Hi Margiani,
Always interesting posts. I just wanted to point out again, and I don't think that you are disputing this here, that 'sea peoples' is only a descriptor, one which the Egyptians applied to more than just the people whose invasion they thwarted in the 12th century BC.
I also wanted to follow up on my earlier response to ciggy.
I neglected to mention that Iceland and Thule—which was reportedly in the vicinity of Iceland—both fall short of one of Atlantis' basic requirements of having a much more temperate climate allowing harvests twice a year. South America's Mesopotamian Plain which is rectilinear with a 10,000-stadia waterway forming its perimeter—matching precisely Solon's description of Atlantis' Plain—does enjoy two annual harvests.
Twice in the year they gathered the fruits of the earth—in winter having the benefit of the rains of heaven, and in summer the water which the land supplied by introducing streams from the canals." (Critias; translation by Benjamin Jowett [BJ])
The plain "was for the most part rectangular and oblong, and where falling out of the straight line followed the circular ditch. The depth, and width, and length of this ditch were incredible, and gave the impression that a work of such extent, in addition to so many others, could never have been artificial. Nevertheless I must say what I was told. It was excavated to the depth of a hundred feet, and it breadth was a stadium everywhere; [the waterway] was carried round the whole of the plain, and was 10,000 stadia in length. It received the streams which came down from the mountains, and winding round the plain and meeting at the city, was there let off into the sea." (Critias [BJ])
The image below is a topographical map of Mesopotamia with the inclusion of measurements in miles, which total up to a 1,200 mile (10,455 stadia) perimeter, only 52 miles (455 stadia) off from Plato's perimetric measurement. Note that all four sides of the rectangular plain are defined by waterways, with only a small 70-mile portion in the north defined by foothills. There are no other rectangular plains in the world larger or remotely close to approaching this size, which are defined by waterways on all four sides.
So perhaps it's coincidence that
the world's only 10,000-STADIA RECTANGULAR plain defined by surrounding waterways also has
TWO HARVESTS, but the coincidences do not end there.
The capital city was located near where the waters emptied into the sea. If you do the math, the city was 5.7 miles from the plain, 5.7 miles from the sea, and 3.1 miles in diameter. This establishes a very strict parameter, where the plain would have to be located
no further than 14.5 miles from where its surrounding waters emptied into the sea and South America's Mesopotamian Plain meets this easily. Compare this to the more popular Mesopotamia in the Middle East which lies 100 miles from the sea and you can see why meeting this parameter is no easy feat.
Below is an expanded list of Solon's geographical specifications demonstrating how well South America fits the Atlantis mold better than any other site in the world:
- A continent sized island (South American 'nesos' [see article for explanation])
- Opposite the Pillars of Hercules (The Strait of Gibraltar) and
- Located in the Atlantic Ocean with
- Associated islands (the Caribbean Islands)
- Forming a distinct path to a continent (North America) at the opposite end.
- Having a lofty precipitous coastline (South America's Brazilian Highlands) transitioning to
- A flat even rectangular plain (Argentina's Mesopotamian Plain)
- Located at the center of the island (center of South American 'nesos')
- Within 14.5-miles of the sea that is
- Delineated on all four sides by channels of water (the Parana and Uruguay rivers) with
- A perimeter of approximately 10,000 stadia (10,455 stadia or 1,200 miles actual. Only 50 miles longer than the specified 10,000 stadia or 1,150 miles.) and
- Oriented with its narrower width extending from the coast inland, and also having
- A climate conducive to biannual harvests.
- Pocketed in by mountains to the west (Andes), north, and east (Brazilian Highlands), but open toward the sea in the south with
- River ways from the surrounding mountain ranges feeding the rivers that flow around the plain, converge, and then empty into the sea in the south. (Rio Pilcomayo, Rio Bermejo, Rio Salado and Rio Dulce flowing down from the Andes in the west. The Parana and Uruguay Rivers dropping down onto the plain from the Brazilian Highlands in the north and the Rio Ibicui, Rio Arapey Grande, and Rio Queguay sourced from smaller mountains in the east, to name just a few.)
So while we can speculate that sites having experienced quakes, flooding or other natural catastrophes are Atlantis, or sites which linguistically seem similar to Atlantis are Atlantis, there is only one site in all the world which actually meets the geographical specifications set forth in the original account and that continent, South America, excels at it.
-Doug
