Question

Explain Plato's views on the city of Atlantis

Answer 1

Atlantis is a legendary city which is described in the work of the Greek philosopher Plato (c. 429 – 347 BCE). The story of Atlantis with its fabulously wealthy and advanced civilization which was swept into the sea to be lost for ever has captured the imagination of readers for over two millennia. Without any archaeological evidence or substantial information from sources besides Plato, the legend poses more questions than answers. Was there a real Atlantis? Was the story based on the ancient Minoan civilization? Was the disaster that swept away the city the eruption of Thera on Santorini in the Aegean, or was the whole story a fiction of Plato’s to illustrate the glory of his own city of Athens and provide a moral example of what happened to citieswho became greedy and neglected the rule of law? If it had been a real state then who founded it? Why do we know so little about it? Where is it now? These are all questions endlessly speculated by scholars and history enthusiasts without any satisfactory answers ever being reached.