Informative Speech Outline

Hi everyone,

So I have been doing my research and have read your requests on what you would like me to provide for you regarding how we should go about starting our analytical timeline/powerpoint on Atlantis and its evolutionary history. I think it would be appropriate to first give a brief history lesson on the subject itself. The example I will give below should give some insight on how we can start this. This is essentially an outline I have come up with based on my personal research for us. I hope this helps you all with the historical and timeline aspect of our project. Let me know if you would like me to provide more information for you or assist in any other project needs.

What is Atlantis? Where did this idea of paradise come from?

Plato stated that Atlantis laid west of the Pillars of Hercules, located in the Atlantic Ocean. On this great island was a "great and wonderful empire" where virtuous and brave individuals lived in a kind of paradise. But this peaceful existence was not to last. The city came to an end when the people of Atlantis began to love power and greed more than the Gods. They then waged war against the rest of the world. However, they were defeated by the wise and moral Athenians. Then, about 9,000 years before Plato's own time, or possibly around 9,500 B.C.E., earthquakes essentially sunk Atlantis into the

Many people view Atlantis as just a legend, told by Plato in order to praise the values Athenian society held very dear. There are others, however, that believe that the island was based on historical fact. Some have even argued that Atlantis was located in the Americas, Antarctica, and in the Canary Islands. Others believe Atlantis was the Greek island of Thera, a theory fed by recent archaeological discoveries.

The Thera Theory (Slide: 4)

During the late 1960's, Professor Spyridon Marinatos of the University of Athens discovered the remains of a Bronze Age city near Akrotiri, on the island of Thera (aka Santorini). The city's buildings, streets, pottery, and wall art seemed to indicate that it was a wealthy society much like the Minoan civilization of nearby Crete. However, around 1500 B.C.E., a devastating volcanic eruption, much greater than the one that covered Pompeii, covered the city under approximently 15 feet of ash.

So was Thera the land of Atlantis? There are some who believe that Plato was actually describing Thera, but believed that he was wrong regarding its precise location and the date of its destruction. Some researchers also believe that translations of his own writings may have been misunderstood. So if Plato did not completely make up the story of the Lost city of Atlantis, it may have its origins in ancient Egyptian records that described the events at