle for his theories of a utopia.

The site Atlantis and Paleogeography, present a wide over view on the Atlantis myth and on advanced scientific researchs trying to reveal the anigma, with some fresh approch that tries to see unity and resamblance between certain myths and science.

the site suggest that "myths(including religious myths) could be said to be proxies for science (like Newtonian gravity is a proxy for Einstein’s gravity). They codify empirical knowledge so that we may use it as a survival tool even when we don’t understand the cause and effect. Science can thus make an historic myth intelligible again, Science is just the process to undo the damage so to say, and mythology has been the vehicle for saving the knowledge. "

Patroclus Kampanakis Map of Atlantis, 1891

Paleogeography offers a way of analyzing the past. It's sources are geology, geomorphology, geography, archaeology, and historic data. While mythology is not a good source of information, the result can be compared to mythology. Thus, paleogeography can help explaining the origin of myths—and occasionally, myths can teach us just how disastrous the effects were of past geologic events.

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