Steve Kershaw - The Search for Atlantis: A History of Plato’s Ideal State

ALSO BY STEPHEN P. KERSHAW

A Brief History of the Roman Empire

A Brief Guide to Classical Civilization

A Brief Guide to the Greek Myths

THE
SEARCH
FOR
ATLANTIS

A HISTORY OF PLATOS IDEAL STATE

STEVE P. KERSHAW, P H D

PEGASUS BOOKS
NEW YORK LONDON

T HE S EARCH FOR A TLANTIS

Pegasus Books, Ltd.

148 West 37th Street, 13th Floor

New York, NY 10018

Copyright 2018 by Steve P. Kershaw, PhD

First Pegasus Books hardcover edition October 2018

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher, except by reviewers who may quote brief excerpts in connection with a review in a newspaper, magazine, or electronic publication; nor may any part of this book be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other, without written permission from the publisher.

ISBN: 978-1-68177-859-4

ISBN: 978-1-68177-924-9 (EBook)

Distributed by W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

For Hebe

There are many individuals, groups and institutions without whose help and inspiration this book could never have been written. I must express my deepest thanks to many of my fellow students, and the brilliant teachers, from Salterhebble County Primary School, Heath Grammar School and Bristol University, without whose enthusiasm, dedication and expertise I would never have been able to engage with the Ancient Greeks and their language and culture; the fine people at Swan Hellenic, whose itineraries have allowed me to explore the physical world of the Greeks in so much style; my colleagues and students (both real and Virtual) at Oxford University Department for Continuing Education, European Studies and the V... A, for sustaining my interest and facilitating my professional development on our explorations of the ancient world together; Duncan Proudfoot, Amanda Keats, Howard Watson, Kate Truman, and Stephen Dew at Robinson for their professional excellence in putting this book together; Philip and Dorothy Kershaw for all their unconditional, rock-solid support throughout my career; Hebe for the unwavering canine companionship she always gave me; Lai Jones, whose constant love and understanding makes all this possible; and all the inhabitants of Atlantis in the past, present or future, be they real or imaginary.

Myths are good to think with. Platos myth of Atlantis has exercised a fascination on the imagination since the fourth century BC , when the story first appears in two Platonic dialogues, the Timaeus (Timaios) and the Critias (Kritias). But, when we read these dialogues, presented in this book in new translations by the author, we are treated to a wonderful story that is told in order to explore some important philosophical and political ideas: what is the the Ideal State? How might it cope under the pressure of external invasion? In posing these questions, Plato makes very ancient Athens embody the Ideal State, while Atlantis, a mighty island power located in the Atlantic Ocean, is cast as a decadent, imperialist aggressor. When palaeo-Athens has beaten back the marauding Atlanteans, Zeus decides to punish Atlantis for its hyhris, and the island along with Athens, is inundated by earthquakes and flooding. Both states sink beneath the waves.

Platos tale (logos in Greek) is vivid and memorable, but when we read about Atlantis in the Timaeus and Critias, are we looking at a real island and a real geological event filtered through a mythical lens? Is some other type of myth-making taking place? Is Atlantis the fountain-head of all civilisation? Is there a basis of fact, which Plato has embellished for his own purposes? Is Platos tale derived from earlier mythological traditions? What is Platos tale really about? How has the tale been used by historians, archaeologists, pseudoarchaeologists, mystics, politicians and religious thinkers from antiquity through to the twenty-first century? Is it true that Atlantis once existed?

This book will explore some of those questions by translating and analysing Platos texts, and by examining philosophical, geophysical, archaeological and historical theories that range from the academically credible to the downright bizarre to the chillingly dangerous. On the way we will move from the depths of the Atlantic to the islands of Santorini and Crete, visiting locations as diverse as Scandinavia, the Caribbean, Britain, Central America and Antarctica, and look at the theories and motives of the people who have tried to unravel the mystery of Atlantis ever since Plato first introduced it to his students in the fourth century BC.

Atlantis makes its first appearance in the work of the fourth-century BC Athenian philosopher Plato in a story that is one of the most haunting and enigmatic to come out of Ancient Greece. It is a tale that still resonates very deeply, and perhaps too readily, with the modern imagination. As the characters in his Timaeus and Critias philosophise about life, the Universe and everything, Socrates says that hed like to hear an example of the Ideal State in action, struggling against adversaries, and proving its virtue in a time of conflict. This prompts the old man Critias to recollect a story that he heard when he was very young, and he treats the great thinker and his friends to a stunning description of h Atlantis nsos the Island of Atlas: Atlantis in Greek actually means of Atlas/Atlas/belonging to Atlas, so calling it the Island of Atlantis is tantamount to saying the Island of Atlas. It should be emphasised that the Atlas of Atlantis has nothing to do with the more famous mythological Atlas who holds up the sky: the latter, Very Enduring, is a Titan, the son of Iapetus and either Clymene or Asia; the former is the eldest son of Poseidon and Cleito.

Critias story tells of a people who inhabit a wondrous paradise island, but who degenerate into imperialist aggressors. Their expansion brings them into conflict with the warriors of antediluvian Athens,State, and which heroically and single-handedly repels the mighty Atlantean forces, before a cataclysmic natural disaster (kataklysmos in Greek = flood) destroys both Atlantis and Athens.

Plato often used and invented myths to provoke thought and debate, and if the great philosopher was seeking to do this with his Atlantis story, he succeeded in the most spectacular fashion: it has been (mis)interpreted and (ab)used from antiquity through to the medieval, Renaissance and more modem times. The impulse to try to locate the island has proved to be a strong one, as has the drive to use the story to further the ideas and activities of people from a wide range of cultures and eras for diverse motives. These various responses to Platos writings often say as much, if not more, about the beliefs and preoccupations of the people who are responding to Plato as they do about Atlantis itself, adding an extra layer of interest to the study of the texts.

And an amazing tale it is: it has wondrous descriptions of extraordinary things, it has drama, mystery and pathos, and it is full of challenging moral issues. But equally amazing is the fact that the story comes as a complete surprise to the people that Critias first tells it to, Socrates included. None of them have never heard this tale before. In fact, neither had anyone else: this is the first time in the entire Greek mythological tradition that any mention has been made of the Atlantis Island.