h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Without meaning to cast doubt over the sanity of many very clever people who have looked at the Atlantis legend, the whole subject does seem to bring the nutters out of the woodwork, doesn't it?
It is the perfect utopia for people who feel that modern society isn't working and is so flexible for the large-scale conspiracy theories (aliens encouraging human life, people living for thousands of years etc.) that Atlantis seems to be taken up as a banner by the loony fringe.
Still, I'm sure it was a nice place to chill out.

Of course there are people who diminish the idea of Atlantis by trying to claim reincarnation roots to the place. Look to the books of Dion Fortune for example. Her witches were supposed to be Atlantean priests reincarnated. However, I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Mythical locations (if it is a myth) are incredibly romantic. Think of Camelot (if I've spelt it right?) and the mileage poets have had from that. These myths are so important to us because it not only means we come from somewhere wonderful, but there is the hope that it can be recreated in our world. It lends the dragging day to day business of our lives a little more colour. I love the idea of Atlantis. I hope it did exist. I don't think I'm a nutter for that.

(I'm a nutter for lots of other reasons. Ahem)

Agreed.
We all need a few mythical archetypes to help our sanity. What better place to house them than a continent that has disappeared? Ancient Egyptian society always seems a little scruffier when you've seen the slums of Cairo - at least nothing modern can taint Atlantis.

According to scientists, Plato often made up storys, allegories etc, to help prove his arguments, but Critas (his cousin) insists the place existed because he was told by his great grandfather Dropides, he him self heard it from Solon. Now solon didn't claim that the story was original, but heard it in Egypt around 590 BC in Sais where he met priests of the Goddess Neith, these people were educated and he was eger to learn about their history. An old preist recounted the adventurs of his Athenian ansesters of his own, Solon translated this in to Greek with the intension of writing a poem.

I know it all goes past recent scientific thought, but I quite like the idea of an ancient civilisation that was perhaps further advanced than our own that had been destroyed and we could find out a couple of the secrets of the ancients.

I've heard of theories that it may be located under the polar ice in Antartica, based upon someone finding some rather old maps of the landmass underneath the ice having a very close approximation to the maps which turned up in Turkey.

Oh and bat guano is good for putting on warts.

Someone pinch me, I'm dreaming.

According to scientists, Plato often made up storys, allegories etc, to help prove his arguments, but Critas (his cousin) insists the place existed because he was told by his great grandfather Dropides, he him self heard it from Solon. Now solon didn't claim that the story was original, but heard it in Egypt around 590 BC in Sais where he met priests of the Goddess Neith, these people were educated and he was eger to learn about their history. An old preist recounted the adventurs of his Athenian ansesters of his own, Solon translated this in to Greek with the intension of writing a poem.
But this Egyption linc is valid because, Atlantis is thought to have suffered from devitating earthquakes quite often and to have been eventually destroyed by a volcano.
3,500 years ago engulfed the island of Satoris but also destroyed the Minoen-Crete civilisation. The eruption at Santorini Creating tidal waves and millions of tons of ash through out Europe. It is thought that this eruption is the baisis of the escape of Moses.

I hadn't finnished, pressed TAB by mistake, sorry