Was Plato’s Story of Atlantis Just an Allegory?

Map of Atlantis successful the Atlantic Ocean, Athanasius Kircher, 1664. Credit: Wikimedia Commons, nationalist domain

Plato’s communicative of Atlantis involves a powerful naval civilisation successful the distant past being defeated successful conflict by the Greek metropolis of Athens. Was this an allegory, oregon was this a genuine fable with a humanities core? Opinions connected this person varied astir arsenic acold backmost arsenic the clip of Plato himself.

The viewpoint that Atlantis was an allegory

The viewpoint that Atlantis was an allegory is simply a precise fashionable one. In fact, it is the statement among scholars today. Many radical understood Plato’s relationship to beryllium fictional, adjacent arsenic acold backmost arsenic past times. Even Plato’s ain student, Aristotle, seemingly did not judge that Atlantis was real.

What is the ground for this idea? Well, the cardinal ground is the information that Plato was a philosopher, not a historian. Therefore, Plato was principally acrophobic with signaling philosophical arguments, not genuine past oregon myths and legends.

For this reason, galore of Plato’s dialogues incorporate allegories that assistance Plato to convey his philosophical ideas. One celebrated illustration is the Allegory of the Cave, which Plato invented and utilized to exemplify his ideas astir the existent quality of reality.

Furthermore, Plato’s dialogues instrumentality the signifier of conversations betwixt Socrates and different participants, with Socrates mostly being utilized arsenic a mouthpiece by Plato to convey his ideas. For respective reasons, scholars hold that these dialogues—perhaps with 1 exception—are fictional conversations. They are conscionable a literate instrumentality utilized by Plato.

An allegory praising Athens

With this successful mind, we bash good to inquire what the communicative of Atlantis (if it truly is an allegory) is expected to represent. Interestingly, determination are assorted conflicting ideas astir this. On the 1 hand, determination is the thought that it was an allegory designed to praise Athens arsenic the perfect state. On the different hand, galore scholars reason that its intent was to service arsenic a informing for the Athens of Plato’s day.

In what mode could the communicative of Atlantis person been an allegory successful favour of Athens? This thought is partially based connected however Plato introduces the communicative of Atlantis successful the Timaeus dialogue. There, Plato has Socrates notation however helium wants to perceive a communicative astir the perfect state, Athens, successful action.

Consequently, Critias responds by telling him the communicative of Atlantis. In this story, determination is simply a war betwixt Atlantis, a mighty naval empire, and Athens, a comparatively humble and unimportant city. Eventually, Athens wins the warfare and defeats Atlantis.

According to 1 enactment of thought, the communicative of Atlantis is expected to service arsenic an allegory showing the superiority of Athens to its larger, much almighty opponents. For instance, see the information that Plato was penning successful the 4th period BCE. In the period earlier that, Athens had fought disconnected the mighty Persian Empire.

Therefore, according to this theory, the communicative of Atlantis served arsenic an allegory for Athens’ triumph implicit the Persians.

An allegory condemning Athens

However, determination is an alternate viewpoint that is fundamentally the other of the erstwhile one. Rather than being an allegory to praise Athens’ superiority implicit much almighty enemies, this mentation views Plato’s communicative of Atlantis arsenic a condemnatory allegory against the city.

Towards the extremity of the Critias dialogue, Plato describes however the Atlanteans mislaid their respect for the gods and became arrogant. Because of their hubris, they mislaid the gods’ favour. This is what yet resulted successful the decision and demolition of Atlantis.

Therefore, this mentation interprets Atlantis arsenic a informing against the hubris of Athens successful Plato’s time. According to this interpretation, it was really Atlantis that represented the humanities Athens. Meanwhile, Athens successful the communicative represented what Plato’s metropolis should beryllium like.

Must Atlantis person been an allegory?

Both of these viewpoints are precise popular. However, immoderate scholars judge that Atlantis was not a communicative invented by Plato arsenic an allegory. In fact, determination is simply a spectrum of interpretations.

Some scholars, arsenic we person seen, see Plato to person wholly made up the communicative of Atlantis arsenic an allegory. Others judge that Plato utilized oregon adapted an existing communicative oregon fable to service arsenic an allegory. For instance, anthropologist Jeb J Card wrote:

“Plato invented oregon modified myths to pass an idea… Plato sourced his Atlantis successful past Egyptian lore.”

While Plato was a philosopher, this does not mean that helium ne'er wrote astir genuine past oregon pre-existing myths and legends. He did truthful whenever it was utile to the philosophical constituent helium was making. For example, successful the Timaeus itself, Plato has his characters sermon the story of Phaethon, which predated Plato.

Hence, conscionable due to the fact that it whitethorn person served a philosophical point, determination is nary crushed to needfully construe the communicative of Atlantis arsenic thing that Plato himself invented.

Why Atlantis mightiness not person been an allegory

Some scholars spell truthful acold arsenic to importune that determination is grounds actively supporting the decision that the communicative of Atlantis was not conscionable an allegory invented by Plato. For example, James Mavor highlighted immoderate absorbing points regarding the usage of penning successful Plato’s story.

According to Plato, an Egyptian clergyman related to the Athenian lawmaker Solon, the information that the Greeks, successful the distant past, had a strategy of writing. They past mislaid it, and past they adopted their existent strategy of penning a agelong clip later.

This matches what we cognize historically astir the past Greeks’ usage of Linear B, the nonaccomplishment of penning successful the Dark Ages, and the consequent adoption of the Phoenician alphabet. However, determination is nary grounds whatsoever that the Greeks were alert of this themselves. For example, Herodotus spoke astir the adoption of the Phoenician alphabet arsenic if it were the archetypal clip that the Greeks started writing.

Therefore, this powerfully suggests to immoderate researchers that Plato could not person made up this communicative himself.