On the subject of the Atlantis myth:
We were recently in Santorini (Greece), and there is a good argument that the cataclysmic Minoan eruption in about 1500 - 1650 BC may be responsible for the Atlantis legends.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minoan...ruption_dating
Before the massive eruption, Santorini was an almost completely circular island about 15 km across. The remaining crescent-shaped island was formed when something in excess of 60 cubic kilometres of rock were ejected. (That's about four times bigger than the famous Krakatoa event of 1883.) The resulting tsunamis would have devastated any coastal towns in the Aegean region.
The archaeological site of Akrotiri on the protected southern flanks of Santorini shows how devastating these events can be.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akrotiri_(Santorini)
A Minoan bronze-age city was totally covered by ash and pumice (similar to Pompeii), with all sorts of artefacts being found in the buried buildings, giving a fantastic insight into how Minoan civilisation functioned. (The excavated site is protected by a modern roof - see attached image - this is an amazing site, and many of the excavated artefacts can be seen in the museum in nearby Thira.) Unlike Pompeii, no human or animal remains have been found - it is presumed that the inhabitants escaped by sea during the preceding series of eruptions, abandoning most of their possessions as they fled.
There are no reliable historical records of the event, but when you look at what happened to the town of Akrotiri, and ponder the effect of the tsunamis from the event all round the southern Aegean, it is easy to imagine numerous towns and cities being washed into the sea, leaving no modern trace of these communities.