Professor Edith Hall

No. The story of Atlantis is incredibly important culturally, not just because people love it so much, but because it's the first ever work of historical fiction. So it's the founding text of a genre that we all love. It is immensely popular internationally.

No. The story of Atlantis is incredibly important culturally, not just because people love it so much, but because it's the first ever work of historical fiction. So it's the founding text of a genre that we all love. It is immensely popular internationally.

No. The story of Atlantis is incredibly important culturally, not just because people love it so much, but because it's the first ever work of historical fiction. So it's the founding text of a genre that we all love. It is immensely popular internationally.

that has countless examples just in the classical world of some of the greatest novels about Pompeii, all the novels about Roman emperors, I Claudius. It's the founding text of that entire genre, but it's by a philosopher called Plato. There are strands of truth in it, in that the ancient Greeks and Romans were acquainted with tsunamis.

that has countless examples just in the classical world of some of the greatest novels about Pompeii, all the novels about Roman emperors, I Claudius. It's the founding text of that entire genre, but it's by a philosopher called Plato. There are strands of truth in it, in that the ancient Greeks and Romans were acquainted with tsunamis.

that has countless examples just in the classical world of some of the greatest novels about Pompeii, all the novels about Roman emperors, I Claudius. It's the founding text of that entire genre, but it's by a philosopher called Plato. There are strands of truth in it, in that the ancient Greeks and Romans were acquainted with tsunamis.

They were acquainted with catastrophic, apocalyptic wipings out of civilizations. So the general kind of backstory that a whole culture can get wiped out by a natural disaster draws on reality. But this specific story is absolutely fiction. And it was fiction designed for a very particular purpose at a very particular time.

They were acquainted with catastrophic, apocalyptic wipings out of civilizations. So the general kind of backstory that a whole culture can get wiped out by a natural disaster draws on reality. But this specific story is absolutely fiction. And it was fiction designed for a very particular purpose at a very particular time.

They were acquainted with catastrophic, apocalyptic wipings out of civilizations. So the general kind of backstory that a whole culture can get wiped out by a natural disaster draws on reality. But this specific story is absolutely fiction. And it was fiction designed for a very particular purpose at a very particular time.

There's no trace of Atlantis before two dialogues by Plato that fit together, which are the Timaeus and the Critias. These are composed in the first third of the fourth century BC. So nearly two and a half thousand years ago. But they set the story at least 9000 years prior to that. These are guys...

There's no trace of Atlantis before two dialogues by Plato that fit together, which are the Timaeus and the Critias. These are composed in the first third of the fourth century BC. So nearly two and a half thousand years ago. But they set the story at least 9000 years prior to that. These are guys...

There's no trace of Atlantis before two dialogues by Plato that fit together, which are the Timaeus and the Critias. These are composed in the first third of the fourth century BC. So nearly two and a half thousand years ago. But they set the story at least 9000 years prior to that. These are guys...

Two and a half thousand years ago, imagining what happened actually for us 11 and a half thousand years ago.

Two and a half thousand years ago, imagining what happened actually for us 11 and a half thousand years ago.

Two and a half thousand years ago, imagining what happened actually for us 11 and a half thousand years ago.

Athens is not just a philosophical hub, it's actually coming into its own as the philosophical hub. In the fifth century, Socrates, who was Plato's teacher, was more of a sort of freelance guy. He didn't have a particular university or institution. He would go around harassing people with his philosophical dialogues and interviews in public spaces like Market Square and the gymnasium.

Athens is not just a philosophical hub, it's actually coming into its own as the philosophical hub. In the fifth century, Socrates, who was Plato's teacher, was more of a sort of freelance guy. He didn't have a particular university or institution. He would go around harassing people with his philosophical dialogues and interviews in public spaces like Market Square and the gymnasium.

Athens is not just a philosophical hub, it's actually coming into its own as the philosophical hub. In the fifth century, Socrates, who was Plato's teacher, was more of a sort of freelance guy. He didn't have a particular university or institution. He would go around harassing people with his philosophical dialogues and interviews in public spaces like Market Square and the gymnasium.

His student Plato founded the first, what, we would recognise as a university. Although it did no science, it was only humanities and maths for the academy at some point in the very early 4th century BC. So this is a community of like-minded people, people who were rich enough and intellectually enough to want to spend their time discussing philosophical ideas.

His student Plato founded the first, what, we would recognise as a university. Although it did no science, it was only humanities and maths for the academy at some point in the very early 4th century BC. So this is a community of like-minded people, people who were rich enough and intellectually enough to want to spend their time discussing philosophical ideas.