Deconstructing Atlantis: What Makes a Myth? Plato’s Allegorical Atlantis (Part 2)

We've heard the original source for Atlantis, but why is it that Plato's Timaeus and Critias can't be termed "myths"? If it isn't a myth, how do we know that there isn't some history behind it? This episode details what we do know about Plato's Atlantis and what that proves.

CW/TW: far too many Greek myths involve assault. Given it's fiction, and typically involves gods and/or monsters, I'm not as deferential as I would be were I referencing the real thing.

Sources/Further Reading: Plato's Timaeus and Critias, quotes translated by Benjamin Jowett; A Brief History of Atlantis: Plato's Ideal State by Stephen P. Kershaw (includes alternate translation of Plato); PDF: Truth, Lies, and History in Plato's Timaeus and Critias by Thomas K Johansen, 1998.

Attributions and licensing information for music used in the podcast can be found here: mythsbaby.com/sources-attributions. Special podcast artwork by Sara Richard.

Learn more about Liv's next group trip to GREECE, this time following along with Ariadne's escape from Theseus. Check out Liv's new book, The Odyssey: a Modern Retelling. Get ad-free episodes and so, so much more, by subscribing to the Oracle Edition at patreon.com/mythsbaby.

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