Mythology / Philosophy: “The Lost City of Atlantis”, according to Plato.-

►Mythology / Philosophy: 

“The Lost City of Atlantis”, according to Plato’s dialogues “Timaeus” and “Critias”:

 

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Plato’s two dialogues pertaining to Atlantis are “Timaeus” and “Critias”, written in 360 BC. These are the earliest known written records about the Lost Continent of Atlantis, all other written references to Atlantis have been written since, and have been based on these writings by Plato.

“Timaeus” and “Critias” are actually written in the form of dialogues between four main characters: Socrates (Greek philosopher, and Plato’s teacher), Critias (poet & historian), Timaeus (an Italian astronomer.), and Hermocrates (a general from Syracuse). All were real people.

The dialogue “Timaeus” includes only a passing reference to Atlantis, but the second writing, the Critias, has a much more in depth description of Atlantis leading upto it’s downfall. 

The fabled island-continent derives its name from the Titan Atlas. It was said to be out beyond the western headland where the immortal giant holds up the heavens by means of a pillar on his back.

•The Atlantis, as described by Plato:

Plato told the story of Atlantis around 360 B.C.

According to Plato, Atlantis was the domain of Poseidon, god of the sea. When Poseidon fell in love with a mortal woman, Cleito, he created a dwelling at the top of a hill near the middle of the island and surrounded the dwelling with rings of water and land to protect her.

Cleito gave birth to five sets of twin boys who became the first rulers of Atlantis. The island was divided among the brothers with the eldest, Atlas, first King of Atlantis, being given control over the central hill and surrounding areas.

At the top of the central hill, a temple was built to honor Poseidon which housed a giant gold statue of Poseidon riding a chariot pulled by winged horses. It was here that the rulers of Atlantis would come to discuss laws, pass judgments, and pay tribute to Poseidon.

The founders of Atlantis, he said, were half god and half human. They created a utopian civilization and became a great naval power. Their home was made up of concentric islands separated by wide moats and linked by a canal that penetrated to the center. The lush islands contained gold, silver, and other precious metals and supported an abundance of rare, exotic wildlife. There was a great capital city on the central island.

For generations the Atlanteans lived simple, virtuous lives. But slowly they began to change. Greed and power began to corrupt them. When Zeus saw the immorality of the Atlanteans he gathered the other gods to determine a suitable punishment and destroy them.

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•Destruction of the Atlantis:

The most popular theories as to the destruction of Atlantis are exactly what Plato described, earthquakes and floods. The floods more than likely attributable to the tidal waves that would have been caused by the earthquakes. 

Another theory is that there was a volcano on the island that errupted with such force that the island was buried in molten lava. 

For Plato, Atlantis was an island, supposedly the size of Libya and Asia Minor combined, located in the Atlantic beyond Gibraltar and due to its central position a stepping stone by which travelers could reach other islands and the opposing land mass.

•Where was the city of Atlantis placed?:

There are many theories about where Atlantis was—in the Mediterranean: Thera,  Chales Pellegrino and Walter Friedrich, Cyprus (Robert Sarmast ), Central or South America (Ivar Zapp and George Erikson ) even under what is now Antarctica (Colin Wilson). [Note: You can check out ten possible locations here].

Many believe that Plato was basing his account of Atlantis on the history of the Minoan civilization, which would coincide well with these new dates. The history of the Minoan civilization and the description of Atlantis have a suspicious amount in common at any rate.

Ballard says, the legend of Atlantis is a “logical” one since cataclysmic floods and volcanic explosions have happened throughout history, including one event that had some similarities to the story of the destruction of Atlantis. About 3,600 years ago, a massive volcanic eruption devastated the island of Santorini in the Aegean Sea near Greece. At the time, a highly advanced society of Minoans lived on Santorini. The Minoan civilization disappeared suddenly at about the same time as the volcanic eruption.

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►”The Atlantis: Hypothetical Locations” (Map Gallery):

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►The Atlantis in Plato’s dialogues “Timaeus” and “Critias”.

(Read the relevant excerpts):

►Check out “Timaeus” excerpts with regard to the Atlantis: Click Here.

►Check out “Critias”‘ excerpt with regard to the Atlantis: Click Here.

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►Bonustrack: Video: “Atlantis by artist Monsu Desiderio”:

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►Links Post:

http://www.mythweb.com/encyc/entries/atlantis.html

http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/archaeology/atlantis/

http://www.mcmillinmedia.com/atlantean-geography/

http://unxplained-factor.com/critias.htm

http://unxplained-factor.com/timaeus.htm

http://luccav.com/2015/01/30/the-search-for-atlantis/

http://luccav.com/2015/01/16/the-elusive-location-of-atlantis-part-1/

http://luccav.com/2015/01/23/the-elusive-location-of-atlantis-part-2/

●▬▬▬▬▬▬๑۩۩๑▬▬▬▬▬▬●

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►Last but not Least: Two Awards: 

Kolytyi from “Trifles” nominated me  for a Liebster Award. Thank you very much, dear blogger friend 😀

►Here are the Award Rules:

1) The nominee shall display the Liebster Award logo on her/his blog.

2) The nominee shall nominate eleven (11)  bloggers she/he admires, by linking to their blogs and informing them about it.

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Liebster Award.-

 These are my eleven nominees for this award:

1) Kev´s Blog  2) En Humor arte 3) Autonomía en las formas 4) Jet Eliot 5) London Senior 6) Unclee Tree 7) Brushespapers 8) The Passion Dew 9) A solas con Caronte 10) Animasmundi11) Blog de Javier

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My  blogger friend, Caronte Moratalla from “A solas con Caronte” and my dear friend Verónica from “En Humor Arte” have both nominated me for the same award. Thanks a lot 🙂

►Here are the Award Rules:

1) The nominee shall display the Premio sin premio logo on her/his blog.

2) The nominee shall nominate ten (10)  bloggers she/he admires, by linking to their blogs and informing them about it.

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Premio Sin Premio.-

  These are my ten nominees for this award:

1) Chesterton Blog 2) Sweet as a picture 3) Isaspi 4) Word Musing 5) A little bird tweets 6) Angelart Star 7) Imaginecontinua 8) Cruz del Sur 9) Diwata in Lalaland 10) Si vis pacem para bellum.

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Thanks for dropping by, fellow bloggers. Happy Thursday and best wishes, Aquileana/Amalia 😀

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