Plato wrote about the lost city of Atlantis in two of his dialogues, “Timaeus” and “Critias,” which are thought to have been composed around 360 BCE. The narrative is presented as a history passed down through generations from the ancient Athenian statesman, Solon, who heard the story while visiting Egypt.
According to Plato, Atlantis was a powerful and advanced kingdom that existed nine thousand years before his own time, and its influence extended over much of the known world. Atlantis was said to be located “beyond the pillars of Hercules,” a phrase commonly interpreted as referring to the Strait of Gibraltar. The Atlanteans were described as having a prosperous and sophisticated civilization, with a complex system of canals and a capital city laid out in concentric rings of water and land.
In the story, the Atlanteans waged war against the “ancient Athenians” (a civilization predating Plato’s own time by thousands of years and presumably the ancestors of his contemporary Athenians). Despite the power and advanced technology of the Atlanteans, the ancient Athenians were able to defeat them due to their superior virtue and commitment to justice.
Following their defeat, the Atlanteans fell out of favor with the gods and experienced a day and night of terrible earthquakes and floods, after which Atlantis sank into the sea and disappeared, never to be seen again.
It’s worth noting that the story of Atlantis is generally believed by scholars to be a myth created by Plato, rather than an account of a historical civilization. It’s seen as a cautionary tale about the dangers of hubris and moral decline, rather than a factual recounting of past events. Despite this, the story has inspired countless works of fiction and pseudoscientific speculation about the “real” Atlantis.
