Finding Atlantis...again and again and again...

Ahh...Atlantis.  Plato wrote about the advanced lost civilization of Atlantis.  Edgar Cayce filled us in on some more details about it.  Some people say it never existed and is totally a myth.  Other people think it did exist.  There are some that are not only convinced that it existed, they've seemingly created myths..err..'theories' of their own about it.

There's been numerous occasions that someone has claimed to have found Atlantis.  Ironically, despite the two most commonly cited sources claiming that Atlantis was in the Atlantic Ocean, people have claimed to have found it all over the world.  Here are some of the places people have claimed was Atlantis:

• The Azores - The Azores are isolated islands found in the Atlantic Ocean.  So the location seems to be right based on our two primary sources of information, but that's about all that seems right about it.  Some people think the Azores are the tops of mountains from Atlantis, but this is just speculation.  When the Portuguese discovered the islands, there were no indications that they had been inhabited.
• The Canary Islands - These islands are also in the Atlantic, and the Spaniards did find people there when they arrived.  The early inhabitants of the Canary Islands had brown complexions with blue eyes and blondish hair.  Some people think they may have been related to the Berber people of Northern Africa.  There is nothing particularly 'Atlantean' about the Canary islands though.
• The Caribbean - Edgar Cayce readings have contributed to this interpretation.  Being in the Atlantic, it does appear to have the appropriate location.  However, the Caribbean is generally thought to either be the outer edges of Atlantis, or the remnant of a post-Atlantean civilization after the deluge.  It's been said that Atlantis was originally a very large land mass known as Poseid, and later crumbled into a smaller set of islands known as Poseidia, Aryaz, and Og.  Presumably, the final destruction that Plato alluded to was the destruction of those three principle islands of Atlantis.  So it may be possible that the Caribbean is the outer edge of one of those islands.  Nevertheless, these stories are primarily based on Edgar Cayce readings, and there isn't much physical evidence to support these stories besides a possible connection with the so called 'Bimini Road'.  There could be more evidence, but not many people seem to be to interested in putting much effort into finding more evidence.
• The South China Sea - Atlan.org claims that Atlantis is in the South China Sea.  Not only that, they claim to have found the Garden of Eden, the Island of Avalon,  and several other places there.  Of course, the most obvious problem with these claims is they are all out of place.  The South China Sea is not part of the Atlantic.  Nor is it near the Euphrates, Tigris, Pison, and Gihon rivers.  And I just don't think Avalon is in the South China Sea either.  Just because you can find similarities between a description of one place and another place, doesn't mean they are the same place.  If I describe a big city with tall buildings by the sea, I could be describing New York, or I could be describing Hong Kong.  The description sounds similar, but obviously they aren't the same place.
• Santorini - Some people think the ruins of the Minoan civilization at an excavation site known as Akrotiri on Santorini is Atlantis.  Typically, this is often considered to be the 'inspiration' for the Atlantis 'myth'.  Indeed, many similarities have been found between Akrotiri and what Plato described as Atlantis.  The volcanic eruption at Thera is thought to have been the destruction of Atlantis that Plato alluded to.  However, we still have the problem of location.  Santorini is not beyond the 'Pillars of Hercules' as Plato described.
• Sardinia - Italian journalist Sergio Frau wrote a book theorizing that Sardinia was Atlantis.  He attempted to explain the location problem away by claiming that the Pillars of Hercules were at Sicily, instead of the Straits of Gibraltar.  
• Antarctica - Some have said that Antarctica is Atlantis, speculating that at some point in history, Antarctica was closer to the equator.  At some point, due the earth's shifting crust, Antarctica wound up at the south pole and froze over.  Professor Charles Hapgood of Keene College in New Hampshire pointed out that there are ancient charts that allegedly show the Antarctic landmass as it was before it was covered by ice.  Ancient charts that allegedly show what the landmass of Antarctica looked like before it was discovered (rediscovered?) in the early 19th century is a bit of a mystery in itself, but it's not proof that Antarctica is Atlantis.  

People have also claimed to have found Atlantis in places such as South America, Turkey, Cyprus, and in just about every other corner of the world.  The latest example I have come across is a sunken civilization off the coast of Greece.  The sunken civilization is said to be 5000 years old.  Here is an excerpt from an article about it:

The secrets of a lost city that may have inspired one of the world's most enduring myths – the fable of Atlantis – have been brought to light from beneath the waters off southern Greece.

Explored by an Anglo-Greek team of archaeologists and marine geologists and known as Pavlopetri, the sunken settlement dates back some 5,000 years to the time of Homer's heroes and in terms of size and wealth of detail is unprecedented, experts say.

"There is now no doubt that this is the oldest submerged town in the world," said Dr Jon Henderson, associate professor of underwater archaeology at the University of Nottingham. "It has remains dating from 2800 to 1200 BC, long before the glory days of classical Greece. There are older sunken sites in the world but none can be considered to be planned towns such as this, which is why it is unique."

Read the rest here.

It seems to me when discoveries such as this are made, there are two main schools of thought.  One school says it's Atlantis.  The other school says its the inspiration for the Atlantis 'myth'.  My question is, why do people have to keep labeling underwater ruins as Atlantis?  In a previous post titled Forgotten Civilization, I pointed out that there are probably a lot of prehistoric cities submerged because they were flooded when ice started melting at the end of the last ice age.  But that doesn't mean that every submerged city is Atlantis or the inspiration of the Atlantis 'myth'.  To put it into perspective, imagine if the Americas, Europe, and Asia sunk tomorrow.  Thousands of years from now, people may talk about an advanced lost civilization of 'America'.  But if somebody found London underwater, would they claim it was America?  Would they claim Moscow is America?  Beijing is America?  Would they assume every submerged city they find is America?

Although it may be somewhat ironic, I think the scientific establishment is the biggest roadblock to discoveries of submerged civilizations.  Finding advanced cities that are many thousands of years old conflicts with the Darwinist mythology that they have been trying to dictate to us for decades now.  It just doesn't fit into their timeline of prehistory.  Oftentimes, they ignore the possibility of finding the ruins of advanced cities underwater, or they make excuses that downplay the significances of the ones that are found.  In general, the scientific establishment doesn't seem to have much interest in even looking for submerged cities.  I suppose by not bothering to look, they don't have to worry about finding evidence that proves them wrong.

Sometimes when civilizations are found in the Pacific area, it's said to be a remnant of Mu (a.k.a. Lemuria).  The point I want to make here is that not every submerged civilization that is found is necessarily a part of Atlantis or Mu.  There's potentially a lot of submerged civilizations that are many thousands of years old.  While I think Atlantis (and possibly Mu) may have existed, we shouldn't jump to the conclusion that every submerged city we find is Atlantis or the inspiration for the Atlantis 'myth'.