How could Plato know 9,000 year old stories about Atlantis?

Plato’s Critias says he heard the story of Atlantis from his grandfather, who had heard it from the Athenian statesman Solon (300 years before Plato’s time), who had learned it from an Egyptian priest, who said it had happened 9,000 years before that. 

How old did Plato say Atlantis was?

about 9,000 years

Plato said Atlantis existed about 9,000 years before his own time, and that its story had been passed down by poets, priests, and others.

When did Plato say Atlantis was destroyed?

We have the great Greek philosopher Plato to thank for the ongoing obsession with the lost city of Atlantis. Around 360 B.C., Plato wrote that Atlantis was a great and wonderful empire destroyed some 11,000 years before by earthquakes and floods during a 24-hour period.

Who first wrote about the lost city of Atlantis?

philosopher Plato

More than 2,000 years ago, the Greek philosopher Plato told the story of a wealthy civilization that sank into the sea after a barrage of fire and earthquakes. That city, known today as the fabled lost continent of Atlantis, has gripped the human imagination ever since.

What are Plato’s 51 clues to Atlantis?

Plato’s 51 clues included a location near the sea; a location outside the “Pillars of Heracles”, which many believe to be Gibraltar; the presence of elephants; mountains to its north; a ringlike structure of the city; and most importantly it had to be within roughly 5000km from Athens.

How did Plato find out about Atlantis?

Plato’s Critias says he heard the story of Atlantis from his grandfather, who had heard it from the Athenian statesman Solon (300 years before Plato’s time), who had learned it from an Egyptian priest, who said it had happened 9,000 years before that.

When was the earliest mention of Atlantis?

Unlike many legends whose origins have been lost in the mists of time, we know exactly when and where the story of Atlantis first appeared. The story was first told in two of Plato’s dialogues, the “Timaeus” and the “Critias,” written about 360 B.C.

Why was Atlantis destroyed?

The ancient Greeks believed an island empire ruled the sea in the distant past. The lords of Atlantis built a mighty civilization, but their pride eventually angered the gods, who destroyed their island with earthquakes and fire, sending it beneath the sea.



What is the famous line of Plato?

Here are some of Plato’s most famous quotes: “Love is a serious mental disease.” “When the mind is thinking it is talking to itself.” “Human behavior flows from three main sources: desire, emotion and knowledge.”

Where in Timaeus does Plato talk about Atlantis?

Atlantis (Timaeus 20d–25d, Critias 108d–121c)



Plato begins the Atlantis myth at the beginning of the Timaeus but breaks off abruptly. He continues in the Critias, which features the same interlocutors as the Timaeus. There is no record of this myth earlier than Plato.

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