Among all kinds of mysteries in the western world, nothing can arouse people's reverie more than the Great West. This land suddenly disappeared in the distant past, and where did it go with its splendid civilization? For thousands of years, people have been looking for its trace with great interest. Scientists have written thousands of papers and monographs on this subject, covering many fields such as history, archaeology, ethnology, geography, geology, climatology, biology, etc. It has become a new science of its own-Australasia. Today, there are still different opinions about the whereabouts of Daxizhou. 1. The origin of the eternal mystery The legend about Daxizhou was first written by Plato, an ancient Greek philosopher and mathematician. He described the story of Daxizhou in detail in two famous dialogue works, Claizi and Qimaili. This is a beautiful and rich civilized island country, located in the West Sea, west of the Strait of Gibraltar, outside the "Pillar of Hercules", with an area of 2.072 million square kilometers. There is a mild climate, dense forests, lush flowers and fruits: there are fish in the river, elephants and other animals in the forest, as well as gold, silver and shiny mountain copper that the ancients considered the most precious. This is really a happy paradise. The capital in the center of the island is resplendent, especially the magnificent palaces and temples, all decorated with gold, silver, copper and ivory. The island also has a canal system extending in all directions, well-built bridges and busy ports day and night ... The twelve main islands of Daxie are ruled by twelve kings respectively, and the country is prosperous and the people live and work in peace and contentment. Poseidon, who is just and sacred, is regarded as the supreme master of the island country. Poseidon's laws were carved on a bronze pillar, which won the unanimous belief and admiration of the people of Oceania. Later, the society in Oceania began to corrupt, evil replaced holiness, and natural virtue was replaced by love of money and wealth, idleness and extravagance. Finally, it even launched a war of foreign aggression in an attempt to enslave the residents east of the Gibraltar Strait. This angered Poseidon, and God was determined to severely punish those who betrayed the traditional beliefs in Oceania. Soon, disaster finally came. In a devastating earthquake and flood, the whole continent sank to the bottom of the sea in just one day and one night and disappeared into the rolling waves. This story sounds mysterious, but Plato has repeatedly stressed that it is handed down from generation to generation, not fiction. In order to prove the truth of this legend, Plato is said to have been to Egypt and consulted famous monks. However, Plato didn't know that it was this myth that made later generations argue endlessly for more than two thousand years. 2. A more credible answer From the perspective of modern geology, it is not surprising that things on the earth have changed. Vast land can be swallowed up by the ocean, and a new land will rise in the vast ocean. Climate change, melting glaciers, rising sea levels, and geological disasters such as volcanoes and earthquakes may all bring bad luck like Daxizhou. It is puzzling that the lost civilization of Daxizhou actually appeared 12000 years ago, that is, in the late Paleolithic period in human history. Is there any prehistoric civilization on earth earlier than the known ancient civilizations such as ancient Egypt and ancient India? 1870, the famous German archaeologist Suleiman excavated the site of Mycenae civilization in the northern Peloponnesus of Greece. Thirty years later, the famous British archaeologist Evans excavated an earlier Crete civilization site in Crete. The great achievements of archaeology in the past two years have sensationalized the world, and people invariably associate it with the missing Daxizhou. Crete is located at the southern tip of the Aegean Sea, with an area of 833 1 km2, and is the largest island in the Aegean Sea. According to legend, the king here was Minos, so Evans named the ruins excavated in Crete "Minoan civilization". The ancient people of Crete created their own culture under the influence of advanced civilizations in Egypt and West Asia. The 450 years from 20th century BC to15th century BC was the golden age of Minoan civilization. Its main relic is the famous Nosas Palace. The palace is large in scale, complex in structure, with thousands of households and twists and turns, which reminds people of the labyrinth of Minotto Ross, the personal monster who detained the bull's head in Greek mythology. Similar magnificent palaces are Festus and Hymia Triada at the southern end of the island, Maria at the northeastern end and Chakros at the eastern end. Minos is far ahead of the times in many ways. They use complicated characters, and there are many wonderful murals and pottery paintings in the palace; Handicraft industry has reached a very high level, which can make exquisite bronze vessels, gold and silver handicrafts, and can also build strong and light sailboats, with merchant fleets all over the ancient world; They built a complicated drainage system and used water pipes to drain water. They also knew how to introduce cold air into the house to adjust the air. Minoan women have a lofty position when most other nations in the world still regard women as property. Their religion centers on worshipping a topless mother goddess of musical instruments, and many murals depict elegant portraits of women. Her gorgeous appearance showed that women were respected at that time. Crete is sunny, life is stable and comfortable, and people love peace, which reveals a peaceful and clear atmosphere from Minos ruins. However, shortly after the15th century BC, Minoan civilization, which was in its heyday, suddenly disappeared. The results of archaeological excavations show that all the cities of Minos were destroyed at the same time. All this is similar to the legendary Daxizhou. What made the glorious Minoan civilization suddenly disappear? The progress of modern volcanology has confirmed that the natural force that caused this disaster came from a violent volcanic eruption on santorini Island (about113km north of Crete) and the huge tsunami that followed. Using radioactive carbon to identify the blackened stone house remains and charred human teeth excavated in santorini Island, it is known that volcanic eruption occurred in15th century BC. ~~