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Not Exactly Atlantis: Some Lessons from Ancient Mediterranean Myths

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Historical Earthquakes, Tsunamis and Archaeology in the Iberian Peninsula

Part of the book series: Natural Science in Archaeology ((ARCHAEOLOGY))

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Abstract

This chapter starts by briefly discussing the methodological pitfalls of the “Where is Atlantis” question, including the identification of Tartessos with the fantastic sea empire in Plato’s dialogs. It then examines the myth of Atlantis in its own terms, as a tool in Plato’s philosophical teachings particularly related to the discussion of ideal and corrupt state models, while also highlighting their connection with widely held ideas about maritime or fluvial catastrophes in the ancient Mediterranean. And, lastly, an overview is provided of other Near Eastern and Greek narratives about cataclysms and ends of ages. These narratives doubtless channeled the accumulated experience and fear of “high-energy events”, which entered the mythical imagination as catalysts of the end of ages or of the world. At the same time, they do not necessarily allude to real events or places, but are part and parcel of culture-specific views of the human position in relation to the gods and are of particular relevance today in more than one way.

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Acknowledgments

This research has been conducted as part of the projects The Tsunami in the Cultural Representations of the Ancient World: Gadir-Gades and the Gulf of Cádiz as a case study (HAR2015-66011-P MINECO-FEDER), and Earthquakes and Tsunamis in the Iberian Peninsula: Social Responses in the longue durée (PGC2018-093752-B-I00), funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (MCIU), the Spanish State Research Agency (AEI) and the European Regional Development Fund of the European Union (ERDF, EU). I would like to thank the audience at the conference “Tsunamis históricos en la Península Ibérica” (February 14–15, 2019) for their comments and suggestions, especially Maria Eugenia Aubet and Gonzalo Cruz Andreotti. My thanks also go to Dannu Hutwohl for offering feedback on my draft and Esther Rodríguez González for drawing my figures.

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  1. Divinity School, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    Carolina López-Ruiz

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  1. Carolina López-Ruiz
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Correspondence to Carolina López-Ruiz .

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  1. Department of Historical Sciences, University of Malaga, Malaga, Spain

    Manuel Álvarez-Martí-Aguilar

  2. Department of Historical Sciences, University of Malaga, Malaga, Spain

    Francisco Machuca Prieto

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López-Ruiz, C. (2022). Not Exactly Atlantis: Some Lessons from Ancient Mediterranean Myths. In: Álvarez-Martí-Aguilar, M., Machuca Prieto, F. (eds) Historical Earthquakes, Tsunamis and Archaeology in the Iberian Peninsula. Natural Science in Archaeology. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-1979-4_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-1979-4_2

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