CH A PTER ONE PLATO S ATLANTIS ne of the first people to describe the legend of Atlantis in detail was Plato Plato was one of the most important thinkers of ancient Greece Around 360 BCE Plato wrote Timaeus This dialogue of Plato s mostly consists of a monologue a kind of dra matic story or speech told by a sole speaker or narrator Timaeus the speaker tells other characters among them the famous philosopher Socrates about the nature of the world and humanity Before Timaeus s monologue begins however another character named Critias first tells a tale about his fellow Athenian statesman Solon While traveling to Egypt an Egyptian priest had told Solon of the battle between ancient Athens and another power Beyond the Strait of Gibraltar which connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean there lay a large
Pictured here is a marble bust of Plato the ancient Greek philosopher writer and mathematician whose mentions of Atlantis in his writings still intrigue readers and historians
INVESTIGATING ATLANTIS AND OTHER LOST CITIES larger than Libya and Asia put together This was the island of Atlantis Critias added that Atlantis had rule over the whole island and several others and over parts of the continent The men of Atlantis had subjected the parts of Libya within the Pillars of Heracles an ancient name for the Strait of Gibraltarſ as tar as Egypt and of Europe as tar as Tyrrhenia PLATO PHILOSOPHER AND THINKER Plato's ideas and writings on philosophy science and math helped lay the foundations of Western civilization Plato wrote many dialogues stories in which characters explore moral or philosophical issues through conversa tion It was a format invented by his teacher and mentor Socrates Along with Plato's student Aristotle the three are considered the greatest Western thinkers of their era Plato opened a school the Academy at Athens in about 387 BCE to provide lessons in philosophy law and scientific research primarily mathematics Plato grew up during the decades of conflict with Sparta and other city states This conflict coupled with the forced suicide of his teacher Socrates for political reasons in 399 BCE is believed to have influenced some of his dialogues includ ing the ones involving Atlantis
PLATO S ATLANTIS a region of central Italy It was the leadership of Athens the powerful city state of ancient Greece that defeated the Atlanteans when their kings tried to conquer more of the world The Rock of Gibraltar located on the British territory also called Gibraltar rises above the Strait of Gibraltar which separates the Mediterranean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean to the west It is beyond this strait where Atlantis was most famously rumored to be 9
