In “The Legend of Atlantis and Bull Leaping,” Podcast #049 Meredith Curtis asks, “Could the legend of Atlantis be true?” And does it involve the bull-leapers of history, the Minoans. Let’s meet the people who build the 600-acre Knossos Palace on the island of Crete. Meredith Curtis loves uncovering exciting tidbits from the past. Ancient History and Scripture collide to pass on wisdom as we learn another Life Lesson from Ancient History.

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Show Notes

Legend of Atlantis

Plato, who heard it from his grandfather, who heard it from Solon, wrote down the story of The Lost City of Atlantis.

In 355 B.C., Plato wrote down the legend of Atlantis and the noble people who gave up their virtue for greed and other sins; eventually being punished by the “gods” and sunk to the bottom of the sea by a violent earthquake.

Could this be the Minoan Island of Thera?

Crete

The buzzing hub of the Minoan civilization was located on the island of Crete.

Arising 2-3 centuries after the dispersion from Babel, the Minoans were a sophisticated, highly advanced civilization. Stone roads connected their cities. Each city had a beautiful palace.

Palace of Knossos.

Artwork.

Architecture.

Trade

A nation of merchants who built sturdy ships and traveled all over the world.

Exports: barley, wine, currants, olive oil, cypress wood, artwork, ships, wool, cloth, herbs, and purple dye

Imports: gold, silver, copper, ivory, precious stones, and tin

There is evidence that they made it to North American to mine copper.

Fashion.

Writing. Alphabet.

Religion.

Bull Leaping

Along with worshipping idol/goddesses and idol/gods, the bull was worshipped. Along with worshipping bulls, bull leaping was a popular sport that required athletic skill and fearlessness. Athletes leaped over bulls, or possibly leaped on top of them.

Minoan Town of Thera

Description of wealthy town.

Volcanoes, tsunamis, and earthquakes weakened the Minoan city-states. In 1600 BC, the island of Thera experienced one of the worst volcanoes eruptions in all of history. The town of Akrotiri was buried. After destroying the entire island of Thera, the volcanic ash spread to neighboring Crete. The volcanic eruption also triggered tsunamis that destroyed most of the homes and buildings along the coast of Crete.

Economy ruined. All their sturdy ships were lost, along with their ability to travel port to port, making money.

Though the Minoans continued to live on Crete, their wealth was gone. They were weak and vulnerable to the invasion of the Mycenaeans, or Greeks.

Though they were one of the most advanced ancient civilizations, the Minoans fell completely, forgotten until an archeologist uncovered their remains in 1900. For centuries, they were forgotten. Why?

Life Lesson from Ancient History

When you see the rise and fall of nations in the Bible, you notice that God judges nations because of terrible sin and rejection of God.

Making lots of money is a goal for many people. Even Christians can fall into that trap.

The Minoans had wealth, sophistication, religion, writing, beautiful artwork, and fun sports like bull leaping. But, they lacked the most important thing. They did not fear and serve the Lord.