How Do You Understand The Atlantis Myth?
In the fourth century B.C., the Greek philosopher Plato wrote a dialogue called “Critias,” in which he recounted an attack by the island nation of Atlantis on the city of Athens-after which Atlantis was promptly swallowed up by the sea (presumably as a punishment by the angry gods). Although it was clear to most readers even then that Plato had invented Atlantis to illustrate a point, some people today insist that this mythical island really existed. Here’s a quick guide to all things Atlantis. Plato set his tale in the year 9400 B.C. One clue that Plato didn’t intend that Atlantis be taken seriously was that he rooted it in antiquity. However, some contemporary Greeks assumed that he was alluding to the more recent Trojan War, or even to a military adventure by Athens some 50 years earlier. Some Greeks were bold enough to suggest that Atlantis really existed, but the vast majority dismissed this romantic notion. The myth of Atlantis was pretty much forgotten for a thousand years. Duri
