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
INVESTIGATING ATLANTIS AND OTHER LOST CITIES CRITIAS Plato returns to Atlantis in much bolder detail in his next dialogue Critias named after the main narrator Critias recounts that the Greek god of the sea Poseidon married a mortal woman Their descendants came to rule over the nortal woman Shus Izrulie Adlarddis a oils abſorpts ex mente Earptorum et A Platorris Iefruptio Africa Ocements C Atlanticis Infula Atlantis America Alfp This 1664 engraving of Atlantis places the lost continent between Europe and Africa left and the Americas right The upper left text translates to The site of Atlantis now beneath the sea according to the beliefs of the Egyptians and the description of Plato 10
PLATO S ATLANTIS island of Atlantis whose unique geography was Poseidon s creation Rings of land surrounded its center and each ring was surrounded by a body of water A canal ran through the center of this land to connect each ring to the sea The island at the middle contained the capital of Atlantis the city itself was said to be 11 miles 18 kilometers wide Atlantis used its great national resources and riches to become one of the world's most powerful nations The island of Atlantis had great forests stone quarries used to construct its buildings and fertile agricultural land A mysterious metal known as orichalcum that was mentioned only in ancient writings was common on Atlantis Ancient peoples considered orichalcum to be nearly as precious as gold Unlike other places Atlantis had a climate that allowed for two crop harvests a year instead of the usual one Many animals especially elephants roamed the island Over time ten rulers came to split up the island Each king ruled his section of Atlantis from a great city and the tenkings lived together peacefully for a long time No king was allowed to make war on another Atlantean king The citizens led simple virtuous lives With time however they grew greedy and hungry for power and their leaders sought to conquer other lands Atlantis threatened the civilizations of the Med iterranean especially Athens and Egypt about 9 000 years before Plato's account was written Even though it outnumbered its enemies Atlantis was defeated in an effort led primarily by the Athenians Zeus and the other 11
