Artist’s visualization of a citadel mound and submerged city to illustrate the fate of Atlantis (Midjourney AI, © Luwian Studies #6130)
The legend of Atlantis, as told in Plato’s Timaeus and Critias, has long fascinated both scholars and the public. Plato describes a great civilization that fell victim to a Greek attack, with its story preserved by Egyptian priests and later brought to Athens by the Greek statesman Solon. While many classical scholars consider Atlantis a work of fiction, modern research suggests it may instead be a slightly distorted memory of a historical event: the Trojan War. According to this, Atlantis is not purely a myth, but an Egyptian account of the events at the end of the Bronze Age, which has been partially corrupted due to inaccuracies in the translation into Greek.
Numerous elements of Plato’s Atlantis correspond with historical and archaeological findings about Troy. Plato’s Atlantis, according to his description, is located near a narrow strait that opens into a wide sea – a topographical feature that can be compared to Troy’s location at the entrance to the Dardanelles and its strategic control of access to the Black Sea. The description of an island-like landmass with a highly developed infrastructure also finds a possible correspondence in the unique geographic features of Troy. Both cultures are associated with the same mythological founders, had a pair of hot and cold springs, practiced an unusual cult of bull sacrifice, and knew orichalcum, presumably brass. Their downfall came after a long siege by a united Greek army, which, according to tradition, involved 1,200 ships, as well as bronze weapons and chariots.
The Atlantians appear to have been settled in Phrygia before the time of Dardanus.
Plato (in Critias 115d and 118d) says about Atlantis that is possessed “a canal with a depth of 100 feet … and straight channels about 100 feet wide”. The geographer Peter Wilhelm Forchhammer (1850, 20) says about Troy: “The depth of this canal is over 100 feet and its upper width is about 100 feet” (© Luwian Studies #6142)
Plato’s account is based on Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions that preserved memories of past events for centuries. The narrative reflects the Egyptian perspective on a conflict between Mycenaean Greeks and a powerful opponent. As Plato explicitly states, the original names were replaced by Greek equivalents, making it impossible today to determine which terms the Egyptians actually used.
The Samothracians ... say that there were born in that land to Zeus and Electra, who was one of the Atlantids.
The transmission of this account to Solon by Egyptian priests aligns with the well-documented practice of recording historical events in hieroglyphic texts, where foreign powers were often described using familiar Egyptian terms. Egyptian sources frequently mention powerful adversaries in the Aegean, often referring to them as inhabitants of the “Islands of the Great Green.” If Troy was among them, this would explain why an alternative version of the conflict was preserved in Egypt, distinct from the Homeric tradition.
Solon probably introduced the name “Atlantis” when he edited the manuscript – at a time when he had already become aware of the parallels with Troy. Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions often rendered foreign place names phonetically, which led to distortions when they were translated into Greek. In Greek mythology, the genealogy of Troy can be traced back to Atlas, and medieval sources describe the Trojans as “Atlanteans,” associating Troy with features similar to those of Atlantis. As late as the nineteenth century, English historians referred to the Trojans as “Atlanteans.”
Archaeological findings around Troy further support its identification with Atlantis. Troy VI, a Late Bronze Age city, featured an advanced water management system, including artificial waterways, harbors, and canals – key elements in Plato’s description of Atlantis.
Particularly noteworthy is an artificially created cut in the steep coast, which allowed ships to reach a harbor basin in the floodplain – another striking parallel to Plato’s description. Remnants of this system, such as silted harbor basins, canals, and mounds of excavated material, are still visible in the coastal plain. These discoveries confirm Troy’s significant maritime capabilities, reinforcing its portrayal as a naval power in Plato’s account.
Ilus is distinguished as a Merop Atlantian, and he was of the race of the Trojan kings, consequently they were all Merop Atlantians.
The few discrepancies in Plato’s narrative, including imprecise dating and geographical confusion, align with common errors in the translation of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs into Greek. One such inconsistency is the claim that Atlantis existed 9,000 years before Solon’s time. This can be attributed to a misunderstanding of the Egyptian calendar system, in which priests often recorded time in lunar rather than solar years. When adjusted accordingly, the dates align with the Late Bronze Age and the fall of Troy.
Another key mistranslation concerns the term “island.” The hieroglyph in question was used not only for islands, but also for coastal regions – it denotes foreign lands across the sea. Moreover, given Troy’s location on a peninsula with a strong maritime influence, Egyptian observers might well have perceived the area as an island, even though it was a peninsula.
The common opinion is, that Troy was built by Ilus, the son of Dardanus who must consequently have been of the same family, a Merop-Atlantian.
Identifying Atlantis as Troy provides new perspectives on the collapse at the end of the Bronze Age. Plato’s account portrays the Trojans as the original aggressors – an idea echoed in the Sea Peoples’ raids (about which we are also informed through Egyptian inscriptions). If Troy was not only Atlantis but also the homeland of the Sea Peoples, these invasions would represent coordinated attacks by the united Luwian states of western Asia Minor, led by Trojan rulers. In this scenario, the Trojan War, as known from Greek tradition, was a counteroffensive by the Greeks to dismantle this temporary Luwian hegemony.
My informant told me that all the history of earlier times was recorded in Egypt, in part in the temples, in part upon certain columns ... He added that these stories about Troy were included in their more recent records.
The lack of agreement among those who believe in the existence of Atlantis is also noteworthy: Everyone suspects the sunken city in a different location. Similarly, there is no agreement among classical philologists as to whether Atlantis is one of Plato’s inventions or a story with a historical core. Those who believe it is a literary construct contradict each other in their explanations of Plato’s possible motives, while those who suspect a historical basis cannot agree on what it might be. In contrast to this confusion of hypotheses, the non-Homeric Trojan traditions preserved from Roman times through the Middle Ages are remarkably consistent. Despite their character, which is often considered fictional by today’s scholarship, they convey a central message: Troy was the original aggressor – and thus would likely correspond to the home port of the Sea Peoples.
But behind the imaginary war between the Athenians and Atlanteans lies another legendary model, that of the Trojan War.
While many theories about the end of the Bronze Age rely on unknown variables – earthquakes, climate change, or meteorite impacts – the Troy/Atlantis hypothesis reduces speculation by linking multiple historical elements. The Sea Peoples, the Trojans, Atlantis, and even Scheria in Homer’s Odyssey – all these figures and places, whether mythological or historical, seem to preserve the memory of a prosperous city destroyed by human hands. By equating Atlantis with Troy, this theory consolidates mythological, historical, and archaeological evidence into a single, coherent framework, opening the door for further research across multiple disciplines.