Critias claims that his accounts of ancient Athens and Atlantis stem from a visit to Egypt by the Athenian lawgiver Solon in the 6th century BC. In his account, ancient Athens seems to represent the "perfect society" and Atlantis its opponent, representing the very antithesis of the "perfect" traits described in the Republic. Critias mentions an allegedly historical tale that would make the perfect example, and follows by describing Atlantis as is recorded in the Critias. In the introduction, Socrates muses about the perfect society, described in Plato's Republic, and wonders if he and his guests might recollect a story which exemplifies such a society.
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The Timaeus begins with an introduction, followed by an account of the creations and structure of the universe and ancient civilizations. In his written works, Plato makes extensive use of the Socratic dialogues in order to discuss contrary positions within the context of a supposition. While most likely all of these people actually lived, these dialogues as recorded may have been the invention of Plato. The four persons appearing in those two dialogues are the politicians Critias and Hermocrates as well as the philosophers Socrates and Timaeus, although only Critias speaks of Atlantis. Luce assumes that Plato - after describing the origin of the world and mankind in Timaeus as well as the allegorical perfect society of ancient Athens and its successful defense against an antagonistic Atlantis in Critias - would have made the strategy of the Hellenic civilisation during their conflict with the barbarians a subject of discussion in the phantom dialog. The dialogue Critias was never completed by Plato for an unknown reason, however scholar Benjamin Jowett among others, argues that Plato originally planned a third dialogue titled Hermocrates. These works contain the earliest known references to Atlantis. Plato's account of Atlantis is written in the dialogues Timaeus and Critias, dated circa 360 BC. Critias to Socrates, according to Plato, Timaeus 20d. More than ever, Atlantis inspires today's literature, from science fiction to comic books and movies. Plato's description inspired the utopian works of several Renaissance writers, like Francis Bacon's " New Atlantis".
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While basically unknown during the Middle Ages, the story of Atlantis was rediscovered by Humanists at the very beginning of modern times. The possible existence of Atlantis was actively discussed throughout the classical antiquity, but it was usually rejected and occasionally parodied.
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Some scholars argue Plato drew upon memories of past events such as the Thera eruption or the Trojan War, while others insist that he took inspiration of contemporary events like the destruction of Helike in 373 BC or the failed Athenian invasion of Sicily in 415–413 BC. Although the function of the story of Atlantis seems to be clear to most scholars, they dispute whether and how much Plato's account was inspired by older traditions. Some scholars express the opinion that Plato intended to tell real history. Soon after a failed invasion of Athens, Atlantis sank in the waves "in a single day and night of misfortune" due to a natural catastrophe which happened 9,000 years before Plato's time.Īs a story embedded in Plato's dialogues, Atlantis is mostly seen as a myth created by Plato to back up a previously invented theory with real facts. According to him this island, lying "beyond the pillars of Hercules", was a naval power, having conquered many parts of western Europe and Africa. Related subjects: MythsĪtlantis ( Greek: Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος, "Island of Atlas") is the name of an island first mentioned and described by the classical Greek philosopher Plato.