plato's account . 366 BC

== Plato's account ==

Plato's dialogues ''Timaeus'' and ''Critias'', written in 360 BC, contain the earliest references to Atlantis. For unknown reasons, Plato never completed ''Critias''; however, the scholar [[Benjamin Jowett]], among others, argues that Plato originally planned a third dialogue titled ''[[Hermocrates (dialogue)|Hermocrates]]''. [[John V. Luce]] assumes that Plato, after describing the origin of the world and mankind in ''Timaeus'' and the allegorical perfect society of ancient [[Athens]] and its successful defense against an antagonistic Atlantis in ''Critias'', would have made the strategy of the [[Ancient Greece|Greek civilization]] during their conflict with the [[Achaemenid Empire|Persians]] a subject of discussion in the ''Hermocrates''. Plato introduced Atlantis in ''Timaeus'':

{{quote|For it is related in our records how once upon a time your State stayed the course of a mighty host, which, starting from a distant point in the Atlantic ocean, was insolently advancing to attack the whole of Europe, and Asia to boot. For the ocean there was at that time navigable; for in front of the mouth which you Greeks call, as you say, 'the pillars of Heracles,' there lay an island which was larger than Libya and Asia together; and it was possible for the travelers of that time to cross from it to the other islands, and from the islands to the whole of the continent over against them which encompasses that veritable ocean. For all that we have here, lying within the mouth of which we speak, is evidently a haven having a narrow entrance; but that yonder is a real ocean, and the land surrounding it may most rightly be called, in the fullest and truest sense, a continent. Now in this island of Atlantis there existed a confederation of kings, of great and marvelous power, which held sway over all the island, and over many other islands also and parts of the continent.<ref>''Timaeus'' 24e25a, R. G. Bury translation (Loeb Classical Library).</ref>}}

The four persons appearing in those two dialogues are the politicians [[Critias]] and [[Hermocrates]] as well as the philosophers [[Socrates]] and [[Timaeus of Locri]], although only Critias speaks of Atlantis. While most likely all of these people actually lived, these dialogues, written as if recorded, may have been the invention of Plato. In his works Plato makes extensive use of the [[Socratic dialogues]] in order to discuss contrary positions within the context of a supposition.

The ''Timaeus'' begins with an introduction, followed by an account of the creations and structure of the universe and ancient civilizations. In the introduction, Socrates muses about the perfect society, described in Plato's ''[[Republic (Plato)|Republic]]'' (ca. 380 BC), and wonders if he and his guests might recollect a story which exemplifies such a society. Critias mentions an allegedly historical tale that would make the perfect example, and follows by describing Atlantis as is recorded in the ''Critias''. 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 claims that his accounts of ancient Athens and Atlantis stem from a visit to [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]] by the legendary Athenian lawgiver [[Solon]] in the 6th century BC. In Egypt, Solon met a priest of [[Sais, Egypt|Sais]], who translated the history of ancient Athens and Atlantis, recorded on papyri in [[Egyptian hieroglyphs]], into [[Greek language|Greek]]. According to [[Plutarch]], Solon met with "Psenophis of Heliopolis, and Sonchis the Saite, the most learned of all the priests"<ref>Plutarch, ''Life of Solon.''</ref>. Because of the five centuries intervening between Plutarch and the alleged event, and the lack of any Egyptian sources provided by Plato in ''Timaeus'' and ''Critias'', Plutarch's identification is questionable.{{Or|date=October 2007}}

According to Critias, the [[Ancient Greece|Hellenic]] gods of old divided the land so that each god might own a lot; [[Poseidon]] was appropriately, and to his liking, bequeathed the island of Atlantis. The island was larger than Ancient Libya and Asia Minor combined,<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9010107/Atlantis Atlantis  Britannica Online Encyclopedia]</ref> but it afterwards was sunk by an [[earthquake]] and became an impassable mud shoal, inhibiting travel to any part of the ocean. The Egyptians, Plato asserted, described Atlantis as an island comprising mostly mountains in the northern portions and along the shore, and encompassing a great plain of an oblong shape in the south "extending in one direction three thousand ''[[Stadia (length)|stadia]]'' [about 555 &nbsp;km; 345&nbsp;mi], but across the center inland it was two thousand stadia [about 370&nbsp;km; 230&nbsp;mi]." Fifty stadia (9&nbsp;km; 6&nbsp;mi) from the coast was a mountain that was low on all sides...broke it off all round about<ref>''Critias'' 113, Bury translation.</ref>... the central island itself was five stades in diameter [about .92&nbsp;km; .57&nbsp;mi]<ref>''Critias'' 116a, Bury translation.</ref>

In Plato's myth Poseidon fell in love with Cleito, the daughter of [[Evenor]] and Leucippe, who bore him five pairs of male twins. The eldest of these, Atlas, was made rightful king of the entire island and the ocean (called the Atlantic Ocean in his honor), and was given the mountain of his birth and the surrounding area as his [[fiefdom]]. Atlas's twin Gadeirus, or Eumelus in Greek, was given the extremity of the island towards the Pillars of Heracles.<ref>The name is a back-formation from ''Gades'', the Greek name for [[Cadiz]].</ref> The other four pairs of twins  Ampheres and Evaemon, [[Mneseus]] and Autochthon, Elasippus and Mestor, and Azaes and Diaprepes  were also given "rule over many men, and a large territory."

Poseidon carved the mountain where his love dwelt into a palace and enclosed it with three circular [[moat]]s of increasing width, varying from one to three stadia and separated by rings of land proportional in size. The Atlanteans then built bridges northward from the mountain, making a route to the rest of the island. They dug a great canal to the sea, and alongside the bridges carved tunnels into the rings of rock so that ships could pass into the city around the mountain; they carved docks from the rock walls of the moats. Every passage to the city was guarded by gates and towers, and a wall surrounded each of the city's rings. The walls were constructed of red, white and black rock quarried from the moats, and were covered with [[brass]], [[tin]] and the precious metal [[orichalcum]], respectively <ref>Critias 116bc</ref>.

According to Critias, 9,000 years before his lifetime a war took place between those outside the Pillars of Hercules at the [[Strait of Gibraltar]] and those who dwelt within them. The Atlanteans had conquered the parts of Libya within the Pillars of Heracles as far as Egypt and the European continent as far as [[Tyrrhenia]], and subjected its people to slavery. The Athenians led an alliance of resistors against the Atlantean empire, and as the alliance disintegrated, prevailed alone against the empire, liberating the occupied lands.

{{quote|But at a later time there occurred portentous earthquakes and floods, and one grievous day and night befell them, when the whole body of your warriors was swallowed up by the earth, and the island of Atlantis in like manner was swallowed up by the sea and vanished; wherefore also the ocean at that spot has now become impassable and unsearchable, being blocked up by the shoal mud which the island created as it settled down.


Hope so you Guyz enjoyed.
That info i get 4m wikipedia

Wow I never knew plato wrote myths also great find bro keep it up

Woo it took me too long to read and understand . Found some symbol mistakes of copying and pasting hehe
Other than that fantastic post

that,s great