In a moment that has sent shockwaves through the worlds of archaeology and ancient history, podcast titan Joe Rogan was left utterly speechless by compelling new evidence that claims to have pinpointed the exact location of the legendary lost city of Atlantis.
The astonishing revelation unfolded on a recent episode of his wildly popular show, The Joe Rogan Experience, during a discussion with author and researcher Graham Hancock. The conversation centred on a radical new interpretation of Plato's ancient texts, which has long been the primary source for the Atlantis myth.
Beyond Myth: The Thera Cataclysm
The new theory moves away from fanciful notions of the city being located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Instead, it presents a convincing argument that Plato's description was actually a distorted account of a very real historical catastrophe: the devastating volcanic eruption on the Greek island of Santorini, then known as Thera.
This event, which occurred around 1600 BCE, was one of the most powerful volcanic eruptions in human history. It utterly decimated the sophisticated Minoan civilization that thrived on the island and its surrounding settlements, including the island of Crete.
A Perfect Match to Plato's Description
The evidence presented to Rogan meticulously connects Plato's detailed account with the archaeological and geological record of Thera. Proponents of the theory argue that key details align perfectly:
- Circular City Structure: The excavation of Akrotiri on Santorini reveals a advanced, circular city design with complex plumbing and architecture, mirroring Plato's description of Atlantis's concentric rings of water and land.
- Advanced Civilization: The Minoans were a remarkably advanced society for their time, with vibrant art, sprawling palaces, and extensive trade networks—a fitting match for the powerful and prosperous Atlantis.
- Cataclysmic End: Plato described Atlantis being swallowed by the sea "in a single day and night of misfortune." The volcanic eruption of Thera, which caused a colossal tsunami and buried the city under metres of ash, provides a terrifyingly accurate geological explanation for this sudden demise.
The theory suggests that the story of this local disaster was passed down through generations and across cultures, eventually reaching the Egyptian priests who later relayed it to Plato, who may have embellished its size and location.
A Paradigm Shift in Ancient History
Rogan's stunned reaction underscores the potential significance of this reinterpretation. It proposes that the story of Atlantis is not a mere fable, but a folk memory of a real, historical event that wiped out a major Bronze Age civilization.
This breakthrough challenges conventional archaeological thought and invites us to reconsider the blurred lines between ancient myth and historical fact. The search for Atlantis may not be a quest for a fictional sunken kingdom in the Atlantic, but rather a forensic re-examination of one of history's greatest natural disasters, preserved in story for millennia.
