Množina: Atlantis

(Mythology) According to legend, an island in the Atlantic Ocean that was swallowed by an earthquake.
In Greek mythology, an island continent, said to have sunk following an earthquake. Although the Atlantic Ocean is probably named for it, the structure of the sea bottom rules out its ever having existed there. The Greek philosopher Plato created an imaginary early history for it and described it as a utopia.
Legends about the disappearance of Atlantis may have some connection with the volcanic eruption that devastated Santorini in the Cyclades islands, north of Crete, about 1500 BC. The ensuing earthquakes and tidal waves are believed to have been one cause of the collapse of the empire of Minoan Crete.