An A-Z Guide To The Search For Plato's Atlantis

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  • NEWS September 2023

    NEWS September 2023

    September 2023. Hi Atlantipedes, At present I am in Sardinia for a short visit. Later we move to Sicily and Malta. The trip is purely vacational. Unfortunately, I am writing this in a dreadful apartment, sitting on a bed, with access to just one useable socket and a small Notebook. Consequently, I possibly will not […]Read More »
  • Joining The Dots

    Joining The Dots

    I have now published my new book, Joining The Dots, which offers a fresh look at the Atlantis mystery. I have addressed the critical questions of when, where and who, using Plato’s own words, tempered with some critical thinking and a modicum of common sense.Read More »
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Calliste

Santorini

SantoriniSantorini, earlier known as Thera, is claimed by tradition to have received its name from Theras, a 9th century BC invader. It is the most southerly member of the Cyclades group of islands in the Aegean Sea. It is named after St. Irene of Thessaloniki. In ancient times it was known as Calliste (Most Beautiful) and Stronghyle. One source states that for a short period in the 16th century a Jew named Nazi (sic) owned Thera.  A potted history of the island was compiled by Professor Christos Doumas(c).

Many writers over the past century have supported the idea that Atlantis was a Minoan society that was destroyed when Thera erupted violently in the second millennium BC. This is discussed more fully under Thera.

The archaeological site near the village of Akrotiri on the south of the island was closed nearly seven years ago after a ceiling collapsed killing one tourist and injuring six others. Now the site is due to open again in April 2012(a) ironically just as evidence is mounting of increased volcanic activity in the Santorini caldera(b).

Rather unexpectedly, I came across an article about a link between Santorini and vampires by Paul Devereux, not surprisingly in the Fortean Times of April 2013.

May 1st 2019 saw the opening of a new museum on Santorini, called The Lost Atlantis Experience.(d)

*Santorini is also the home of Atlantis Books, which has been described as “one of Europe’s most enchanting bookstores” and has now become a tourist attraction in its own right.(e)*

(a) https://greece.greekreporter.com/2012/04/10/the-archaeological-site-of-akrotiri-in-santorini-to-reopen/

(b) https://greece.greekreporter.com/2012/03/13/volcanic-island-of-santorini-shows-activity/

(c) https://www.noteaccess.com/APPROACHES/AGW/SanHistory.htm

(d) https://www.atlantis-scout.de/atlantis_newsl_archive.htm

*(e) https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/27/books/atlantis-books-bookstore-santorini.html*

Fire in the Sea: The Santorini Volcano

Fire in the Sea: The Santorini Volcano: Natural History and the Legend of Atlantis [428] was written by the German, Walter Friedrich, who is now Professor of Geology at the University of Aarhus in Denmark. The book has now been translated by American Professor of Geology, Alexander McBirney.

The book tells the story of one of the most famous islands in the Aegean, Santorini, and its possible connection with the even more famous Atlantis. Santorini has had many names over the millennia; to the ancient Greeks it was Calliste, later becoming Thera and today is Santorini, from the Italian, Santa Irene.

The island of Thera exploded in the second millennium BC with a degree of ferocity, that fortunately, has not been seen since, with the exception of the 1815 explosion on the Indonesian island of Tambora. It not only devastated the island itself, but probably led to the collapse of the Minoan civilisation centred on nearby Crete. This is disputed by some, who date the Minoan collapse to around one hundred and fifty years before the Theran eruption(s). Its effects were felt across large swathes of the Eastern Mediterranean region leading to crop failures and civil unrest. The eruption has been linked with the Biblical plagues of Egypt, but this is still the subject of debate as is the precise date of the eruption/s.

Friedrich considers the evidence for linking Atlantis with Thera and concludes that the question is still open and may be resolved through the ongoing excavations on the island at Akrotiri and in the Nile Delta.

The focus of the book is on the geology of the island and is written in a very readable style and excellently illustrated. Geologists, historians and the general public will find this a fascinating tome. It is a must for anyone interested in the history of the eastern Mediterranean and Atlantis.