The search for Atlantis, a mysterious and advanced civilization, was once considered a serious archaeological pursuit. In the 1915 Annual Report to the Smithsonian Institution, French researcher Pierre Termier, a respected member of the Academy of Sciences and Director of the Geologic Chart of France, detailed efforts to find this lost world. However, over the past century, mainstream academia has increasingly labeled the study of Atlantis as “pseudo-archaeology.” The Oxford Reference Dictionary, for instance, dismisses it as such, and many academics seem determined to associate the subject with fringe theories or even dangerous ideologies.
Why has the topic of Atlantis been relegated to the margins of scientific discourse? Some argue that certain factions within the academic community have taken deliberate steps to discredit any investigation into this lost civilization. The reasons may be more profound and complex than merely maintaining intellectual authority. The book The Apocalypse of Yajnavalkya, published in April 2023 by the Library of Cernê, fearlessly dives into this debate, uncovering findings that challenge the accepted narratives. Here, we explore three common myths about Atlantis that have shaped mainstream thinking — and why they might not hold up under scrutiny.
Myth #1: Atlantis Was an Island in Front of the Strait of Gibraltar
The idea that Atlantis was an island located in front of the Strait of Gibraltar, often referred to as the “Pillars of Heracles,” has been perpetuated for decades. This claim is primarily based on a passage from Plato’s dialogues, Timaeus and Critias, which describes Atlantis as “an island in front of the strait…bigger than both Asia and Libya combined.”
However, a closer examination of Plato’s text reveals a different picture. Beyond the familiar passage, Plato goes on to describe a region that could correspond to parts of the African mainland and southern Europe, including the Maghreb and regions from Spain to Italy. The “island” could be identified as Madeira, a sizable island in the Atlantic Ocean that could have served as a naval base for an advanced civilization. The “other islands” may represent the rest of the Macaronesian archipelago.
Plato also speaks of a mainland that surrounded the “true sea,” possibly referring to the African continent, rather than a mythical giant island. Furthermore, the geological feature known as the Richat Structure in Mauritania aligns with the description of Atlantis’s capital city: a circular, multi-ringed formation that could have been shaped by a cataclysmic tidal wave. This location has been inhabited by humans for hundreds of thousands of years, adding weight to the theory that Atlantis was a real place, situated within this broader territory.
Myth #2: Plato is the Only Source for the Story of Atlantis
Contrary to popular belief, Plato is not the only ancient author who mentioned Atlantis by name. In the first century BC, Diodorus Siculus, a Greek historian, wrote about Atlantis in his monumental work, Bibliotheca Historica. He drew from older sources, including an ancient Alexandrian scholar named Dionysius Scytobrachion, who provided a more detailed account than Plato.
While Plato describes the geography and political structure of Atlantis, Diodorus offers insights into the society’s founding family, internal conflicts, religious rites, and more. This suggests that multiple traditions about Atlantis existed, and the story was not solely derived from Plato’s imagination.
Diodorus places the Atlanteans in the westernmost parts of Libya, near a great mountain the Greeks called Mount Atlas, which corresponds with the modern Toubkal in southern Morocco. This is striking, as it aligns with archaeological discoveries of ancient human remains nearby, indicating that this region has been significant to humanity since our earliest days.
Myth #3: The Ancient River System of North Africa was Recently Discovered
In 2015, researchers announced the discovery of an ancient network of rivers beneath the sands of Mauritania, around the Richat Structure. This network, which includes a massive river named the Tamanrasset, would have provided the Atlanteans with easy access to the Atlantic Ocean, supporting the idea that Atlantis was a maritime superpower as described by Plato.
Yet, this “discovery” is not new. Maps from the time of Ptolemy, dating back over a thousand years, already depicted a vast river system stretching across North Africa, named the Fluvius Niger or Black River. For centuries, this network was understood to exist, with some scholars suggesting it may be the Biblical River Pison, which flowed through the land of Havilah, believed by some to be near the western edge of Eden.
The disappearance of these rivers from modern maps raises questions. Were they erased due to changes in the landscape, or was there an intentional effort to forget these geographical features and their historical significance? The implications of such a river system challenge our understanding of ancient trade routes and civilizations, linking Atlantis to both the Biblical narrative and other ancient texts.
Revelations About Humanity and the Lost Civilization of Atlantis
The Apocalypse of Yajnavalkya delves deeply into these myths, challenging the assumption that human history makes sense without considering an advanced, Pleistocene-era civilization like Atlantis. It suggests that ancient encounters between our ancestors and the Atlanteans shaped the religious, cultural, and political institutions that continue to influence our world today.
Who might have erased the evidence of Atlantis, and why? The answers to these questions could revolutionize our understanding of human origins and civilizations. Prepare for a transformative journey through ancient mythologies and modern sciences that could forever alter the foundations of what we believe about our past.
Explore the true story of Atlantis in The Apocalypse of Yajnavalkya, now available through the Library of Cernê.
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