Atlantis Was Real: Atlantis' Connection to Noah's Flood and the Anunnaki
- Marcus Holbert
- Sep 4, 2024
- 5 min read
Introduction
The mystery of Atlantis has captivated scholars, philosophers, and alternative historians for centuries. Plato's description of Atlantis—a grand and advanced civilization that was destroyed in a cataclysmic flood—remains one of the most intriguing lost civilization stories. But how does this relate to the biblical story of Noah's Ark and the Sumerian flood myths found in ancient tablets? In this blog post, we’ll explore the connections between these flood myths and Atlantis, split into two sections: an academic analysis of ancient sources and a speculative look at the theories of Zecharia Sitchin, Edgar Cayce, and Helena Blavatsky.
Academic Section: Atlantis, Noah's Flood, and the Sumerian Tablets
Plato’s Atlantis
The story of Atlantis comes primarily from Plato’s dialogues, Timaeus and Critias, written around 360 BCE. Plato describes a powerful island civilization located beyond the Pillars of Hercules (modern-day Strait of Gibraltar) that fell out of favor with the gods and was submerged into the ocean in a single day and night of misfortune. Atlantis, according to Plato, was destroyed approximately 9,000 years before his time, placing its destruction around 11,600 BCE.
Plato’s Atlantis has been debated in academia for centuries, with scholars interpreting it as a metaphor for human hubris or a possible historical account. However, there is no clear consensus about its existence. Despite the lack of direct evidence for Atlantis, the idea of a catastrophic flood destroying an advanced civilization is echoed in many ancient cultures around the world.
Noah’s Flood in the Bible
The story of Noah’s Ark in the Bible (Genesis 6-9) is one of the most famous flood myths. According to the narrative, God was displeased with humanity's wickedness and decided to cleanse the Earth by sending a great flood. He commanded Noah to build an ark and save his family and pairs of animals to repopulate the world. After the floodwaters subsided, Noah’s ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat, and the Earth was repopulated.
While the Bible places the flood in a specific religious context, similar flood myths appear in ancient Mesopotamian literature.
Sumerian Tablets and the Atrahasis
In the Sumerian flood myth, which predates the biblical account by over a thousand years, the story of Atrahasis closely mirrors the Noah’s Ark narrative. The Atrahasis Epic, dated to around 1700 BCE, tells the story of how the gods decided to flood the Earth to rid it of overpopulation and noise. The god Enki (associated with wisdom and creation) warned the hero Atrahasis, instructing him to build an ark to survive the flood.
This Sumerian account provides a strong connection to the broader Mesopotamian tradition of flood myths. The Epic of Gilgamesh also contains a flood story in which the hero Utnapishtim is similarly warned by the god Ea (the Akkadian name for Enki) to build an ark and preserve life during a devastating flood. The similarities between the Sumerian, Akkadian, and biblical stories suggest a shared mythological origin.
Sources:
The Epic of Gilgamesh. Translated by Andrew George. Penguin Classics, 1999.
Dalley, Stephanie. Myths from Mesopotamia: Creation, The Flood, Gilgamesh, and Others. Oxford University Press, 2009.
Plato, Timaeus and Critias, translated by Benjamin Jowett. The Internet Classics Archive, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Speculative Section: Sitchin, Edgar Cayce, and Helena Blavatsky on Atlantis
While academic scholarship focuses on the similarities between the flood myths in ancient Mesopotamia and the biblical accounts, alternative researchers have taken the connection between the Great Flood and Atlantis further.
Zecharia Sitchin and the Anunnaki
Zecharia Sitchin, known for his work on the ancient astronaut theory, delved deeply into the Sumerian texts and suggested that the Anunnaki, a group of deities in Sumerian mythology, were actually extraterrestrial beings from the planet Nibiru. According to Sitchin, these beings had a significant role in shaping early human civilizations.
Sitchin speculated that the Anunnaki were directly involved in the events that led to the Great Flood, as recorded in the Sumerian tablets. He interpreted the flood story as an act of the Anunnaki, who sought to cleanse the Earth, either due to humanity's misdeeds or because of genetic experiments gone wrong. Sitchin also connected Atlantis to the advanced technologies of the Anunnaki, theorizing that Atlantis was a center of their civilization, which was ultimately destroyed by the cataclysmic flood they triggered.
Edgar Cayce and the Destruction of Atlantis
Edgar Cayce, the “Sleeping Prophet,” gave numerous readings on Atlantis during the early 20th century. He described Atlantis as a technologically advanced civilization that was destroyed by a series of natural disasters, including a great flood. According to Cayce, the people of Atlantis misused their technology, which contributed to their downfall.
Cayce predicted that evidence of Atlantis would be found near the Bahamas, particularly around Bimini, where underwater structures have been discovered. Although these structures are controversial and have not been definitively linked to Atlantis, Cayce’s prophecies continue to intrigue researchers.
Cayce also linked the destruction of Atlantis to the biblical flood, suggesting that both stories refer to the same event. He argued that remnants of Atlantean knowledge and people survived the flood and influenced later civilizations, particularly in Egypt and the Americas.
Helena Blavatsky and the Root Races
Helena Blavatsky, founder of the Theosophical Society, also speculated on Atlantis in her works. She believed in the existence of root races, successive civilizations that existed before our current era. According to Blavatsky, Atlantis was one of the lost civilizations of the fourth root race. Its destruction, like in Cayce’s account, was caused by the misuse of advanced technology and a cataclysmic flood.
Blavatsky’s The Secret Doctrine (1888) ties the fall of Atlantis to cosmic cycles and the moral decline of its inhabitants, suggesting that the great flood was a necessary purging event. She also linked the Atlanteans to early human races, emphasizing their role in shaping the cultures that followed.
Speculative Sources:
Sitchin, Zecharia. The 12th Planet. Harper, 1976.
Cayce, Edgar. Edgar Cayce's Atlantis. A.R.E. Press, 1968.
Blavatsky, Helena. The Secret Doctrine. Theosophical Publishing Society, 1888.
Conclusion: Bridging the Academic and the Speculative
While the academic evidence provides a solid basis for understanding the ancient flood myths found in Sumerian texts, the connections to Atlantis remain speculative but intriguing. The similarities between the destruction of Atlantis and the Great Flood described in the Atrahasis Epic suggest that these myths could be part of a larger narrative of cataclysmic events that shaped early human civilization.
Whether Atlantis was a real, technologically advanced civilization or simply a mythological metaphor for human hubris, the connections between these ancient flood myths and the Anunnaki offer a fascinating perspective on the mysteries of our past.
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