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How a Civil War-Era Politician Invented Atlantis

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John Thomas8
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How a Civil War-Era Politician Invented Atlantis

#1

Post by John Thomas8 »

Andrew Rakich, YouTuber who publishes under Atun-Shei Films, posted this today, an interesting look at the origin of the "modern" Atlantis myth. He goes deeper than just Atlantis, though, and looks at how popular media like "Ancient Aliens" are actively making people stupid.

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Re: How a Civil War-Era Politician Invented Atlantis

#2

Post by fierceredpanda »

I love Atun-Shei! Today's video was indeed interesting, although perhaps not quite as entertaining as Checkmate, Lincolnites! or the VVitchfinder General.
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Re: How a Civil War-Era Politician Invented Atlantis

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Post by John Thomas8 »

That VVitchfinder character is awesome! But I really enjoy his takedowns of the Lost Causers.
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Re: How a Civil War-Era Politician Invented Atlantis

#4

Post by roadscholar »

Jeez, I always thought it was Donovan.
The bitterest truth is more wholesome than the sweetest lie.
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Re: How a Civil War-Era Politician Invented Atlantis

#5

Post by John Thomas8 »

roadscholar wrote: Wed May 26, 2021 11:02 pm Jeez, I always thought it was Donovan.
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Re: How a Civil War-Era Politician Invented Atlantis

#6

Post by RTH10260 »

H/T to JT

I was not aware that the US had its very own Atlantis fluffbrains. Here on the Old Continent we seem to connect the demise of Atlantis as a myth built around the explosion of the Santorini volcano (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santorini) and the loss of the civilization, local and farther away.
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Re: How a Civil War-Era Politician Invented Atlantis

#7

Post by Uninformed »

Unsurprisingly there are more than a few “theories” - for some reason the “Gibraltar” one was prevalent in my youth.

“Location hypotheses of Atlantis”:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Location_ ... f_Atlantis
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Re: How a Civil War-Era Politician Invented Atlantis

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Post by Dr. Caligari »

I know Atlantis is real. I saw it in a documentary film when I was a kid:
https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/67759/a ... t#overview
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Re: How a Civil War-Era Politician Invented Atlantis

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Post by Estiveo »

Dr. Caligari wrote: Thu May 27, 2021 3:00 pm I know Atlantis is real. I saw it in a documentary film when I was a kid:
https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/67759/a ... t#overview
Slacker. I saw a travelogue for it last week.
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Re: How a Civil War-Era Politician Invented Atlantis

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Post by Suranis »

I've found the whole Atlantis thing kind of amusing since college as I had to read the original dialouges when I was doing my degree in classics. Still the Wikipedia article talks about the millenia old obsession with finding Atlantis, rather than seeing it as a parable or morality tale, and it's actually really interesting reading. I'll just quote the more rational bit though.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis
Recent times

As continental drift became widely accepted during the 1960s, and the increased understanding of plate tectonics demonstrated the impossibility of a lost continent in the geologically recent past,[72] most "Lost Continent" theories of Atlantis began to wane in popularity.

Plato scholar Julia Annas, Regents Professor of Philosophy at the University of Arizona, had this to say on the matter:
The continuing industry of discovering Atlantis illustrates the dangers of reading Plato. For he is clearly using what has become a standard device of fiction—stressing the historicity of an event (and the discovery of hitherto unknown authorities) as an indication that what follows is fiction. The idea is that we should use the story to examine our ideas of government and power. We have missed the point if instead of thinking about these issues we go off exploring the sea bed. The continuing misunderstanding of Plato as historian here enables us to see why his distrust of imaginative writing is sometimes justified.[73]
One of the proposed explanations for the historical context of the Atlantis story is a warning of Plato to his contemporary fourth-century fellow-citizens against their striving for naval power.[18]

Kenneth Feder points out that Critias's story in the Timaeus provides a major clue. In the dialogue, Critias says, referring to Socrates' hypothetical society:
And when you were speaking yesterday about your city and citizens, the tale which I have just been repeating to you came into my mind, and I remarked with astonishment how, by some mysterious coincidence, you agreed in almost every particular with the narrative of Solon. ...[74]
Feder quotes A. E. Taylor, who wrote, "We could not be told much more plainly that the whole narrative of Solon's conversation with the priests and his intention of writing the poem about Atlantis are an invention of Plato's fancy."[75]
Plato is actually interesling to read even in modern day, but...
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How a Civil War-Era Politician Invented Atlantis

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Post by RTH10260 »

Lost city of Atlantis rises again to fuel a dangerous myth
Millions have watched Netflix hit Ancient Apocalypse, which is just the latest interpretation of an enduring tale. But in its appeal to ‘race science’ it’s more than merely controversial

Robin McKie Science Editor
Sun 27 Nov 2022 10.00 GMT

For a story that was first told 2,300 years ago, the myth of Atlantis has demonstrated a remarkable persistence over the millennia. Originally outlined by Plato, the tale of the rise of a great, ancient civilisation followed by its cataclysmic destruction has since generated myriad interpretations.

Many versions have been intriguing and entertaining – but none have been as controversial as its most recent outing in the Netflix series Ancient Apocalypse.

Presented by the author Graham Hancock, the programme argues that a once sophisticated culture was destroyed by floods triggered by a giant comet which crashed on Earth, a disaster that inspired the legend of Atlantis, it is claimed.

According to Hancock, survivors of the calamity spread round the world – which was then populated by simple hunter-gatherers – bringing them science, technology, agriculture and monumental architecture. We owe everything to these near godlike individuals, it is claimed.

For good measure, Hancock – who has been promoting these ideas in his books for decades – argues that archaeologists have deliberately covered up this catastrophic vision of civilisation’s spread and accuses mainstream academia of its “extremely defensive, arrogant and patronising” attitudes.

These stark claims have helped the series reach the top of viewing lists on both sides of the Atlantic, to the chagrin of archaeologists who, for their part, have denounced Ancient Apocalypse on the grounds that it provides little evidence to support its grandiose claims and for promoting conspiracy theories dressed up as science.

Flint Dibble, an archaeologist at Cardiff University, described Hancock’s basic thesis as “flawed thinking”. Archaeologists don’t hate him, as he claims. “It is simply that we strongly believe he is wrong,” says Dibble in an article in The Conversation last week.




https://www.theguardian.com/science/202 ... apocalypse
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