Claim: Atlantis is Real

Question

Few, if any, scientists think Atlantis actually existed. Ocean explorer Robert Ballard, the National Geographic explorer-in-residence who discovered the wreck of the Titanic in 1985, notes that "no Nobel laureates" have said that what Plato wrote about Atlantis is true. Atlantis, also spelled Atalantis or Atlantica, a legendary island in the Atlantic Ocean, lying west of the Strait of Gibraltar. 

Comments

So how would you rate the claim? False, true, misleading, opinion, N/A? Don't forget to add a rating to your fact-checks.

Answer 1

Atlantis is sadly just a legend which is theorized to be created by Plato. Within the article you provided, it states: "Plato had not contained so much truth about the human condition, his name would have been forgotten centuries ago.

But one of his most famous stories—the cataclysmic destruction of the ancient civilization of Atlantis—is almost certainly false. " There has been no evidence out there to prove that Atlantis exists outside of fables. 

Another article from Discover states that: "Atlantis: the legendary island that sank beneath the waves in the distant past, taking down with it an advanced civilization. Is it possible that we will ever find it? Or, more importantly: Did it even exist?

The short answer to both: No. All available evidence indicates that the philosopher Plato, sometime around 360 B.C., invented the island nation in order to illustrate a point about the dangers of aggressive imperialism" (https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/where-is-the-lost-city-of-atlantis-and-does-it-even-exist).  So to answer your question completely, Atlantis is a legend created by Plato, with no evidence causing the story to seem real. 

There is however a "lost continent found under Europe" that some people call Atlantis, but this continent is actually called "Greater Ardia" Which was according to CNN "It’s the size of Greenland, and it broke off from North Africa, only to be buried under Southern Europe about 140 million years ago" (https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/23/world/lost-continent-europe-scn-trnd/index.html#:~:text=The%20continent%20is%20called%20Greater,about%20140%20million%20years%20ago.) Plato was also around 360 BC and not 140 million years ago so that diminishes the theory of this potentially being the Atlantis he talks about. 

Comments

I feel that your evidence suggests that the claim is false. I like that you provided more than one source and plenty of details and quotes to demonstrate that the claim can't be true. Nice work on the comprehensive fact-check.

Answer 2

It is hard to confirm or deny the existence of Atlantis. While many theories exist, there is very little support from the scientific community that Atlantis was a real place.

According to National Geographic, very few (if any) scientists believe that Atlantis existed. While these are only opinions, there is yet to be much credible evidence found that can concretely prove the existence of the mysterious city.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/atlantis#:~:text=Few%2C%20if%20any%2C%20scientists%20think,wrote%20about%20Atlantis%20is%20true.

Comments

Good answer. How would you rank it?

Answer 3

The theories of Atlantis and the 'lost city' have been around for longer than we would believe true. While the theories are interesting, and the stories are all similar there is no current physical truth to these claims. Some scientists believe that maybe there was a city that eventually sunk just as many famous cities are currently experiencing natural causing taking over. Atlantis is seen as an allegory and so the claims cannot be deemed true or false. However, it truly depends on who you ask. 

Where Is Atlantis? Is Atlantis Real? - WorldAtlas 

Answer 4

Atlantis has been a myth that has been spread throughout a long period of time. There is little to no evidence about the land of Atlantis. However there are tons of archeologists that believe that Atlantis is real and that there is evidence around the world, speculated to be traces of Atlantis. One of these is David Edwards, a chief engineer in the Science and Technology Office at Nasa's Marshall space flight Center. Here's a link to his new book:

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/nasa-images-prove-lost-city-124800916.html

Answer 5

The city of Atlantis is a myth because there is virtually no evidence that shows that it existed. The only evidence is from Plato, from 360 B.C. who we believe made up the place to warn about imperialism in ancient Greece. Then in 1882, Ignatius Donnelly, a former US congressman wrote a book with 13 hypotheses on the existence of Atlantis. However, these are just hypotheses as well.

https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/where-is-the-lost-city-of-atlantis-and-does-it-even-exist

Answer 6

as much as people want Atlantis to be real it isn't. people have fantasize about it and hoped that they will one day discover it, but it isn't real.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/03/21/trump-warns-arrest-calls-protest-but-online-support-muted/11511264002/

Answer 7

The theories that Atlantis exist are still only theories at this point because there has been no concrete evidence of Atlantis existing- hence why it is considered a myth or a legend rather than an actual true story. This legend was created by Plato with no solid forms of evidence, and still, thousands of years later, there has not been any significant evidence to prove that Atlantis was real. 

In this article published by SYFY, it states, "if Atlantis really existed, no one wrote about it until Plato, who did so 9,000 years after its destruction. This, in and of itself, is cause for skepticism." Thus, we can't say that Atlantis is real because there is not sufficient evidence to prove it- it should still be considered a theory or myth. 

Saying that Atlantis was real is likely misinformation. 

https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/atlantis-lost-empire-real-myth-science

Comments

So what would you rate the claim? True, false, misleading, opinion, N/A?

Answer 8

Atlantis is a myth that stories have spread for years, with many movies and books covering and mentioning it. Plato was the inventor of the concept of Atlantis back in ancient Greece. There is no solid evidence that Atlantis did or did not exist. The story Plato created, in theory, is supposedly about the city of Athens. It was told of a warning story since Athens fell, and in the stories of Atlantis, it also fell.

https://www.thecollector.com/atlantis-truth-behind-myth/

Answer 9

While it is neither confirmed nor denied that Atlantis is real, few scientists believe that it existed. Most people believe that it is not real and that Plato created the fictional place. 

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/atlantis

Answer 10

Atlantis had been a debate for awhile. Is it real or not? There are many differing opinions on the existence of this underwater city. Many archeologists have proposed different locations. So there is no concrete answer of yes or no. There is still work to be done to prove the city's existence. 

Where Is Atlantis? Is Atlantis Real? - WorldAtlas