What Was the Legend of Atlantis?

The legend of Atlantis is one of the most famous stories from the ancient Greek world. It is a classic tale of a mythological world that mysteriously disappeared. Yet, ironically, its place in Greek mythology is frequently contested. Why is this? And what really is the legend of Atlantis? Does it have any basis in fact, or was it just an allegory? This article will examine the answers to those questions and others.

The Origin of the Legend

Most legends from Greek mythology just turn up in the writings of ancient poets or historians, or are depicted on pottery. The case of Atlantis is a rare exception. With this, the first known writer to mention it is Plato, and he is very specific about where exactly the story came from.

Both the legend itself and the account of how it supposedly came to Plato are found in Timaeus and Critias, two works which Plato wrote in approximately 360 BCE. Both works are dialogues; they present what is most likely an entirely fictional conversation between several notable people as a means of Plato expressing certain philosophical ideas.

The interlocutors in both works are Timaeus, Critias, Socrates, and Hermocrates. According to Critias, the Athenian lawmaker Solon had travelled to Egypt and learned about the story of Atlantis from the Egyptian priests of Sais. Solon then went on to tell the story to Critias’ great-grandfather, from whom it eventually reached the ears of Critias himself.

Part of the story is told in Timaeus, but only a brief summary of it. After that, Timaeus continues with a separate topic. The story of Atlantis is resumed and explained in extensive detail in Plato’s following dialogue, Critias.

Is This Origin Fictional?

Is the story of Solon being told the story by the Egyptian priests just a fictional background to the tale of Atlantis? Many people believe this to be the case, and that Plato just made up the story of Atlantis himself.

Scholars continue to debate this issue, but there is one notable piece of evidence that has been overlooked by many scholars. Scholar James W Mavor was one of the few who did point this out. The evidence in question is the fact that Plato describes one of the Egyptian priests as explaining that the Greeks used to be literate, but then became illiterate during a disastrous period of their history, and then eventually learned to write again.

This is an accurate summary of what really happened in Greek history. During the Bronze Age, the Mycenaean Greeks used the script known as Linear B to write. As a result of the Bronze Age Collapse, this writing system was lost, and the Greeks became illiterate. It was only centuries later, in the ninth century BCE, that they adopted the Phoenician alphabet and started to write again.

There is no evidence from other ancient records that the Greeks of Plato’s time had the slightest idea that this had happened. There is no trace of any tradition independent from Plato that they had used a different writing system in their past, prior to adopting the Phoenician alphabet, nor is there any tradition reflecting the Bronze Age collapse. 

The fact that Plato seems to have accurately written about these otherwise-lost facts of Greek history strongly supports the conclusion that he was not just making up this story about the Egyptian priests.

The Legend of Atlantis

The actual legend of Atlantis, as it is told by Critias in Timaeus, is thus: 

“For these histories tell of a mighty power which unprovoked made an expedition against the whole of Europe and Asia, and to which your city [Athens] put an end. This power came forth out of the Atlantic Sea, for... there was an island situated in front of the straits which are by you called the Pillars of Heracles... Now in this island of Atlantis there was a great and wonderful empire which had rule over the whole island and several others, and over parts of the continent, and, furthermore, the men of Atlantis had subjected the parts of Libya within the Pillars of Heracles as far as Egypt, and of Europe as far as Tyrrhenia.”

Critias then goes on to explain that a war broke out between Atlantis and the Greeks, under the leadership of the city of Athens. Explaining the outcome of the war, Critias has the Egyptian priest say:

“[Athens] defeated and triumphed over the invaders... But afterwards there occurred violent earthquakes and floods; and in a single day and night of misfortune all your warlike men in a body sank into the earth, and the island of Atlantis in like manner disappeared in the depths of the sea.”

This is the basic account provided in Timaeus. In Critas, a much more detailed description of the Atlantean civilisation is presented. These events, the war and destruction of Atlantis, supposedly happened some 9000 years before the time of Solon. In other words, they happened in about 9600 BCE.

The Geography of Atlantis

What was Atlantis like? The geography of this island is notoriously one of the most controversial aspects of it. Firstly, let us begin with the least controversial part of Atlantis’ geography. Plato’s account describes how the Atlanteans ruled over one main island (this being the island of Atlantis), along with several others and even parts of the continent.

The continent in question is said to have ‘surrounded the true sea’ (traditionally, this has been mistranslated as ‘ocean’, but the word used is ‘pontos’, which definitely means ‘sea’, not specifically ‘ocean’). Most commentators take this to be the sea in which Atlantis and the other islands were located, but this is not the only interpretation. 

Greater Than Libya and Asia

At this point, we get to one of the more controversial parts of Atlantis’ geography. In Plato’s account, the Egyptian priest says that Atlantis is ‘greater than Libya and Asia’. The word translated ‘greater’ is ‘meizon’. Traditionally, this has been translated as ‘larger’ in this passage.

Based on this traditional translation, it has generally been understood that Plato was saying that the island of Atlantis was larger than Libya (that is, North Africa west of Egypt) and Asia (that is, Asia Minor) combined. This has major implications for the understanding of the rest of the account.

For one thing, this would mean that Atlantis could not have been in the Mediterranean Sea, because a landmass that large simply would not fit there. Therefore, it must have been out in the Atlantic Ocean. Secondly, this would mean that a landmass the size of a small continent allegedly sank dramatically into the sea, which flies in the face of all current understandings of geology and oceanography.

Different Interpretations

However, at least two different understandings of this line have been proposed. One is that it is a very slight mistranslation. The Greek word ‘meizon’, meaning ‘greater’, is almost exactly the same as the word ‘meson’, meaning ‘between’. On this basis, some researchers have proposed that Atlantis was originally said to have been ‘between Libya and Asia’.

This has frequently been used as evidence in support of theories placing Atlantis in the Eastern Mediterranean. In particular, this is used in conjunction with the identification of Atlantis with the Minoan civilisation on Crete.

In reality, the most likely interpretation is that the word ‘meizon’ simply means what it normally does: ‘greater’, not ‘larger’. Although it can be used to mean larger in physical size, this Greek word is frequently used to simply mean ‘greater’. This word and others derived from the same route appear elsewhere in Plato’s text, yet it is only here that it is translated ‘larger’. This is obviously inconsistent.

Therefore, what Plato’s account may well have actually been saying is that Atlantis was greater than Libya and Asia. Presumably, this means that it was more powerful than them. 

In the Atlantic Sea 

Nonetheless, the traditional placement of Atlantis outside the Mediterranean Sea is seemingly confirmed by the name of the sea in which Plato places the island. He says very explicitly that Atlantis was located in the Atlantic Sea. Traditionally, the word ‘sea’ has been translated ‘ocean’, but the word used is simply the ordinary word for ‘sea’, which is ‘pelagos’. 

This does not mean that the Atlantic Sea in Plato’s account cannot be the Atlantic Ocean, because Herodotus likewise uses an ordinary word for ‘sea’ when referring to what we now call the Atlantic Ocean. Nonetheless, there is no guarantee that Plato’s account was referring to that same body of water, although that is the most common interpretation.

One complication is a line in Plato’s Critias which explains how the sea got its name. Referring to Poseidon’s children, we find the following statement:

“The eldest, who was the first king [of Atlantis], he named Atlas, and after him the whole island and the sea were called Atlantic.” 

According to this, the sea received its name by virtue of the fact that it was where Atlas ruled. On this basis, it could be argued that the sea in which Atlantis was supposed to have been located would have been called the ‘Atlantic Sea’ in Plato’s account regardless of which body of water it actually was. In other words, the sea in which Atlantis was located was the ‘Atlantic’ Sea by definition.

Some researchers connect this Atlas with the Titan called Atlas from traditional Greek mythology. On this basis, they try to associate the Atlantic Sea with places where that Atlas is sometimes associated. However, the connection between these two figures is very far from certain.

Beyond the Pillars of Heracles

Probably the most controversial aspect of the geography of Atlantis is the fact that it was said to have been ‘situated in front of the straits which are called the Pillars of Heracles’. The location of the Pillars of Heracles is considered crucial by many who try to identify Atlantis.

The traditional placement of the Pillars of Heracles is at the Strait of Gibraltar. Some ancient texts identify them as two mountains on either side of this strait, whereas others regard them to have been two actual pillars set up on just one side. In any case, this traditional identification would indicate that Atlantis was outside of the Mediterranean. 

Other Pillars of Heracles

However, numerous attempts have been made to identify the Pillars of Heracles elsewhere. Indeed, it is a fact that ancient Greek and Roman texts do sometimes place these pillars in other parts of the world. One location which has some direct support is the vicinity of Troy, at the Dardanelles (also called the Hellespont). Based on this, some theories place Atlantis in the Black Sea.

Other researchers believe that there were also originally Pillars of Heracles to the north and the south of Greek territory or geographical knowledge. Tacitus refers to Pillars of Heracles at the point where the Rhine empties into the North Sea. Focusing on the concept of Greek territory (rather than geographical knowledge), one claim is that the Pillars of Heracles was also applied to the headlands either side of the Gulf of Laconia in southern Greece.

The Layout of Atlantis 

The island of Atlantis itself is said to have had a very large, rectangular plain in the centre. This receives quite a lot of attention in the account. To the north of this plain was a mountain range, the mountains in question being famed for their size.

Also in the centre of Atlantis was the metropolis. Some commentators understand this to refer to a separate island from that which had the great plain. This metropolis was composed of a central island with a hill, or small mountain, and two concentric rings of land surrounding it. There was an artificial channel that cut through the rings of land from the sea to the central island. 

The Rulers of Atlantis 

Atlantis was ruled by the offspring of Poseidon, the god of the sea. As we saw earlier, the first king of Atlantis was Poseidon’s eldest son, named Atlas. Some commentators understand this to be the same as the Titan named Atlas, although there is not much to equate them apart from the name. 

Atlas had nine siblings. All of them received a portion of Atlantis, although Atlas was the high king of the entire kingdom. Each son founded a dynasty that ruled over a tenth of the island. As the generations went on, the kings were said to have acquired incredible wealth such as had never been seen before.

Around a temple in the middle of Atlantis, there were impressive statues of the kings. Atlantis was governed by laws which had been handed down by Poseidon and written on a sacred pillar by the first kings.

Each of the kings governed their respective territories independently, yet they also had an alliance with each other. They would support each other in war and other endeavours, and they would always yield to the dynasty of Atlas as the supreme rulers.

The Civilisation of Atlantis

As an island civilisation, Atlantis was a centre of international trade. Plato’s account explains how the kings of the island became rich partly due to the fact that ‘because of the greatness of their empire many things were brought to them from foreign countries.’ 

The harbours of Atlantis were said to have been full of merchant ships coming from all sorts of different places. The activity there at the harbours caused a constant noise both day and night. It was evidently a very popular place with traders, a true hub of activity. We also find the statement that the docks were full of ‘triremes and naval stores’.

Atlantis was also prosperous in terms of its population. The entire area of the metropolis was said to have been densely crowded with people and houses.

Advanced Technology

As well as being rich, Atlantis was also relatively advanced. Describing the centre of the island, Plato’s account reads: 

“They had fountains, one of cold and another of hot water, in gracious plenty flowing; and they were wonderfully adapted for use by reason of the pleasantness and excellence of their waters. They constructed buildings about them and planted suitable trees, also they made cisterns, some open to the heavens, others roofed over, to be used in winter as warm baths; there were the kings' baths, and the baths of private persons.”

As well as these baths in the centre of the island, the account goes on to explain that the Atlanteans built aqueducts to transport the water to the surrounding rings of land, which also had buildings on them. In other words, Atlantis was said to have had flowing hot and cold water, which was certainly advanced for the time.

Power 

Plato also speaks about the power of Atlantis. In one place, he refers explicitly to the ‘vast power’ which Poseidon had settled on the island. The very fact that the Atlanteans had control over parts of the surrounding continent also attests to their power and the ‘greatness of their empire’.

However, the most significant demonstration of their power comes from fact that Plato describes how this naval power set out to conquer the entire region within the Pillars of Heracles. According to the traditional placement of the Pillars of Heracles, this would mean the entire Mediterranean.

According to the legend, Atlantis successfully managed to conquer all of Libya (meaning North Africa) as far as Egypt, and all of Europe as far as Tyrrhenia (on the western side of Italy). We will examine this part of the legend in more detail shortly, but we can see already that Atlantis is presented as the most powerful naval force of its time. 

Religion

The chief god of Atlantis was Poseidon. Since it was a naval power and Poseidon was the god of the sea, this makes a lot of sense. There was a temple dedicated to Poseidon right in the centre of the island. Plato’s account also tells us that there was a temple in the centre of the island dedicated to Poseidon and Cleito, his mortal lover; it is not clear if these are two different temples or the same one.

In any case, at the temple of Poseidon, the Atlanteans engaged in the sacrifice of bulls, which were apparently sacred to their chief god. Bulls were released into the centre of the temple, where the kings of Atlantis would hunt them down and capture them without weapons. Then, using nooses, they would lead them to a sacred pillar, where they would slaughter the bulls as a sacrifice.

War Between Atlantis and the World

Let us now return to the detail about Atlantis waging war against other nations. This is a major part of the legend. In fact, this is the entire reason why Plato wrote about this legend in the first place. In his dialogues, Socrates had outlined his idea of an ideal state. However, he then wanted to hear stories of his ideal state in action.

This is why Critias tells Socrates the story of Atlantis, so that he can hear about how ancient Athens (which fits Socrates’ idea of an ideal state) defeated the mighty power of Atlantis.

After saying that Atlantis had already subjugated the region within the Pillars of Heracles as far as Egypt and Tyrrhenia, the account as told by the Egyptian priest informs us:

“This vast power, gathered into one, endeavoured to subdue at a blow our country and yours and the whole of the region within the straits [the Pillars of Heracles].” 

This says that Atlantis was endeavouring to conquer the entire territory within the Pillars of Heracles. The two countries that are specifically mentioned are Egypt and Greece, but undoubtedly it involved other parts of Africa and Europe as well. Earlier in the account, the priest remarked that Atlantis ‘made an expedition against the whole of Europe and Asia’. Together with the mention of Atlantis subduing Libya as far as Egypt and waging war against Egypt itself, it appears that it really was a war against the entire Mediterranean.

Athens Defeats Atlantis 

In the end, what was the result of this war? The Egyptian priest highlights Athens’ role in winning the war. He says to Solon: 

“And then, Solon, your country shone forth, in the excellence of her virtue and strength, among all mankind.” 

The priest then goes on to explain that in this grand war between Atlantis and the nations of the Mediterranean, Athens was the leader of the Greeks. He does not specifically say that Athens was the leader of all the nations with whom Atlantis was waging war, but Plato’s wording in Critias does strongly imply this.

Next, we are told that all of the nations ‘fell off from’ Athens during this war. Presumably this means that they were subdued by the Atlanteans, either being outright defeated in battle or just capitulating to the naval empire. Athens, however, held firm. The outcome of the war is then related:

“She [Athens] defeated and triumphed over the invaders, and preserved from slavery those who were not yet subjugated, and generously liberated all the rest of us who dwell within the pillars.” 

Somehow, the city-state of Athens defeated the mighty naval empire of Atlantis. Thus, the Greeks saved not only themselves, but also all others who were suffering from Atlantean domination.

Disappearing Into the Sea

That is not the end of the story of Atlantis. Immediately after describing its defeat at the hands of Athens, the Egyptian priest as per Plato’s account explains Atlantis’ final fate. The famous outcome of Atlantis is described thusly:

“But afterwards there occurred violent earthquakes and floods; and in a single day and night of misfortune all your warlike men in a body sank into the earth, and the island of Atlantis in like manner disappeared in the depths of the sea.”

There is no indication that any notable length of time passed between the end of the war and this dramatic event happening. Therefore, presumably quite soon after Athens defeated Atlantis, the island of Atlantis supposedly ‘disappeared in the depths of the sea’. This is said to have occurred very suddenly, in ‘a single day and night’. It was also accompanied by ‘violent earthquakes and floods’.

A detail which is commonly missed is the issue of what happened to Athens at this time. The Egyptian priest says that all the warlike men of the city ‘sank into the earth’. The expression ‘warlike men’ could be a reference to the city-state’s army, but it is more likely a complimentary reference to the inhabitants of Athens in general. In any case, these inhabitants somehow ‘sank into the earth’, which is a peculiar statement that is often ignored.

The Shoal of Mud

There is one more detail regarding the sinking of Atlantis that should be mentioned. The priest explains what happened as a result of the sinking of Atlantis into the sea. He says to Solon:

“The sea in those parts is impassable and impenetrable, because there is a shoal of mud in the way.”

This statement links back to a statement from near the beginning of the account about Atlantis, where the Egyptian priest remarks that Atlantis ‘came forth out of the Atlantic Sea, for in those days the Atlantic was navigable’. In other words, the region of the sea where Atlantis used to be located was now impassable, due to this mud left behind by the island.

It is important to notice that Plato did not say that what became impassable was the strait at the Pillars of Heracles, as if it were just the access to the Atlantic Sea (usually identified as the Atlantic Ocean) that became impassable. Some modern sources contain this claim. Rather, the account clearly says that it was the sea itself which became impassable.

Was Atlantis Real?

Researchers have been speculating for millennia regarding the truth behind Plato’s account of Atlantis. What has confused the issue is the fact that, although he did often use pre-existing myths and legends in his writings, Plato was primarily a philosopher. Therefore, there is the distinct possibility that he created the tale of Atlantis for philosophical purposes. 

How Did Ancient Commentators View Atlantis?

It is worth asking how those who lived much closer to Plato’s own time understood his account of Atlantis. Did they take it to be true history, or did they understand it to be allegorical? 

The truth is that there was a variety of ideas in ancient times. Aristotle, who was a student of Plato, is reported to have believed that Plato created the tale of Atlantis himself for philosophical purposes. A figure named Crantor, who was a student of one of Plato’s students, is claimed to have held Atlantis to be historical. A later writer wrote about Crantor:

“As for the whole of this account of the Atlanteans, some say that it is unadorned history, such as Crantor, the first commentator on Plato.” 

Therefore, according to this source, the ‘first commentator on Plato’ considered Atlantis to be historical. The fact that this source, written by Proclus in the fifth century CE, says that ‘some say’ that it is unadorned history shows that Crantor was not alone in this viewpoint.

The early-first century BCE historian Posidonius also believed that Atlantis was historical, as did the later first century BCE historian Strabo.

Theories About the Location of Atlantis

There are a variety of modern theories concerning where Atlantis was located. All of these are based on conflicting interpretations of Plato’s description, with different researchers giving greater weight to different parts of the account.

A Lost Continent in the Atlantic

The most traditional theory about Atlantis is that it is a sunken continent in the middle of the Atlantic. This is based on the understanding that Plato placed it in the Atlantic Ocean and described it as being the size of a continent. Some researchers believe that islands such as the Azores are tiny traces of the continent that was once there. However, modern oceanographic research has refuted this idea.

The Americas

Another theory, which goes back several centuries, is that Atlantis can be identified with the Americas. Given that they are the only large landmass directly beyond the Strait of Gibraltar, and there is unambiguous evidence of powerful civilisations there in ancient times, this could seem like an attractive theory. However, this ignores Plato’s description of the destruction of the island, and it also depends on a profound level of contact between the Americas and the ancient Mediterranean which is simply not supported by any evidence.

The Minoan Civilisation

A relatively modern theory, and the most well respected among academics, is that the tale of Atlantis comes from distorted accounts of the Minoan civilisation. This was a powerful naval civilisation centred on Crete in the Bronze Age. They had colonies on several of the Aegean islands, including Thera, which experienced a dramatic volcanic eruption which led to large portions of the island collapsing into the sea.

Conclusion

In summary, the legend of Atlantis comes from two of Plato’s dialogues, Timaeus and Critias, both written in the mid fourth century BCE. It supposedly originated from Egypt, where the Athenian statesman Solon learned about it. According to the legend, Atlantis was an island in the Atlantic Sea in front of the Pillars of Heracles. The Atlanteans ruled this main island, but they also ruled several other islands and parts of the surrounding continent. Atlantis had a massive plain and a remarkable circular metropolis with concentric rings of land. In the centre was a temple to Poseidon and his lover. The kings of Atlantis were the children of this couple, with Atlas being the eldest and the high king. 

Eventually, Atlantis set out to conquer the whole of the region within the Pillars of Heracles. It fought a war against all the European, Asian, and African nations around the Mediterranean. It almost won, but the Athenians eventually managed to defeat them. Shortly after this, the island of Atlantis suddenly disappeared into the depths of the sea. 

Many theories have arisen regarding the origin of this legend. Most take it to be an allegory invented by Plato, but many researchers identify it with real places. One common theory makes it a sunken continent in the Atlantic Ocean, another identifies it with the Americas, and the one with the most academic support connects it to the Minoans in the Aegean.

Sources 

https://classics.mit.edu/Plato/timaeus.html

https://classics.mit.edu/Plato/critias.html

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Atlantis-legendary-island