What is Atlantis? The obvious response is that it is the mythical (?) island that Plato described in Timaeus and Critias. However, the answer may be slightly more complex. Many cultures talk about a deluge that destroyed a previous culture in their prehistory. Atlantis may be a local expression of a global civilization that existed in the times of the last glacial period and that was destroyed as the glacial period ended in catastrophic floods, volcanic activity and earthquakes. The memories of the old civilization's demise may have remained as the tales that hundreds of cultures have about the destruction of the world by water and/or fire, thousands of years ago.