Here is my theory on Atlantis (and Lemuria, for that matter). It takes into account a bunch of tidbits I've collected over the years and wove into a theory that fits some facts. It may seem somewhat crack-pottish to some. To others, right out of Van Danaken. Some would actually see a similarity between the theory and Battlestar Galactica. This was not my intent, but I could see the analogy - perhaps a subconscious connection was in my brain on this. It could be that Battlestar Galactica takes many of its ideas from the Bible that, to many, is an accurate history book, telling the story of the origins of man, veiled in allegory.
Either way, please be kind...
In The Beginning – Starting back to WAY before Atlantis existed as a society, during the early days of our solar system. The sun was much newer and much hotter than it is today. Earth then was much like what Venus is now: extremely hot with toxic gases poisonous to life as we know it. Scientists have coined a term, "the ring of life" or, the radius from the sun where heat conditions are favorable to the growth of advanced life forms. MANY millions, possibly billions of years ago, that ring of life was not approximate to Earth's orbit, but to that of Mars, where life began (analogous to Kobol?). Yes, I believe that there was, at one time, life on Mars. To avoid getting bogged down in specifics on that one, please go to
Enterprise Mission . It's all there. Eventually, there came a time when those “people” (for lack of a better word) realized that the sun was cooling. They discovered that their planet was dying due to the decrease in ambient temperature. Their advanced technology, by this point, already allowed them to explore other planets in the solar system. They found the only other planet that could be capable of supporting life (may already be developing complex life forms at this point), because the "ring of life" was overlapping with Earth's orbit at this time. They felt that the only way to survive was to colonize Earth, using its moon as a way station (also see Enterprise Mission on possible artificial structures on the moon). This is analogous to the exodus from Kobol to the Colonies.
As a side note, there are those who believe that the moon itself is an artificial construct. Claims have arisen that seismic data from various moon-landing missions shows an auditory "echo" when small meteorites hit the surface. The sound of the impact allegedly bounces off the diametrically opposite side of the moon (internally) and is reflected back. I have never seen proof of this, but the theories are out there. The other argument for lunar artificiality is the question of how the moon his so perfectly shaped and distanced that, during a total solar eclipse, the moon's relative diameter is identical to that of the sun as viewed from the surface of the Earth, totally blocking it out. Again, I don’t know if I support these theories, but if the seismic claims are true, there may be some merit. To continue...
The Exodus – Setting up shop on the moon, the immigrants start studying the fauna of the Earth and eventually initiate a small colony on the planet. Some would call this the founding of the lost continent of Lemuria. Seeing that some of the indigenous life forms (primates) had the closest genetic structure to themselves, just at an earlier stage of evolution. This resulted in a genetic melding between the two species (the “missing link”) where there was a sudden jump in the evolutionary process. The first generation of modern humans became the Atlantians, being observed by the Lemurians as an experiment, being given various kinds of advanced technology to see how they would use it and develop as a species. As some of the myths go, the Atlantians became very arrogant and decadent to Caligulan proportions and misused their technology. This started leading to the fall of Atlantian society.
The Cataclysm – Almost every major belief system and many major cultures have had stories of a major cataclysmic event resulting in inundation, or flood. Even today, archaeological expeditions are finding submerged structures all over the world, in the Black Sea, off the coast of Cuba and Japan. Water levels appear to have risen since the early days of man. Many have postulated the impact of a massive asteroid or meteorite, causing nothing less than a shift in the earth’s crust, poles and orbit. The crust shift is the one that interests me the most, where the crust separates and rotates on the mantle, orienting itself differently from its original state. Could this have happened during the decline of Atlantis? Atlantis was known to be quite temperate, but when the crust shifted, is it possible that Atlantis went south in more ways than one, while at the same time wiping Lemuria off the face of the Earth entirely? What if Atlantis rotated geologically and geographically to where Antarctica is now? This would make the continent impossible to inhabit, forcing its people to leave. They had a fairly good idea of the layout of other nearby continents, the two nearest being what we call South America and Africa. They left the frigid continent in droves, many dying along the way, many unable to obtain transportation and freezing to death. This is analogous to the destruction of the Colonies by the Cylons.
The Ancients – The Atlantians scattered, taking some of their technology and their culture with them to help them survive in a new and hostile environment. Maybe they met other humans along the way and started new colonies. The biggest colonies grew into cities, back in the temperate regions that they enjoyed, possibly on or around the “new” equator. Those who settled in South America may have become the Toltecs, Myans, Aztecs and other indigenous societies of the region. Those who settled in Africa became the Nubians and Egyptians and expanded up into the Caucuses and Europe. This may explain the anomalous similarities in culture, architecture, artistry, burial rites and cultural behavior between peoples thousands of miles apart, separated by vast oceans.
Far too many anomalous objects have been found at these centers of ancient culture. The Crystal Skulls of the Americas (some have now been found in Europe and Asia), the ancient hieroglyphs and models of flying machines in Egypt – See Enterprise Mission’s essay on
“The Lost Tombs Revisited” . It makes for VERY interesting reading.
So, you now know that I voted for Antarctica in the poll of where Atlantis is. I think others knew this as well. For example, the movies "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" popularized the notion that the Nazi's were after ancient artifacts to help their "manifest destiny". Himmler, the leader of the Algemeine SS, set up a special group to research exactly that. They are said to have allied themselves with the Bavarian "Thule Society" to this end. Some believe that they set up a secret base and colonized that continent during the war which they named "Neu-Schwabenland". It is said that reports from the American Atlantic Fleets ran into huge German convoys heading south. Others say that the Admiral Byrd mapping expedition in 1946-47 was not for mapping at all, but for mopping - mopping up the remnants of the German military that had set up shop down there. Details of this theory can be found
here.
I’m not convinced that any of this is true, but there is so much we don’t know about our origins, our selves and the universe we live in. Mainstream archaeologists and anthropologists would have no trouble shooting holes in my theory, granted. But they have been wrong before. Some have even fabricated false truths to keep their places in their own self-appointed pantheons of scientific gods. How does it hurt us to think outside the box? That’s what science fiction is all about, IMHO. If anyone has any questions about the things I mentioned here, give me a hollar. I'm always interested in a different point of view.
Take care...
Update: The following document seems to hold similar theories as what I just mentioned and goes into further detail. It gets a little too New Age for my taste at times, but still has some ideas of merit:
The Martian Hypothesis - A Hypothetical History of the Red Planet by Gerry Forster
