Having described Atlantis in two short dialogues, Platon did not rely on the usual ancient Greek tradition. The source of information about Atlantis was his distant relative, politician and poet Solon (circa 615-535 BC). Solon travelled extensively across the Mediterranean and visited Egypt. According to Plato, Solon asked them about "ancient things", the most ancient legends included in their chronicles, and the priests told him a rather incredible story.
First, they laughed at the legends, "Ah Solon, Solon," they said, "you Hellenists remain children forever, and not among the Hellenists of the old man! The priests boasted that the history of Egypt began thousands of years before the birth of the ancient Greek civilization; their caste exists for at least eight millennia, and they keep memories of events that occurred even earlier. According to them, nine thousand years ago (i.e. about 9570 BC) there was already a great city of Athens, which the present Greeks could hardly remember because of repeated catastrophes. At that time Athens was ruled by a community of warriors who despised wealth and planted a simple, communal way of life. Athens successfully led the struggle of the peoples of Europe against the invasion of the tyrannical regime that dominated the Atlantean Empire.
Atlantis was an island state located in the west, behind the Hercules Pillars (Strait of Gibraltar). They were ruled by a coalition of "kings" leading their lineage from the god of the sea Poseidon. The Supreme governor was considered the descendant of the eldest son of Poseidon, Atlas, who gave his name to the island and the Atlantic Ocean. The Atlanteans were once almost godlike people, pure in heart and soul, but as the share of divine blood ran low, greed and vices spread among them. They already had a vast empire stretching from central Italy in Europe to the borders of Egypt in Africa, but now decided to enslave the rest of the Mediterranean world. They attacked, but the Athenians, though abandoned by their allies, were able to win.
When the war came to an end, the gods held a council to punish the atlantes for their pride. The time has come for unprecedented earthquakes and floods," Plato wrote, "in one terrible day... Atlantis disappeared, plunging into the abyss. During the same catastrophe, the Athenian army, which was still continuing its military campaign, disappeared into the depths of the earth.
Platoon's Critius dialogue contains a detailed description of the Atlantean society. The island was a real paradise on earth, where all natural resources were available. Everything that was missing on the island was replenished by the empire's overseas possessions. As a result, the rulers of Atlantis
"have accumulated such wealth as no other royal dynasty has ever had in the past and will hardly ever be again"
Each ruler had his own city, but the greatest of them, the capital of Atlantis, was the metropolis of the empire, ruled by the descendants of Atlas. Poseidon himself founded it by carving a series of concentric rings filled with water that surrounded the city and protected it. The following rulers built huge bridges over the canals and erected high walls in each defense ring, enclosing them in metal. In the outer parts of the city they built a harbour, warehouses and barracks, planted sacred groves and erected temples in honor of the gods. On the central island there was a miracle of miracles - a palace complex. The main temple (dedicated to Poseidon and his wife, the nymph Clayto 3) was covered with silver and sparkled with gold. The roof was made of solid ivory inlaid with precious metals. The size of the temple was three times larger than the Parthenon in Athens. Inside - the images of the first rulers and rulers of Atlantis, as well as a golden statue of Poseidon, which almost touched the roof at an altitude of 300 feet. (For comparison, the New York Statue of Liberty is 151 feet high and stands on a 155-foot pedestal.)
At the same time, much of what Platon writes about, such as engineering achievements and the highest level of material well-being, should have looked like "science fiction" at the time of his dialogues (360-350 BC). The scope of what he said about Atlantis is astonishing: from the size of the continent and the grandeur of its technology to the vast period of time when the Atlantis civilization existed. Egyptian civilization was considered the oldest in the Mediterranean, and the Greeks respected it for centuries of wisdom. However, Atlantis, presumably, was much older than Egypt.
So, we are left alone with the riddle that has been stirring up inquisitive minds since Plato's time: is its history a fantasy from beginning to end, or is it behind some historical truth?