The End of Atlantis: New Light on an Old Legend

In the fifteenth century BC, a volcanic eruption of exceptional violence occurred on the island of Santorini. Did this mark the destruction of Atlantis, the story of which Plato gave to the world? The Author with scientific help suggests the real truth. It is a double story - of a legend, Atlantis; and of Cataclysm.

General Editor’S Preface 7

Introduction 9

I PLATO’S ACCOUNT OF ATLANTIS 12

Atlantis: fact or fiction ? 12

The historical element in Greek myths & legends 13

The short account of Atlantis in Plato’s Timaeus 33

Solon in Egypt 35

Plato’s attitude to the Atlantis legend 36

A summary of the longer account of Atlantis from Plato’s Critias 38

II ATLANTIS & MINOAN CRETE 41

The Atlantic location of Atlantis 41

The Minoan hypothesis 46

The volcanic destruction of Minoan Crete 57

III THERA & ITS VOLCANO 58

The island of Thera 58

The chronology of the Bronze Age eruption 63

The nature & intensity of the Thera eruption: the evidence of Krakatoa 74

The evidence of deep-sea cores 84

Thera & tidal waves (tsunamis) 87

Effects of the ash fall-out 90

Some subseaptent Thera eruptions 93

IV EXCAVATIONS ON THERA 96

The old excavations 96

The new excavations 100

V AFTER-EFFECTS & MEMORIES OF THE THERA ERUPTION 107

The collapse of Minoan sea power 107

What caused the collapse? 114

The convergence of archaeology & tradition at Keos 118

The evidence of Trianda 137

The Praisian tradition of the depopulation of Crete 138

Egyptian records & the Thera disaster 141

Deucalion’s flood & ancient tidal waves in Greek tradition 145

The Argonauts & Thera 148

Floating islands 152

The fate of the Phaeacians 171

The Minoan 'diaspora’ 173

VI ATLANTIS REVIEWED 176

Appendix 207

Notes 213

Bibliography 217

List Of Illustrations 219

Index 222

E N D 225

Colour Plates 219

I-III 48

IV-VI 66

VII-XIV 108

Monochrome Plates 219

1-26 16

27-58 120

59-84 152

85-100 184

Figures 221

1 Plato’s conception of the terrestrial sphere (after Friedlander), 34

2 Metropolis of Atlantis according to Plato, 39

3 Map of the Thera group of islands, 59

4 Section of the Thera caldera 13 (after Galanopoulos), 60

5 Geological map of the Thera group (after Ninkovich and Heezen), 62 14

6 Chronological table, 64

7 Section of the Phira quarry, 71

8 Map of the Krakatoa group of 16 islands (after Symons), 75

9 Three sections of Krakatoa (after Symons and Williams), 77

10 Map of the effects ofthe Krakatoa eruption (after Symons), 79

11 Map of the Sunda Strait and tidal waves (after Symons), 81

12 Distribution map of the tephra fall-out from the Thera eruption of c. 23000 BC (after Ninkovich and Heezen), 85

13 Distribution map of the tephra fall-out from the Late Bronze Age eruption of Thera (after Ninkovich and Heezen), 85

14 Map of Crete 91

15 Plan of house excavated in 1870 on Thera (after Fouque), 98

16 Minoan-type pithos from Thera (after Arch. Zeit., 1866), 99

17 Plan of the Akrotiri, 1967, excavations (after Marinatos), 102

18 Section of trench Bronos IA, Akrotiri (after Marinatos), 103

19 Map of Minoan influence, 106

20 Kilt detail, tomb of Rekhmire (after Schachermeyr), 143