Plato , in his account of the previous golden age of Atlantis , recounts the story of various floods told by the Egyptians to Solon, a comtemporary of Plato's great-great-grandfather. The Greeks, it was said, had little memory of previous ages since their ancestors had been almost wiped out by the floods. After the destruction of Atlantis .... One thousand years later the first Egyptian cities were started.
Peoples living in the mountains survive the great floods that have afflicted civilizations in the past, but are eventually destroyed by fire (i.e. volcanic eruptions). The ancestors of the Egyptians, on the other hand, were in a unique position and not affected by either of these disasters. They therefore have a long memory of ancient history, compared with Solon.
Pillars (of Wisdom)
1. Proclus tells us that Crantor when visited Egypt the Egyptian priests showed him a golden pillar with hieroglyphs recording the history of Atlantis.
2. Manetho claims that Thoth (identified by the Greeks with Hermes) wrote down the ancient wisdom in pillars.
3. The Egyptian Benben was a pyramid shaped hill, thought to be the prototype for the obelisk (n.b. the capstone of the Giza pyramid is called the benbenet). It is associated with the Benu bird, from which the Greek legend of the Phoenix arose.
Paradise = walled garden
The walled city of Atlantis is also split into four by a canal system. Likewise, the walled garden of Eden had four rivers running through it. Homer claims that Troy was also built on a similar design (it was also submerged by a flood after being destroyed by the greeks).
Many South American cities are based on this design (e.g. Incan Tiahuanaco in Bolivia and Aztecan Tenochtitlan in Mexico). This is said to have given rise the garden style of the Persian kings - Chahar Bagh, with a central pool of life, from which four rivers run in the form of a cross.
The symbol produced by this (a circle split into four) could be related to the ancient Indian symbol of prosperity, the swastika.
Canals
Plato's Atlantis had a vast network of canals used for irrigating the fertile plain from mountain waters. Similar engineering, have been found in the ancient Far East and, in South America. This enables two crops a year to be harvested.
As a seaport they also provided transport of their goods to the world. So, a great naval tradition is needed for any proposed culture as the Atlanteans.
However, after the flood the seas became unnavigable.
Volcanic mountains
A ring of mountains surrounded the plain, providing plentiful water, and a rich supply of metal ores. Moreover, the city of Atlantis was built on an old Volcano. Volcanic ash is very fertile, explaining why so many cultures did, and still do settle near volcanoes.
Some people belief that the flood that submerged the city was due to the melting of the ice sheets at the end of last ice age. This might explain why the whole continent might disappear (it is estimated that the water from the ice raised the sea levels by 90 metres!). However, the flood was supposed to have destroyed Atlantis in a single day and night. This cannot be explained by a rise in sea levels, which was gradual. But, it could have been a Tsunumi or a tidal wave caused by a volcanic eruption. Many of the flood stories in myth also describe fire raining from heaven prior to the deluge.
A DETAILED TEXT ABOUT THE ATLANTIS
There are several key points in the story of Atlantis which recur in other stories and myths. For a more detailed list see this excellent website on Atlantis.
