Atlantis

It is the fictional island mentioned within an allegory on the hubris of nations in two of Plato’s works, with Atlantis eventually becoming swallowed by the sea.  The history lover in me wishes Atlantis did in fact exist.  I have always found it to be an intrigue.  After all, Pompeii was a lost civilization a volcano allowed us to see completely frozen in time.  Could the ocean not hold a preserved one as well?  Man has not solved all history’s mysteries (for instance, Noah’s Ark) and there are more waiting to be found.  During spring break last year, my father-in-law took the three of us on our first paternal family vacation to Atlantis the resort.  My husband is his eldest child and our daughter of course is his granddaughter.  I would say he has spent a lot of his life in the Bahamas but he had never been to this resort.  Frankly I do not think we could have ever afforded to go without him.  But more importantly, we were truly sorry to see him leave three days later while he graciously allowed us to stay two more.  Some may pooh-pooh large, all-inclusive resorts but I quickly learned their merit.  The American poet Charles Olson, who described himself not so much as a poet but as “an archeologist of morning” once wrote, “Atlantis will rise again.”  I have repeatedly teased my husband, who enjoys myths such as Bigfoot and theories about aliens and I felt guilty that when it was something in which I would like to believe I found it quite fascinating.  Ever since I was a kid and watched Aquaman on Saturday morning cartoons I have fallen in love with the idea of Atlantis.  Aquaman could breathe unassisted underwater and, even cooler, he could telepathically communicate with the all of the sea’s creatures.  Of course his character is fictional.  The Greeks, however were divided as to whether or not Plato’s story of the powerful and advanced kingdom which sank into the ocean in a night and a day was history or metaphor.  More recent times have suggested possible historical locations, most commonly the Greek Island of Santorini, which was destroyed by a volcanic eruption around 1,600 B.C.  For those of you who have not been, allow me to take you into a world where “archaeology,” “history,” and myth mingle with “artifacts,” “pictographs” and living sea creatures surrounded by great pillars, magnificent fountains, and majestic looking towers all soaring impressively above the blue green sea … Atlantis.

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