Atlantis - Plato's account, Receptions, Location hypotheses, Atlantis in art, literature and popular culture

island

According to Plato, an island in the ocean W of Spain, whose armies once threatened Europe and Africa, and which disappeared into the sea. Plato claimed to have heard of the island from the Egyptians, and this has generated many speculative books and expeditions; but it was simply a fictional place where he could locate his ideas of social organization.

Citing this material

Please include a link to this page if you have found this material useful for research or writing a related article. Content on this website is from high-quality, licensed material originally published in print form. You can always be sure you're reading unbiased, factual, and accurate information.

Highlight the text below, right-click, and select “copy”. Paste the link into your website, email, or any other HTML document.

User Comments

3 months ago

Richard Welch » Riccck ((at)) webtv dot net

The theory that Plato just made up the Atlantis story is dubious since he repeatedly states it is actual history. Beyond that, Plato did not originate the tale; it came from the Egyptians. The evidence indicates that Atlantis was actually a supervolcanic island off Portugal that exploded and sank in the 17th century BC (See Roots of Cataclysm, Algora Publ. Ny 2009).