The Mystery of Atlantis Trivia Quiz

Answer: A monarchy ruled by ten kings descended from Poseidon

When Plato wrote in his dialogue 'Critias', he described Atlantis as being divided into ten regions. Each one was ruled by a king. These ten kings were all descendants of Poseidon, the god of the sea, who had fathered five sets of twin sons with a mortal woman named Cleito. The eldest son, Atlas, became the supreme ruler, and the island was named after him. The other nine kings ruled their own territories but were bound by sacred laws to cooperate and never make war upon each other.

Plato explained how these kings would meet periodically at the temple of Poseidon to discuss matters of state and administer justice according to ancient laws inscribed on a pillar. They would hunt sacred bulls in the temple precincts and make sacrifices, renewing their oaths of loyalty.

This arrangement represented an idealised form of government in Plato's narrative, combining divine legitimacy with cooperative rule, but it eventually became corrupted as the divine heritage weakened over generations.

Answer: Beyond the Pillars of Hercules in the Atlantic Ocean

Plato clearly stated in his dialogues that Atlantis was located beyond the Pillars of Hercules, located at the western end of the Mediterranean Sea. What we now call the Strait of Gibraltar was known in ancient times as the Pillars of Hercules. He said that Atlantis was a large island or continent in the Atlantic Ocean, positioned beyond this gateway to the known world. This is why the ocean itself came to be called the Atlantic, though this naming relationship remains debated.

I find this very interesting. In 2011, researchers led by Professor Richard Freund announced they had potentially discovered evidence of Atlantis near Cadiz in southern Spain, close to the ancient Pillars of Hercules. Using satellite imagery and ground-penetrating radar, they identified concentric ring-like structures beneath marshlands that resembled Plato's description.

They also found Evidence of canals and waterways, signs of tsunami destruction and possible city layout beneath marshlands. The canals/waterways were significant because Plato specifically described Atlantis as having elaborate canal systems connecting the concentric rings. Freund claimed the ground-penetrating radar showed evidence of these ancient water channels.

Mainstream archaeologists remain sceptical and no definitive physical evidence has been excavated, but the discovery generated international interest. Could this be Plato's Atlantis?

Answer: Divine punishment through earthquakes

In Plato's dialogues, the destruction of Atlantis was presented as divine retribution for the civilisation's moral corruption and hubris. According to his account in 'Timaeus', the Atlanteans had initially been a noble and virtuous people, but over time they became increasingly greedy, aggressive and materialistic. When they grew so corrupt that they attempted to conquer Athens and enslave the Mediterranean peoples, the gods decided to punish them for their transgressions.

Plato wrote that Zeus gathered the gods together to decide the fate of Atlantis, and the punishment came swiftly in the form of violent earthquakes and floods. In a single day and night of catastrophic destruction, the entire island continent was swallowed by the sea and disappeared beneath the waves. He emphasised that this destruction wasn't merely a natural disaster. It was a deliberate act of divine justice, a moral lesson about the dangers of pride and the abuse of power.

Answer: The Fourth Root Race

Helena Blavatsky, founder of the Theosophical Society, published 'The Secret Doctrine' in 1888. It presented an elaborate cosmology of human evolution through seven root races. According to her teachings, the Fourth Root Race were the Atlanteans. They inhabited the continent of Atlantis during a period she placed at roughly one million years ago at its height, with the civilisation's final destruction occurring around 850,000 years ago.

Blavatsky described the Fourth Root Race as being more physically dense than their predecessors. They possessed advanced psychic and technological abilities that set them apart from earlier races. She claimed the Atlanteans eventually fell into materialism and misused their powers. This led to their downfall and the destruction of their civilisation.

Answer: They migrated to various parts of the world, influencing ancient civilisations

'The Secret Doctrine' described how the destruction of Atlantis happened over an extended period through multiple catastrophic events rather than a single disaster. According to Blavatsky, groups of Atlanteans who foresaw the coming destruction migrated to different regions of the world before the final cataclysm. These survivors carried their advanced knowledge and culture with them, becoming the civilisers and teachers of less developed peoples.

She claimed these Atlantean refugees settled in areas including Egypt, Central and South America, India, and parts of Europe and Asia. She suggested they were responsible for establishing many of the world's great ancient civilisations and that their influence could be traced in the architectural, astronomical, and spiritual knowledge of cultures like the Egyptians, Mayans, and early Hindus. This migration explained, in her view, the similarities in myths, symbols, and megalithic structures found across different continents.

Answer: Atlanteans possessed stronger psychic abilities but were less intellectually developed

In Blavatsky's evolutionary framework outlined in 'The Secret Doctrine', each Root Race represents a different stage of human development with distinct characteristics. She taught that the Fourth Root Race (Atlanteans) possessed powerful psychic and occult abilities that have largely been lost in our current Fifth Root Race. They could manipulate forces of nature, communicate telepathically, and perceive spiritual realities directly.

However, Blavatsky claimed that whilst Atlanteans had superior psychic development, they were less advanced intellectually and rationally than modern humanity. The Fifth Root Race (which she called the Aryan race) represents the age of mental and intellectual development, though at the cost of losing much of the intuitive and psychic capacities the Atlanteans possessed. This trade-off was part of the evolutionary process she described, with each Root Race developing different human faculties.

Answer: Throughout the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans

Unlike Plato's modest description of an island beyond the Pillars of Hercules, Blavatsky described Atlantis as an enormous continent covering a significant portion of what is now the Atlantic Ocean. In 'The Secret Doctrine', she claimed Atlantis at its peak extended from the present-day Atlantic well into what is now the Pacific region, forming a massive landmass that dwarfed Plato's account. This continental scale matched her framework of Atlantis representing an entire epoch of human civilisation rather than a single island nation.

Blavatsky taught that Atlantis was destroyed gradually through a series of catastrophic events over an immense geological timeframe, with different portions sinking at different times. This vastness explained how Atlantean culture developed such distinct regional variations across the continent. The sheer scale of Blavatsky's Atlantis set her account apart from every other version of the legend.

Answer: To complete unfinished karmic lessons and avoid repeating past mistakes

Edgar Cayce, often called 'The Sleeping Prophet', gave numerous psychic readings about Atlantis between the 1920s and 1940s whilst in a trance state. His readings frequently mentioned that souls who had lived in Atlantis were reincarnating in large numbers during the twentieth century and beyond.

He taught that these souls carried karmic patterns from their Atlantean experiences, particularly related to the misuse of power and technology. He suggested that humanity was entering another period of rapid technological advancement similar to Atlantis. I think this seems to be accurate, as it's obvious how fast technology is becoming more sophisticated.

The Atlanteans had destroyed themselves through moral corruption and technological misuse, and returning souls needed to learn to handle power responsibly. The readings warned that if humanity repeated the same mistakes with modern technology, particularly regarding nuclear energy and environmental destruction, similar catastrophic results could follow.

Reincarnating Atlanteans now have a second chance and a serious responsibility. It's about spiritual growth and karmic resolution.

Answer: Powerful crystals used for energy

Throughout Edgar Cayce's readings on Atlantis, he repeatedly described the Atlanteans' use of large crystals, which he called 'fire stones' or 'terrible crystals', as their primary source of power. These crystals were said to harness solar, lunar, and stellar energies for various purposes including powering vehicles, healing, communication, and even manipulating weather patterns. The crystals were housed in special power stations and could concentrate and direct energy with tremendous force.

According to him, the downfall of Atlantis came when Atlantean scientists and political leaders misused this crystal technology, pushing it beyond safe limits in their pursuit of power and control. The readings described how the crystals' energies became increasingly unstable, eventually triggering volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and geological upheavals that tore the continent apart.

Cayce suggested that some of these powerful crystals still lie beneath the Atlantic Ocean, and that disturbances in the Bermuda Triangle area might be related to their residual energy. I wonder if that would explain this mysterious area.

Answer: Under the Sphinx in Egypt

One of Edgar Cayce's most famous predictions concerned the Hall of Records, which he claimed was hidden beneath the Sphinx in Egypt. According to his readings, Atlantean refugees who settled in Egypt around 10,500 BC brought with them detailed records of their civilisation's history, technology, and spiritual knowledge. These records were supposedly sealed in a chamber beneath the Sphinx to be discovered when humanity was ready to receive the information.

Cayce described the Hall of Records as containing not only written documents but also artefacts and technological devices from Atlantis. He predicted this chamber would be discovered before the end of the 20th century, though no such discovery has been officially confirmed. His readings also mentioned that similar record repositories existed in the Yucatan Peninsula and near Bimini in the Bahamas, forming a triangle of preserved Atlantean knowledge.