First described by Plato in the fourth century BC, as a Utopia, Atlantis is the archetypal lost civilisation: an island state of remote antiquity, remarkable for its technological and cultural sophistication, destroyed by a sudden natural catastrophe. 

While the essential legend has remained the same, the supposed location of Atlantis has been debated ever since, with the mid-Atlantic the primary candidate. 

Many historical peoples and regions have also been suggested as vestiges of Atlantean civilisation, from the Maya of Central America to the mysterious pre-Spanish inhabitants of the Canary Islands.

Image: Map of Atlantis by Athanasius Kircher from 