Ancient Paradise Atlantis was an island paradise said to have existed more than 11,000 years ago It had high mountains streams and forests full of different animals It also had plains with rich soil so people could grow crops all year round Valuable metals such as gold and silver were found in the ground The island of Atlantis was said to be home to a rich and powerful civilization 6
ATLANTIS Land of Plenty The island of Atlantis was divided into 10 kingdoms Each kingdom had its own main city and was ruled by a powerful king The island’s great capital city was built on a hill and contained beautiful buildings and structures Now in this island of Atlantis there was a great and wonderful empire which had rule over the whole island Timaeus by Plato The island of Atlantis was controlled by the god Poseidon The kings that ruled the kingdoms were descendants of Poseidon descendants people who are related to a particular ancestor 7
City of Circles The capital city of Atlantis had an unusual design It was surrounded by three rings of water with two circles of land in between The rings of water were linked to the nearby sea by canals The people used the sea to trade goods with other countries Bridges connected the circles of land The people built walls around each circle with gates and towers to protect the city On the outer circles of land were buildings such as bathhouses and fountains There was even a horseracing track 8
ATLANTIS Shining in the Sun In the middle of the city stood a royal palace built for Poseidon’s wife and a temple honoring Poseidon They were richly decorated with silver gold and a rare metal called orichalcum Inside the temple was a large gold statue showing Poseidon driving six winged horses Around the outside of the temple were gold statues of all the kings and their wives The orichalcum metal in Atlantis was similar to bronze or brass For centuries orichalcum was only known about through ancient writings In 2015 divers found the first samples of the metal on a ship that sank off the coast of Sicily 2,600 years ago canals long narrow channels filled with water 9
