In the seventh century B.C., Egyptian priests told the Greek statesman Solon the story of Atlantis, a utopian island community that had fallen into the Atlantic Ocean more than 9,000 years before. Around 355 B.C., the Greek philosopher Plato made the first written mention of Atlantis, basing his account on the priests’ tale. Plato’s account sparked centuries of speculation as to whether Atlantis had existed and, if so, where.

In his dialogues the Timaeus and the Critias, Plato wrote that Atlantis was larger than Asia Minor and Africa and described its civilization as wealthy and productive. Advanced in engineering and architecture, the society was governed by an ideal political system. Its once-peaceful people, however, became greedy and set out to dominate the Mediterranean world, conquering many lands before finally falling to rival Athens. As punishment from the gods, Atlantis was ravaged with earthquakes and floods, causing the island to sink in a single day and night.

Many scholars believe that the legend may derive from an actual disaster that befell the island of Thera in the Aegean Sea. Around 1500 B.C., an enormous volcanic eruption destroyed most of Thera and set off earthquakes and tsunamis that in turn struck the larger island of Crete, devastating Minoan civilization on both islands. Expeditions to find Atlantis, however, have proved unsuccessful.

PostScript: The legend of Atlantis has aroused popular fascination, generating many spectacular theories. One posits that the Garden of Eden was located in Atlantis. Another suggests that American Indians migrated to the New World by way of the lost continent.