Did Atlantis Exist?
What We Can Learn From Bible History And Original Sources
Bodie Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI
Biblical Authority Ministries, April 8, 2025 (Donate)
Atlantis is the theme of modern science fiction,
hotels, cartoons, and much, much more. Questions about Atlantis come more than
you might think. Let’s take a fresh look at it from a biblical perspective while
going back to original sources.
A Little Background
The island of Atlantis was first mentioned and
recorded by Plato in his dialogues Timaeus and Critias. Plato
mentions that this rather large island was later destroyed by a great
earthquake. The time frame for this written account by Plato is said to be
about 350–400 years before Christ.
According to Plato, Atlantis was named for Atlas,
who was supposedly the oldest twin of Poseidon, the son of Cronus in Greek
mythology. Often mythology grew out of a remnant of truth.
Statue of Plato (Illustration) - World History Encyclopedia (Open Source)
Chronos has often been identified as the biblical
Kittim/Cethimus (other variants are Cyprus, Cethim, Cethima, or Citius)—though in
other instances Saturn, the Roman equivalent of the Greek Chronos, is
identified as Noah.
Noah had no twin sons so it makes sense that is yielding
a reference to a descendant of Noah, so Kittim makes sense and his descendants
were sea faring people (for more about how these corrupted Greek and Roman “gods”
were just deified peoples post Babel who outlived many of their descendants, see
the book the Tower
of Babel).
Kittim is the son of Javan (translated “Greece”
in the Old Testament), the son of Japheth, the son of Noah. This leads to the
possibility of these people being real, but the embellished mythology relating
to them was likely the handiwork of subsequent sinful descendants. This was
quite common. For example Mercury was the “god” name of Ashkenaz (Kittim’s
first cousin and grandson of Japheth) and
Hercules was the Greek embellishment of Samson.
Furthermore in the story, Poseidon, (the Greek
name for the Roman Neptune who is the father of Naphtuhim in Genesis 10:13) was
the owner of the island and named it for his son. Other place names also
reflect Atlas, such as the Atlantic Ocean and the Atlas Mountains extending
from Morocco to Algeria.
According to Plato’s account (of Socrates’
account of Solon’s account that he received from the Egyptians), the Athenians
(people of the city of Athens and perhaps others in Greece) went to war with
those inhabiting the island of Atlantis.
The Atlantians had conquered parts of modern-day
Italy and North Africa and were threatening Greece and Egypt. According to the
account, many of the Athenians may have died while fighting the Atlantians not
long before the island’s destruction.
Pre-Flood Or Post-Flood Possibilities
When it comes down to it, either Atlantis was a
real place or it wasn’t. If it wasn’t, then the discussion is more-or-less
finished. And considering that this story was passed down several times before
Plato recorded it, we can assume that it has some inaccuracies.
Regardless, let’s assume for a moment that it was
a real place and use a biblical framework to place it. Big-picture biblical
explanations could be:
1.
Atlantis was destroyed by the Flood, and we
should not expect to find remnants of it.
2.
Atlantis was destroyed after the Flood, and its
remnants may still exist.
So, could Atlantis have been a pre-Flood
continent? If so, there would be little evidence left due to such a worldwide
cataclysm. However, the Critias account by Plato reads:
“. . . which had elapsed since the war which was
said to have taken place between those who dwelt outside the Pillars of
Heracles and all who dwelt within them; this war I am going to describe. Of the
combatants on the one side, the city of Athens was reported to have been the
leader and to have fought out the war; the combatants on the other side were
commanded by the kings of Atlantis, which, as was saying, was an island greater
in extent than Libya and Asia, and when afterwards sunk by an earthquake, became
an impassable barrier of mud to voyagers sailing from hence to any part of the
ocean.”
Also in Plato’s account of Atlantis, he refers to
the Atlantic Ocean as well as these “pillars of Hercules,” which is likely the
Strait of Gibraltar between modern-day Spain and Morocco. Plato said that
Atlantis was as large as “Libya” and “Asia” (Asia was originally seen as a smaller
portion of modern-day Turkey).
Keep in mind that this is not what we think of
today as Libya and Asia, but the way the Greeks viewed them about 350-500 BC.
Take note that these are post-Flood features and names. Plato’s Timaeus says:
“Many great and wonderful deeds are recorded of
your state in our histories. But one of them exceeds all the rest in greatness
and valour. For these histories tell of a mighty power which unprovoked made an
expedition against the whole of Europe and Asia, and to which your city put an
end. This power came forth out of the Atlantic Ocean, for in those days the
Atlantic was navigable; and there was an island situated in front of the
straits which are by you called the Pillars of Heracles; the island was larger
than Libya and Asia put together, and was the way to other islands, and from
these you might pass to the whole of the opposite continent which surrounded
the true ocean; for this sea which is within the Straits of Heracles is only a
harbour, having a narrow entrance, but that other is a real sea, and the
surrounding land may be most truly called a boundless continent. Now in this
island of Atlantis there was a great and wonderful empire which had rule over
the whole island and several others, and over parts of the continent, and,
furthermore, the men of Atlantis had subjected the parts of Libya within the
columns of Heracles as far as Egypt, and of Europe as far as Tyrrhenia. This
vast power, gathered into one, endeavoured to subdue at a blow our country and
yours and the whole of the region within the straits; and then, Solon, your
country shone forth, in the excellence of her virtue and strength, among all
mankind. She was pre-eminent in courage and military skill, and was the leader
of the Hellenes. And when the rest fell off from her, being compelled to stand
alone, after having undergone the very extremity of danger, she defeated and
triumphed over the invaders, and preserved from slavery those who were not yet
subjugated, and generously liberated all the rest of us who dwell within the
pillars. But afterwards there occurred violent earthquakes and floods; and in a
single day and night of misfortune all your warlike men in a body sank into the
earth, and the island of Atlantis in like manner disappeared in the depths of
the sea. For which reason the sea in those parts is impassable and
impenetrable, because there is a shoal of mud in the way; and this was caused
by the subsidence of the island.”
Much of Critias is a description of the
island and its inner politics but Timmeaus helps us establish a post-Flood
understanding of Atlantis. Tiras’s descendants (Noah’s grandson) inhabited the
area of Tyrrhenia between Italy and Greece. Libya was inhabited by descendants
of Lybyos (as given by Josephus) who was the son of Mizraim (Egypt); they are
known as the Lehabites in Genesis 10 and the Lubim in 2 Chronicles 16:8. So
this is definitely referring to post Flood places. Couple this with the
descendant so Noah that were already discussed, this is strong evidence for a
post-Flood event.
In Critias,
Plato also gives the dimensions of the main island of Atlantis in a measurement
called “stadia,” which are about 600 feet each. The dimensions were 2000 by
3000 stadia. It was an oblong-shaped island. Translating this into modern
measurement, it would have been about 227 miles by 340 miles, giving an
estimated 77,000 square-mile area. This is about the size of the state of
Nebraska. Plato’s measurement makes Atlantis much smaller than a continent.
Since the modern continent scheme was changed
significantly from the Flood and Plato was referring to post-Flood places, it
is very unlikely that this Atlantis was pre-Flood.
Plato’s book Critias gives details of the
island and much more (such as the ancient Egyptians originating the account),
implying that if it existed, it was likely post-Flood. Egypt was formed by
Mizraim, Noah’s grandson, and is still known as Mizraim in the Hebrew
language.
So, for Egypt to be involved it requires Noah’s
grandson Mizraim to have existed to begin Egypt. If so, descriptions given by
Plato appear to place it outside of the Mediterranean in the Atlantic Ocean.
In the past, people have proposed likely places
for Atlantis, such as the Americas or parts of it, remnants of the island of
Thera (in the Mediterranean—which should be ruled out by Plato’s statements),
or the Azores in the Atlantic, but there has never been a consensus by
researchers that any of these were indeed Atlantis.
Before Or After The Tower Of Babel?
Plato also informs us that Atlantis was inhabited
by Poseidon and his family (including Atlas). Before people begin thinking “Are
you taking Greek mythology seriously?” again take note that Poseidon was son of
Cronus, which is a variant of Cethimas/Kittim (Cronus/Kronos, Κρόνος).
Biblically, Kittim is the son of Javan, the son of Japheth, the son of Noah.
With this mind, Atlas was likely Noah’s great, great, great grandson. Cyprus
still reflects a variation of the name of Kittim/Cethimas by the way.
So, when Plato speaks of Poseidon inheriting land
from the dispersion of people around the earth, this makes sense. Kittim,
Poseidon’s father, was mentioned in the Tower of Babel account. With the Tower
of Babel dispersion happening just over hundred years after the Flood according
to Ussher, then the earliest Atlantis could have been inhabited was soon after
that time.
When Might Have Atlantis Been Destroyed?
According to Plato, Poseidon’s control of
Atlantis had already been given to Atlas, after whose death several kings had
ruled by the time the disaster struck the island. If Poseidon was the great,
great grandson of Noah (the same as Eber, who is the father of the Hebrews, and
in a different lineage), then it is reasonable to assume that his life
expectancy would be near the same as Eber and Atlas may have been near the same
as Eber’s son Peleg.
The ages of the post-Flood patriarchs dropped off
after Noah.
|
Patriarch
|
Age
|
|
Noah
|
950
|
|
Shem
|
600
|
|
Arphaxad
|
438
|
|
Shelah
|
433
|
|
Eber
|
464
|
|
Peleg
|
239
|
Eber, who was born 66 years after the Flood,
would have died 530 years after the Flood. Had Poseidon lived about this long
as well, then this would have been about 1818 BC (according to Ussher who put
the Flood at 2348 BC). This
would have been about the time Abraham died as well.
Peleg died sooner, and assuming that Atlas was
his contemporary, he too should have died much sooner than Poseidon, as should
the next few in line. Using these assumptions, about 1818 BC would have been
the earliest that Atlantis could have
been destroyed.
To give you some context, Moses and the Exodus
from Egypt would have occurred in 1491 BC or about 850 years after the Flood
(using Ussher’s numbers). So, it makes sense that there would be some time
before the destruction of Atlantis. Plato records:
"Now Atlas had a numerous and honorable family,
and they retained the kingdom, the eldest son handing it on to his eldest for
many generations . . . "
Remembering the limitations of Plato’s account, one
could reason that several generations of rule well after Poseidon’s son Atlas.
Plato even records that their law had been passed down by Poseidon. So, it
appears Poseidon had probably died by the time of the destruction of the
island. So, let’s use the earliest estimated date for Poseidon’s death at 1818
BC.
The latest Atlantis could have been destroyed
would have to be prior to Socrates, who died around 400 BC. But the account
came through an aged Solon, who got it from the Egyptians and their accounts of
the past. So, the latest date would surely be a few hundred years prior to
Socrates’ death. To be generous, let’s set 600 BC as the latest date. So, we
have a range of 1818 BC to about 600 BC.
What Happened To Atlantis—If It Did Exist?
First, it could have been completely destroyed by
earthquake, volcano, or other disaster. Or
perhaps the remnants of Atlantis that Plato wrote of have been destroyed since
the time of his writing. Plato records that it was associated with a great
earthquake—it was even felt in Greece.
According to Plato’s account in Timaeus,
the ocean where Atlantis used to be was nearly impassable by boat due to the
mud and debris from the island. However, in 2,000-3,000 years such sediment
could have easily traveled and settled out in other areas due to ocean
currents, tides, storms, and so on. So,
that may not be a good sign to look for today.
Perhaps groups of islands may be the place to
look in the Atlantic Ocean extending from the mouth of the Mediterranean Sea.
But this is just speculation; we may never know where it was, if it did exist.
Could the destruction of Atlantis have been
caused by a sudden rise in sea level? Creationists have often pointed out there
was a post-Flood Ice Age that was triggered by the Flood. In brief, conditions
following the Flood would have yielded warm oceans and cool summers due to
massive volcanic activity associated with the Flood, plate movements during the
Flood, and mountain building at the end stages (and soon after the Flood). With
fine ash hovering in the upper atmosphere and being replenished with each volcano,
this reflects sunlight back to space, hence cooling the globe.
Warmer oceans due to plate movements and heated
rock under the oceans increased evaporation, which caused more rainfall or, in
winter months, more snowfall. With cooler summers not melting the snow, it
accumulates into ice—many layers of ice quickly form. Therefore, the world
would have rapid growth of glaciers and ice caps.
From a big picture, an Ice Age takes water out of
the ocean and deposits it on land. This means the ocean levels would have been
reduced. Both Christians and non-Christians agree that an Ice Age would reduce
ocean levels significantly—to a point where land bridges open up—which is
likely how many people and animals could have migrated to most continents.
But at the end of the peak of the Ice Age, water
levels in the ocean began to rise as glaciers and ice caps melted. Creationists
have pointed out that the peak of the Ice Age would have been in the
neighborhood of about 500 years after the Flood.
For example, creationist researcher Mike Oard has
estimated that there was extensive melting for the next two hundred years. If
Atlantis’ destruction were 700 or 800 years after the Flood, it may have had
something to do with the rising ocean levels. Keep in mind that an island being
overtaken by rising sea levels appears identical to an island sinking! But this
could have upended its foundation in the sea and caused it to finally break in
big earthquake and catastrophic end.
Where Might Atlantis Have Been?
The Americas can easily be ruled out due to size,
but also because Timaeus refers to a continent set beyond it. This
continent is likely the Americas. Most obviously, the Americas still exist and
have not sunk into the sea. In addition, the Island of Thera is within the
Mediterranean Sea; so, this would be ruled out.
Perhaps the most famous report of Atlantis came
from Athanasius Kircher from Subterraneus in 1669. He drew a map and
placed Atlantis between Africa/Europe and the Americas. Take note that North is
facing the bottom in his map:
The size of Kircher’s Atlantis is much larger
than Plato’s description, but it is in the Atlantic Ocean. In fact, Kircher’s
version of Atlantis appears as large, if not larger, than Greenland. So, this
may not have been as accurate as it could have been.
However, the island is where the Azores now sit.
And of the logical places Atlantis could have been, the remnants spoken of by
Plato could be the Azores or perhaps the Canary Islands or the Madeira Islands.
Plato states:
“The consequence is, that in comparison of what
then was, there are remaining only the bones of the wasted body, as they may be
called, as in the case of small islands, all the richer and softer parts of the
soil having fallen away, and the mere skeleton of the land being left.”
This is, of course, assuming the mountaintops
still remain to this day as islands. The Azores sit above the Mid-Atlantic
Ridge, where many creationists believe some of springs of the great deep burst forth
(Genesis 7:11). This area was likely wrought with earthquake and volcanic activity.
But would this area be an obvious impasse of mud
and debris for several years for those sailing out of the Mediterranean Sea?
Since it seemed rather well known that mud and debris caused a near impasse for
ships, this may not be where Atlantis was. It doesn’t seem as logical, since
fewer ships were traveling that far into the Atlantic as opposed to the other
two locations.
Madeira Island and the Canary Islands are aloft
volcanoes as well, and these areas may be more apt to cause a problem with
ships trying to pass if demolished so near the Straight of Gibraltar. A few
potential areas are shown on the map below for the island of Atlantis.
Several of these island chains, such as the
Azores (A.), Madeira (B.), or Canary (C.) islands, could be the remnants Plato
wrote about. But without further research, it would not be wise to comment
further.
Conclusions
We may never know where Atlantis existed. If it
did exist, it was most likely a post-Flood island somewhere in the Atlantic
Ocean, not far from the Strait of Gibraltar.
Atlantis, if the accounts were reasonably
accurate, would have been destroyed, leaving only much smaller islands still
sitting above the Atlantic Ocean’s surface. The most logical remnants would
seem to be the Canary or Madeira Islands as well as other underwater islands in
their vicinity that may have further been destroyed 3000 years ago or so.
Originally here: https://answersingenesis.org/the-flood/did-atlantis-exist/; Republished by Permission.
