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Scientists and researchers from 15 countries gathered on Milos Island from 11th to 13th July in order to exchange their ideas and opinions about Atlantis. During the Conference “The Atlantis Hypothesis – Searching for a Lost Land”, specialists in the field of archaeology, geology, volcanology and other sciences presented and substantiated their views regarding the place where Atlantis existed, the time when it was destroyed and the causes of its destruction, whilst a number of people expressed their doubts as to whether it actually existed.

Based on the accounts of Plato, the conference participants agreed on the following 24 criteria, which a geographical area must satisfy in order to qualify as a site where Atlantis could have existed:

The Metropolis of Atlantis should have been located where an island used to be and where parts of it may still exist.
The Metropolis of Atlantis should have had a most distinct geomorphology composed of alternating concentric rings of land and water.
The Atlantis should have been located outside the Pillars of Hercules.
The Metropolis of Atlantis was greater than Libya and Anatolia and Middle East and Sinai (combined).
Atlantis must have sheltered a literate population with metallurgical and navigational skills.
The Metropolis of Atlantis should have been routinely reachable from Athens by sea.
At the time, Atlantis should have been at war with Athens.
The Metropolis of Athens must have suffered a devastating physical destruction of unprecedented proportions.
The Metropolis of Atlantis should have sunk entirely or partly below the water.
The Metropolis of Atlantis was destroyed 9000 Egyptian years before the 6th century B.C.
The part of Atlantis was 50 stadia (7,5 km) from the city.
Atlantis had a high population density, enough to support a large army (10,000 chariots, 1,200 ships, 1,200,000 hoplites)
The region of Atlantis involved the sacrifice of bulls.
The destruction of Atlantis was accompanied by an earthquake.
After the destruction of Atlantis, the passage of ships was blocked.
Elephants were present in Atlantis.
No physically or geologically impossible processes were involved in the destruction of Atlantis.
Hot and cold springs, with mineral deposits, were present in Atlantis.
Atlantis lay on a coastal plain 2000 X 3000 stadia surrounded by mountains falling into the sea.
Atlantis controlled other states of the period.
Winds in Atlantis came from the north (only in Northern hemisphere)
The rocks in Atlantis were of various colors: black, white, and red.
There were canals for irrigation in Atlantis.
Every 5th and 6th year, they sacrificed bulls.

In response to the above criteria, some views doubting the existence of Atlantis were also presented. The main representative of such doubt was Professor Christos Doumas, Director of Akrotiri Excavations in Santorini and member of the Scientific Committee of the Conference, who supported the theory that the existence of Atlantis is a myth and its pursuit a utopia.

“The same conference will be organised again in three years in order to establish what progress has been made in research about the Lost Land and it will probably be then that the scientific community will be ready to bring to light the secret of Atlantis”, stated Mr. Kostas Konstantinidis, Managing Director of Heliotopos Conferences, who also had the original idea of the conference.

The Atlantis Book Exhibition that took place alongside the conference was of particular interest. During the exhibition 50 books and magazines about the Lost Atlantis, Greek and foreign, old and new publications, were presented. The book exhibition was coordinated by Mr. Manolis Lignos, founder of the Folklore Museum of Santorini.

The conference was organised within the framework of Milos Conferences and was supported by the Milos Conference Centre and S&B Industrial Minerals S.A.

The eagerly awaited Conference Proceedings will include all of the presentations and will be the first book about Atlantis to contain such a wide range of views and approaches to the Atlantis hypothesis. The book will be published within a few months and will be available at the electronic bookshop at www.conferences.gr

At the dawn of the 21st century the mystery of what was recorded by Plato in the 4th century BC as one of the most advanced civilisations of the pre-historic world remains unsolved - the Lost Land of Atlantis.

According to Plato's dialogues Timaeus and Critias, Atlantis was an island state that existed in the Atlantic Ocean opposite the Pillars of Hercules (Straits of Gibraltar) over 12,000 thousand years ago. It was populated by a noble and powerful race that enjoyed great wealth thanks to the natural resources and geographical layout of the island, and was therefore a significant centre for trade and commerce.

The people of Atlantis lived simple and virtuous lives for many generations. As Plato records, the Atlanteans slowly began to change as Greed and Power began to corrupt them, until finally Zeus responded to their immorality with a fierce punishment – with one violent heave, the island of Atlantis, its people and its memory were swallowed by the sea.

For years this story has attracted the attention and wonder of specialists in many fields and everyday people all over the world searching for clues to put together the pieces of this mysterious puzzle. Where was Atlantis really located? Was the story perhaps an exaggeration based on the fall of the Cretan civilisation and the destruction of the island Thera? When did it actually exist? What is the truth about its destruction? Did it ever exist at all or was it purely fiction that served the purposes of Plato's descriptions of an Ideal State?

Researchers and specialists from all four corners of the globe will gather on the beautiful Greek island of Milos at the “Milos Conference Centre – George Eliopoulos” to present and analyse a significant amount of new research and hypotheses that, thanks to modern technology and fresh ideas, has a great potential to wash away the centuries of mystery and produce clearer conclusions.

After all, a mystery is best solved at its very source, so where better to bring together the top international Atlantis researchers than in the country where the story of Atlantis was born, in the Mediterranean Sea where many believe the lost land lies deep under thousands upon thousands of years of history.

The conference will serve as the widest platform yet to deal with this hypothesis, with topics ranging from History, Archaeology and Philosophy all the way to Volcanology, Meteors and Oceanography. The actual number of places where Atlantis is believed to be located has today reached 27. And so the mystery lives on, but it seems to be only a matter of time until the truth is revealed.

The conference is a Milos Conferences event. Milos Conferences is a function of the "Milos Conference Center - George Eliopoulos", a non-profit organization, located on the island of Milos, Greece.