Many of us have heard of Atlantis, the lost island nation that sank under the sea after a terrible catastrophe. There are many theories and stories about Atlantis, including that it was a continent called Limuria that was the origin of humanity, or that it was inhabited by extraterrestrials, etc. The origin of Atlantis is from Plato’s Republic, in which he describes Atlantis as an island nation, with the main metropolis on a circular island and the ‘Royal City’ on a rectangular island. They also had multiple kings and the Royal City was made from brass, silver, gold, and copper. The Atlanteans had a formidable navy, according to Plato, and none could withstand them.
According to Plato, though, the Atlanteans attacked ‘Ancient Athens’, his version of the ideal state, a utopia, and Atlantis fell out of favor with the gods. Plato says, “But afterwards there occured 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 into the depths of the sea.”
In 1540 BC, a volcano on the island of Thera (modern day Santorini) exploded with the force of four or five nuclear bombs in a fraction of a second. Volcanic ash shot into the air and covered the skies, leading to a half a century famine and cold spike. The coastal town of Akrotiri was destroyed and covered under volcanic ash and rock. Tsunamis would have swept the Mediterranean, heading for Crete, the headquarters of the Minoan civilization.
The Minoans were a highly powerful civilization centered on the islands of Crete and Santorini. They were Anatolians closely related with the Lydians and Hittites from northeast Turkey, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. For unknown reasons, the Minoan people migrated from Asia to Crete and its nearby islands. Their writing systems, Linear A and the Cretan Hieroglyphs, are yet to be fully deciphered, and we can assume that the Minoan language was related to Carian, Luwian, and Hittite dialects.
New evidence shows that the Minoans traveled to Greece, founding colonies at Mycenae and establishing connections with the Greek Argives. They also had lots of influence in the Levant (Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel), and were important builders and artists in Ancient Egypt. Then, the Minoans sailed to France, Italy, and the Iberian peninsula. The Minoans moved to Germany from France and to the Arabian peninsula, Nubia, and Somalia from Egypt. From Germany, they set their sights on Britain, the Baltic, and even perhaps into Iceland. Minoans sailed from Yemen and Oman to the Indus delta and the Malabar coast of India up the Periyar River in Kerala, India. Bronze artifacts show that there was trade in the city of Muziris (present-day Pattanam or Kodungallur) from at least 4000 years ago.
Yet the most surprising theories are to come yet. DNA evidence, folklore, and chemical testing have all concluded that the Minoans colonized Lake Superior in North America and were mining copper there on a regular basis. Copper is the key component in making bronze, which was the material of choice for weapons, tools, and armor for the Minoans, Egyptians, and the Hittites. Native American tales from in and around Minnesota and North Wisconsin tell of light-skinned people finding metals using strange devices. And DNA analysis has shown that the Minoans carried Haplogroup X2 in their mitochondrial DNA: a haplogroup that had its roots in the Anatolians. Haplogroup X2 has been found in Greece, Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Britain, France, and the Lake Superior area amongst Native Americans. This almost completely shows that the Minoans were intermixing with the locals.
More evidence to Minoans going to America is a Virginian tobacco beetle found buried in the volcanic ash of Akrotiri on Santorini, dated to the explosion that wiped out the Minoans. And Minoan frescoes in Egyptian tombs show the Egyptians smoking pipes. Gupta Empire carvings from India show American corn and animals. And Plato says that a major part of Atlantis was the size of Libya (then used to refer to North Africa as a whole) and Asia (Turkey, the Levant, the Middle East, Persia, and India) together. And distinctly Minoan carvings of labryes (double-bladed axes) have been found in Stonehenge and other similar stone circles in Europe and Asia.
The Minoans were held in high regard and other than the legend of Atlantis their master workmanship and crafting prowess was exhibited in Greek myths such as that of the master smith Daedalus who built the Labyrinth (believed to be the palace on Knossos) and whose nephew Perdix invented saws. The bit about saws is important because in their time, only the Minoans had bronze saws that could cut stone. And the myths of Theseus and Daedalus say that Crete had the world’s most powerful navy.
Now that we’ve given you the evidence, what do you think? Do you think that the legend of Atlantis was an exaggerated version of the Minoan civilization? Do you think that this is just a story made up for fun? Or do you believe that there’s more to Atlantis than we see?
Anay Ganesh 