Is Atlantis related to the green Sahara?

Abstract

Most scholars take Atlantis as Plato’s invention to promote his political ideal articulated in his masterwork The Republic. This paper points out that the green Sahara period encompasses the time of Atlantis according to Plato’s records. The transitions between the green Sahara and desert Sahara were controlled by the water cycle stability in the Atlas Basin, an area fitting all the features of the Atlas Empire as described in Plato’s Timaeus and Critias. The historical account of Atlantis by Plato is compared with the newly identified site, the timelines of climate changes, a likely hydrological process, and the geographical profiles in the Atlas Basin.

A paradise went under– the unique hydrology of the atlas basin recorded in the pyramid texts

“…This understanding of the hydrology and water cycle stability in AB led to the identification of the Atlantis location at the outlet of the canal connecting the two terminal megalakes in the basin. 3,4,5 The geographical features in AB, the climate change timelines, and the suggested Atlantis inundation scenario match perfectly with Plato's account on Atlantis in his Dialogues Timaeus 6 and Critias. 7 Besides Plato's Atlantis story, there are numerous fragments in ancient literatures implying relationships between the Egyptian, Mediterranean, and Atlantic civilizations, such as Diodorus of Sicily's Library of History, Apollonius Rhodius's Argonautica, Herodotus's Histories, and the epic poems of Homer and Hesiod.…”

“…This desertification process is clearly shown by the dust flux changes obtained by deMenocal et al 13 and McGee et al 14 from the marine cores extracted at four locations close to northwest Africa coast from 19°N to 27°N. 5 The dispersion of Atlanteans in this desertification process was an unprecedented Exodus about 5600 years ago. On the north side, they likely found a foothold on some Mediterranean islands and the Atlantic façade of Europe.…”

“…At the Akhet location, the crescent shaped external isle is still visible. The close-up image in Figure 4 of Zhang (2021) 5 shows a clear round profile having the exact same diameter of the Atlantis citadel detailed in Plato's Critias.…”

“…It is exactly the location identified by Zhang in 2021 for the legendary Atlantis. 3,4,5 The Akhet was also called 'the Great Immersion,' 'the Inundation,' or 'the Great Inundation' in PT (Unis 222). Figure 2 shows the layout of the bodies of water in AB and their names used in PT.…”

“…Joanne Ballard of US Census Bureau is a passionate Atlantis investigator. She contacted me after reading my paper 5 (and video 4 ) on Atlantis and helped get feedback from Mr. Georgeos Díaz-Montexano, a leading Atlantis scholar. Although Georgeos' assertion of my finding was negative, his book drew my attention to the Pyramid Texts.…”