ATLANTIS

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Next Wide mural

Myths of the Ocean – MS Victory

25ft long

This myth originated with Plato, more than 2000 years ago, and although considered not to have taken place by the scientific world, the myth is still immortalized, having been in some instances expanded upon to suggest similar real occurrences.

Plato’s ideas about divine versus human nature, ideal societies, and the gradual corruption of the human condition have perpetuated – The legend of Atlantis is a story about a moral, spiritual people who lived in a highly advanced, utopian civilization. But they became greedy, petty, and ‘morally bankrupt’, and the gods ‘became angry because the people lost their way and turned to immoral pursuits’ is how Orser describes it in the archeology and historical section of national Geographic.

One is reminded of how apt this fable is considering todays perception of a corrupt and morally starved culture we see around us. This is perhaps the reason the myth perpetuates. Plato describes how the gods sent ‘one terrible night of fire and earthquakes’ that caused Atlantis to sink into the sea. Plato allowed his imagination to run wild, and he clearly had some fearful impressions of what could happen, and geologically that may have been a reality with scientific evidence of polar shifts!

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If Plato were alive today, I have no doubt he would be blogging and tweeting about our possible demise at the hands of corrupt dictators!

Atlantis detail

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The images in this lovely glass mural were taken in Palmyra, Iraq, before ISIS destroyed many of the ancient buildings.

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My mother took the pictures when she explored the historical city during her adventure sailing around the world on her own ketch. Yes, she skippered the sailboat much of the time! But that’s another story.

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It seems like a telling myth for our times!