The Lost City of Atlantis

Plato's Testimony

Around 355 BC, two dialogues written by the Greek philosopher Plato, began to reveal the myth of Atlantis.

Timaeus - It tells a history, told through generations of families, which all began with the Greek wiseman Solo. When Solo was in Egypt, approximately 590BC, the priest of a temple told him the following secret - 9000 years ago, an island called Atlantis existed. It was called the "exit of the Atlantic sea" and it was located beyond the Pillars of Hercules (Gibraltar). It was

Critias - In Critias, Plato gives more information regarding Atlantis. The island was divided into many different districts, and there were numerous channels that converged towards the capital city in circular forms. In the heart of the capital, there was a Royal residence - the old residence of the God of the Sea. It was a citadel with a round form and a diameter of approximately 5 kilometres.

The capital sheltered the temples, the palaces and the public buildings as well as the race courses. There were some wonderful temples, one of which was dedicated to Poseidon. Its external walls were completely covered with silver and its roofs were plated with gold. The temple was decorated with many golden statues. One statue exceeded all others; it represented Poseidon being held upright on a harnessed chariot of ten winged horses. It was so large that the figure touched the ceiling of the temple.

Unfortunately for the Muggles, Critias remained unfinished and no more information about Atlantis was learned from Plato.

Tsunami

The study of ancient tsunamis is still a relatively new practice, so while this Muggle theory is valid, it's hard to prove or support. But there is evidence which shows that there was a massive tsunami around the time of Atlantis, on the island of Crete. Researchers have found building material, pottery, cups, etc. washed up on shore. It has a "distinct tsunami signature" says Muggle archaeologist Hendrik Bruins. From Plato's dialogues, we know that many of the inhabitants of Atlantis, known as Minoans, were merchants or fishermen, and so large portions of their city would've been built near the water, making them particularly vulnerable to tsunamis.

Volcano

One of the strongest theories yet on what happened to Atlantis, was that an enormous volcanic eruption occurred, filling the air with ash, possibly causing a tsunami, and eventually burying Atlantis underwater. Thera, also called Santorini, was the site of the Minoan eruption around 1600 BC. Evidence found of Minoan civilization on Crete suggested that the Minoans had more advanced technology than mainland Greece at the time. Later on, archaeologists discovered a wall map that gave details about how Atlantis and other islands around it were laid out.

Wizarding Explanation

We as wizards know that Atlantis is not a myth. It was a land where wizards go after they'd been exiled or when they were hiding out from Muggles. It has its own government and so isn't under the administration of the Ministry of Magic. Rather it is ruled by Wizarding kings who manage to keep Atlantis invisible from all foreigners.

3500 years ago, a massive disagreement took place on the island - should Muggles be allowed to live there? Wizards wanted to be able to use magic freely though. It was decided to stage a catastrophe to remove Muggles from the island and permanently hide the island of Atlantis.