Product Description

Atlantis was first introduced by the Greek philosopher Plato in two "dialogues" he wrote in the fourth century B.C. His tale of a great empire that sank beneath the waves has sparked thousands of years of debate over whether Atlantis really existed. But did Plato mean his tale as history, or just as a parable to help illustrate his philosophy?

In The Atlantis Dialogue, you'll find everything Plato said about Atlantis, in the context he intended. Now you can read and judge for yourself!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #240581 in Books
• Published on: 2001-02-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 60 pages

Excerpted from The Atlantis Dialogue: Plato's Original Story of the Lost City, Continent, Empire by Plato, Aaron Shepard, B. Jowett. Copyright © 2001. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
CRITIAS: Consider then, Socrates, if this narrative is suited to the purpose, or whether we should seek for some other instead.
SOCRATES: And what other, Critias, can we find that will be better than this, which is natural and suitable to the festival of the goddess, and has the very great advantage of being a fact and not a fiction? How or where shall we find another if we abandon this? We cannot, and therefore you must tell the tale, and good luck to you; and I in return for my yesterday's discourse will now rest and be a listener.
CRITIAS: Let me begin by observing first of all, that nine thousand was the sum of years which had elapsed since the war which was said to have taken place between those who dwelt outside the pillars of Heracles and all who dwelt within them; this war I am going to describe. Of the combatants on the one side, the city of Athens was reported to have been the leader and to have fought out the war; the combatants on the other side were commanded by the kings of Atlantis, which, as I was saying, was an island greater in extent than Libya and Asia, and when afterwards sunk by an earthquake, became an impassable barrier of mud to voyagers sailing from hence to any part of the ocean. The progress of the history will unfold the various nations of barbarians and families of Hellenes which then existed, as they successively appear on the scene; but I must describe first of all Athenians of that day, and their enemies who fought with them, and then the respective powers and governments!
of the two kingdoms.

Customer Reviews

Interesting
An interesting story. There does not seem to be a shred of evidence for any landmass west of the straights of Gibraltar, other than America, so I find it extremely unlikely that this is any form of historical account of a place. There may of course be other places that fit the bill, but they are not where Plato says they are, and he's only repeating third hand anyway, so even the authority of the source is suspect.