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Atlantis (, "island of Atlas") is a fictional island mentioned within an allegory on the hubris of nations in Plato's works ''Timaeus'' and ''Critias'', where it represents the antagonist naval power that besieges "Ancient Athens", the pseudo-historic embodiment of Plato's ideal state (see ''The Republic''). In the story, Athens was able to repel the Atlantean attack, unlike any other nation of the (western) known world,〔Plato's contemporaries pictured the world as consisting of only Europe, Northern Africa, and Western Asia (see the map of Hecataeus of Miletus). Atlantis, according to Plato, had conquered all Western parts of the known world, making it the literary counter-image of Persia. See 〕 supposedly giving testament to the superiority of Plato's concept of a state. At the end of the story, Atlantis eventually falls out of favor with the gods and famously submerges into the Atlantic Ocean. Despite its minor importance in Plato's work, the Atlantis story has had a considerable impact on literature. The allegorical aspect of Atlantis was taken up in utopian works of several Renaissance writers, such as Bacon's ''New Atlantis'' and More's ''Utopia''. On the other hand, 19th-century amateur scholars misinterpreted Plato's account as historical tradition, most notably in Donnelly's ''Atlantis: The Antediluvian World''. Plato's vague indications of the time of the events—more than 9,000 years before his day〔The frame story in ''Critias'' tells about an alleged visit of the Athenian lawmaker Solon (c. 638 BC – 558 BC) to Egypt, where he was told the Atlantis story that supposedly occurred 9,000 years before his time.〕—and the alleged location of Atlantis—"beyond the Pillars of Hercules"—has led to much pseudoscientific speculation. As a consequence, Atlantis has become a byword for any and all supposed advanced prehistoric lost civilizations and continues to inspire contemporary fiction, from comic books to films. While present-day philologists and historians accept the story's fictional character, there is still debate on what served as its inspiration. The fact that Plato borrowed some of his allegories and metaphors—most notably the story of Gyges—from older traditions has caused a number of scholars to investigate possible inspiration of Atlantis from Egyptian records of the Thera eruption, the Sea Peoples invasion, or the Trojan War.〔〔 --> | url = | format = | accessdate = }}〕〔 --> | url = | format = | accessdate = }}〕 Others have rejected this chain of tradition as implausible and insist that Plato designed the story from scratch, drawing loose inspiration from contemporary events like the failed Athenian invasion of Sicily in 415–413 BC or the destruction of Helike in 373 BC.〔Plato's ''Timaeus'' is usually dated 360 BC; it was followed by his ''Critias''.〕 ==Plato's account== One version of events tells that Plato did not hear the original myth of Atlantis, but that it was instead told to Solon 300 years prior, and that he heard it from Egyptian priests who read it from existing texts. Plato heard it from Critias who is related to Solon, who said it was a story passed down for 3 generations prior to reaching him (according to RA Freund 2012).〔RA Freund - (Digging through History: Archaeology and Religion from Atlantis to the Holocaust ) (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 28 Sep 2012) ISBN 1442208848 (2015-3-20 )〕 E Voegelin on the contrary, states that Plato entirely created the myth to aid the transmission of meaning in Timaeus, and that the story with regards to Solon has no basis in historical fact.〔E Voegelin - (Order and History, Volume 3 ) University of Missouri Press, 1 Dec 1999 ISBN 0826263925 (2015-3-20 )〕 Plato's dialogues ''Timaeus'' and ''Critias'', written in 360 BC, contain the earliest references to Atlantis. For unknown reasons, Plato never completed ''Critias''. Plato introduced Atlantis in ''Timaeus'': The four people appearing in those two dialogues are the politicians Critias and Hermocrates as well as the philosophers Socrates and Timaeus of Locri, although only Critias speaks of Atlantis. In his works Plato makes extensive use of the Socratic method in order to discuss contrary positions within the context of a supposition. The ''Timaeus'' begins with an introduction, followed by an account of the creations and structure of the universe and ancient civilizations. In the introduction, Socrates muses about the perfect society, described in Plato's ''Republic'' (c. 380 BC), and wonders if he and his guests might recollect a story which exemplifies such a society. Critias mentions an allegedly historical tale that would make the perfect example, and follows by describing Atlantis as is recorded in the ''Critias''. In his account, ancient Athens seems to represent the "perfect society" and Atlantis its opponent, representing the very antithesis of the "perfect" traits described in the ''Republic''. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Atlantis」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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