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Atlantis is a mythical land, but its fate may have been based on a real catastrophe. Where did it occur?
The history of Atlantis, as described by ancient philosophers, has been a topic of interest for centuries. Although it has been sought in distant seas and oceans, it remains a mystery to this day. So, what did Plato say about Atlantis? In reality, Atlantis may have been located in ancient Greece itself.
“Five days before the disappearance of Helike, all the mice, martens, snakes, centipedes, beetles, and other creatures of that kind living in the city left it by the same road leading to Cyrene. And the people of Helike, seeing what was happening, were greatly astonished but could not discern the cause. However, after the departure of the aforementioned creatures, an earthquake occurred during the night; the city collapsed; it was inundated by a huge wave, and Helike disappeared, and ten Laconian ships that were anchored nearby were destroyed along with the city I am talking about.”
This description was included in the work “On the Nature of Animals” by Claudius Aelian, a Roman writer who lived at the turn of the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. His words are surprisingly similar to Plato’s account from the 4th century BC. Plato wrote about the alleged destruction of Atlantis 9,000 years earlier.
“There were earthquakes and…