Plato And Atlantis

[Jerikagoddess]

There are many Egyptian records if a person knows where to look. Mentions in the Book of the Dead, Hymns of Ramses, the God-King lists, it goes on and on.

 

 

But where, in surviving Egyptian records, is the slightest suggestion of Atlanteans? or the need for them to explain any aspect of Egyptian development?

 

Do I not recall another aspect of Plato's legend as being that Atlantis was at war with Athens when it was destroyed? Yet at that date Athens would not have been in a position to wage such a war - neither is there any evidence for it.

 

Phil

[Northern Neil]

There is a geological theory which for now I must treat as an anecdote, as I am at work and my books are at home! Broadly speaking, the mid-Atlantic ridge around the area of the Azores was above sea level, in much the same way as Iceland is at present. The continuing separation of the Americas from Europe/Africa precipitated a sudden subsidence of this part of the ridge, resulting in a sudden shift north of the gulf stream, thus ending the last ice age rather rapidly. The above sea level part of the mid-atlantic ridge was reduced to the current Azores archipelago, partly due to the subsidence, and also the rise in sea level caused by the ice-melt. I seem to remember that the sinking of Atlantis happened in two distinct phases, which also ties in with this.

 

The ending of the last glacial period roughly corresponds with the date Plato gives for the inundation, and also fits in with his 'beyond the pillars of Hercules' location. Prior to the Spanish genocide of the 15th century, the Canary Islanders stated, prior to being eradicated, that they originated from the centre of the ocean, and had a legend stating that their homeland sank rather quickly.

 

There are of course many holes in this theory, and most of the circumstancial evidence is unable to be verified or discounted. However, the geological processes involved are entirely possible. Maybe this did happen, and the more recent but still historically remote happenings in the Aegean were grafted onto the legend by the egyptians? In which case, both locations could be regarded equally legitimately as Atlantis- and equally disregarded. Thus, I feel that the search for a single location for Atlantis is an impossible and unrealistic task from the outset. In much the same way, the story of a single Arthur (or Jesus, even) cannot be told by examining legends which, although probably having some basis in history, may have happened to several different individuals.

[ASCLEPIADES]

What was Plato refering to when he wrote about Atlantis in Timaeus and Critias?

 

A real place? A fictional place? A synonym for a different place?

Where did he actually get this idea from?

 

just wondering...

 

cheers

viggen

Salve, Amici.

I will go for number 2: a fictional place, like Swift's islands.

 

The original and only reference of Atlantis was written by Aristocles (aka Plato) circa 360 BC in the double dialogue (failed trilogy?) Timaeus-Critias in the voice of a literary Critias, supposedly passed through Solon from Egypt.

 

These dialogues were explicitly for the analysis of "the State-how constituted and of what citizens composed it would seem likely to be most perfect". So it is not surprise that the description of Atlantis is basically social.

 

Plato was a Philosopher, not a geographer nor a Historian; Atlantis' account is clearly a fable and a social allegory, both topgraphically and chronologically absurd. In fact, the main characters of this unfinished story are the Olimpian gods Poseidon and Zeus.

Edited October 27, 2007 by ASCLEPIADES

[caldrail]

Plato wasn't describing the real island. He'd heard the story of an inundated island of some influence from the egyptians via Solon, but that island didn't suit Plato's desire for drama. So he invented a larger continent, awesome in power and wisdom, and punished for its arrogant folly. Trouble is with fiction of this kind is that sometimes people believe it. Look at all the nonsense about the Holy Grail (which never existed - its a fictional item described by Chertien Des Troyes in the middle ages), or the Da Vinci Code, which people now believe describes real conspiracies and secret cults. Atlantis is a story. Its based on a real event, but searching the atlantic for the lost continent is a waste of time. I really have come to the conclusion that the event was the explosion of Santorini. There is a picture of the island with its central volcanic cone still intact, a city perched on it. When an earthquake let sea water into the fissure, the island blew up, so the real 'atlantis' (whatever the actual name might be) is spread all over the mediterranean. The explosion left a huge crater in the sea bed. This rapidly filled with sea water causing a 'depression wave' and a resulting tsunami, which took out the minoan empire overnight. Its a real event. it happened. Nothing added, nothing mythologised.