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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 (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 Egypt by the legendary Athenian lawgiver Solon in the 6th century BC. In Egypt, Solon met a priest of Sais, who translated the history of ancient Athens and Atlantis, recorded on papyri in Egyptian hieroglyphs, into Greek. According to Plutarch, Solon met with "Psenophis of Heliopolis, and Sonchis the Saite, the most learned of all the priests"; Plutarch refers here to events that would have happened five centuries before he wrote of them.
According to Critias, the 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, 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 [about 555 km; 345 mi], but across the center inland it was two thousand stadia [about 370 km; 230 mi]." Fifty stadia [9 km; 6 mi] from the coast was a mountain that was low on all sides...broke it off all round about... the central island itself was five stades in diameter [about 0.92 km; 0.57 mi].
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. 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 moats 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.
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.
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.
Atlantis was a large island in the Atlantic Ocean which lay in front of the mouth of the pillars of Heracles (straits of Gibraltar). Their inhabitants became a spiritually ugly race and for that reason Zeus and the gods destroyed them by letting the island be swallowed up by the sea. Atlantis was ruled by a confederation of kings and its power extended over Libya as far as Egypt and over Europe as far as Tuscany. About 8000 years before the Trojan War, Atlantis attempted to conquer the whole of the Mediterranean world but was defeated by the Athens of those remote times and its allies. Later, when the gods perceived that Atlantis was inhabited by an evil race, they let the island be destroyed by the third of the floods which preceded the Flood in the time of Deucalion 1. The first ten kings of Atlantis (five pairs of twins) were all sons of Poseidon and Cleito 2. The first born was Atlas, who was appointed to be king over the rest and after whom the island was called. The legend of Atlantis is not connected to other myths except for the names of Atlas and Poseidon.
it was Solon, the Athenian statesman and poet whom History says lived 600 years after the Trojan War, the one who brought from Egypt the story of Atlantis. The very old Egyptian priest who talked with Solon was not at all impressed by Greek ancient stories, such as the one referring to Phoroneus as the first man, or the legend of the Flood of Deucalion 1, for these stories, according to his perspective were all but ancient.
This Egyptian priest knew that mankind is periodically destroyed, either by fire or water, or by lesser means. And behind the story of Phaethon 3, the Egyptian says, lies the shifting of the celestial bodies around the earth, which cause destruction by fire on its surface at long intervals. When this happens those living in dry areas or dwelling in mountains suffer destruction more than those living near rivers or the sea. On the other hand, when the world is flooded those living in mountains are saved, but those populating the cities near the sea are swept into it by the streams.
Things having this nature, those living by the Nile were spared when the world was destroyed by fire, and when it was destroyed by water they were also spared because rain is scarce in Egypt, the water welling up always from below. In this way, says the Egyptian priest, memories of ancient times could be preserved in this country while all records were destroyed elsewhere. And while in other countries the periodical destruction caused irreparable losses, in Egypt it was possible to keep records of very ancient times.
This is the reason why, says the priest, the Greeks could just remember the Flood of Deucalion 1, ignoring that many other floods had previously occurred. And in the same way they had lost the memory of the Athens which existed 8000 years before the Trojan War (which is today said to have taken place about 1200 BC).
According to this Egyptian priest, that old Athens resisted the invasion of the people from Atlantis, an island larger than Libya (name for the whole of northern Africa except Egypt) which lay in front of the mouth of the so called "pillars of Heracles" (today called "straits of Gibraltar"). The island Atlantis was ruled by a confederation of kings which held power also in surrounding islands. The people of Atlantis had occupied Libya as far as Egypt and southwestern Europe, as far as Tuscany in Italy. And after doing that they gathered a host in order to make an attempt to extend their dominion to both Egypt and Greece. However, this powerful army was defeated by the Athenians.
At a later time, earthquakes and floods destroyed the two opponents, for Athens was swallowed up by the earth, and the island of Atlantis was likewise swallowed up by the sea, vanishing for ever. This is why, the Egyptian says, the ocean at the spot where Atlantis was, became impossible to sail across, being blocked up by the mud created by the large island when it sank.
DESTRUCTION OF ATLANTIS
Demeter, the ancient Greek Goddess of Agriculture, is perhaps best known for the abduction of her daughter Persephone, but she is much, much more.
She has a powerful message for modern times.
The ancient story of Demeter and her daughter Persephone has been used to explain the cycle of the seasons, but a closer examination reveals insights on living and dying, loss and reconciliation, and, importantly, on suffering and healing.
Myths can be read as symbols, and can be used as working templates for modern times. Indeed, this may have been just the way they were used in bygone days. The ancient tale of Demeter helped me recover from the death of a child and gave me the strength to pick up my life again. I'm sure it's been used in this way for thousands of years.
The story of Demeter has come down to us more as the story of her daughter, Persephone. This was my first meeting with the tale and, as read in Bulfinch's Greek and Roman Mythology: The Age of Fable, it could be used to explain the changing seasons of the year.
The abduction of the beautiful Persephone is the reason behind the sweetness of Spring and the bitterness of Winter.
One day this little girl of life and laughter, Persephone, was collecting flowers on the plain of Enna when the earth opened beneath her feet. Up from the gap rose Hades, grim God of the Underworld, and abducted her.
And only
Zeus, the All-Seeing, knew what had happened.
Broken hearted, Demeter wandered the earth, her hair unbound, wailing into the wind, searching for her little daughter until - at last - Zeus told her what had happened.
Now Demeter was angry as well as heart broken! She demonstrated her rage by punishing the earth's inhabitants with fierce cold, bitter winds and an end to all fertility. Unless Persephone was returned, the earth would surely perish.
Finally Herakles the Hero went down to the kingdom of Hades to negotiate the return of Persephone. But, before she was released, the God of the Underworld tricked Persephone into eating six pomegranate seeds - thus she would always be connected to his realm.
For part of the year Persephone must stay in the Underworld and for part of the year she returns to her mother.
When Demeter and her daughter are together, the earth flourishes with vegetation, but, for four months of the year, when Persephone goes back to Hades, the earth is a barren realm.
