Atlantis is a mythical island nation first written about by Plato. Despite being a prominent fixture in conspiracy communities, there is no evidence that Atlantis was ever anything more than a fable.
In Plato's Writing[]
The dialogues Timaeus and Critias depict conversations between Timaeus, Critias, Socrates, and Hermocrates. The tale of Atlantis is allegedly based on something Athenian statesman Solon heard from Egyptian priest Sonchis of Saïs.
In the beginning, the Hellenic gods divided the land among themselves. This included Poseidon, who took the island of Atlantis. The island was larger than ancient Libya and Asia Minor combined, and consisted mostly of mountains in the northern portions and along the shore, encompassing a great plain.
At some point, Poseidon fell in love with a human woman named Cleito, and with her they had ten sons: Atlas, Gadeirus, Ampheres, Evaemon, Mneseus, Autochthon, Elasippus, Mestor, Azaes, and Diaprepes. He carved a mountain into a palace for his love to reside in, and their ten sons became the first kings of Atlantis.
Over time, the Atlanteans developed the island. Bridges were built north of the mountain, a cabal to the sea was dug, and tunnels were carved into the mountain for ships to pass through. Every passage to the city was guarded by gates and towers, each ring of it surrounded by walls of red, white and black rock, covered with brass, tin, and the precious orichalcum.
For many generations, the Atlanteans were obedient to the laws and affectionate to the gods. However, eventually the divine bloodline began to fade, and human arrogance and avarice took hold.
9,000 years before Critias's lifetime, a war took place between those outside the Pillars of Hercules at the Strait of Gibraltar, and those who dwelt within them. The Atlanteans had conquered the land within the Pillars and subjected its people to slavery. Enter ancient Athens (anachronistically existing millennia before it was founded), a wealthy and water-rich land. They were shockingly egalitarian for their time, and had a warrior class who shared their property with the entire country. This ancient Athens led an alliance of resistors against the Atlantean empire.
However, that alliance ended up disintegrating, leaving ancient Athens alone against Atlantis. Despite this, ancient Athens still ended up prevailing in the end, liberating the occupied lands.
Zeus, seeing the corrpution of Atlantis, chastised them. What follows from here isn't clearly known because of damage to the source, but the ultimate fate of Atlantis had already been outlined earlier in the Timaeus - within a single day and night, violent earthquakes and floods sank the island into the sea. All that remained of it was a mud shoal, which made those parts of the sea impassable and impenetrable.
Later Public Domain Works[]
- Atlantis: The Antediluvian World by Ignatius L. Donnelly put forth that Atlantis was a real place
- Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas by Jules Verne included a visit to the ruins of Atlantis
- Poseidon's Paraside: The Romance of Atlantis by Elizabeth G. Birkmaier adapted the story, adding in details from a Greek flood myth; in it, the Atlantean king Atlano declared war on the land of Pelasgia, before abducting Deucalion's son and daughter Hellen and Æole to be raised in Atlantis
- The Lost Continent: The Story of Atlantis by C. J. Cutcliffe Hyne reimagined the story along with the aforementioned flood myth; this featured Deucalion as an Atlantean priest meant to wed tyrannical empress Phorenice, and gradually realizing that he shouldn't bindly go along with policy
- Atlantis, the Book of the Angels by D. Bridgman-Metchim combined the story with biblical writing
- The Story of the Amulet by Edith Nesbit included a detour to Atlantis on its final day
- The Scarlet Empire by David Maclean Parry was a political satire condemning the advocacy of socialism, and also providimg a plausible explanation for the survival of Atlantis
- Atlantida by Pierre Benoit featured two French officers finding a remnant of Atlantis, controlled by Antinea, a descendant of the island's rulers
- The Return of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs introduced Opar, which began as an Atlantean colony
- The Temple by H. P. Lovecraft had a German naval submarine settle on the remains of Atlantis after sinking from a World War I battle