Professor Edith Hall

They invent sea power. They invent the very first navy in the world. And there's a big description of it and how these huge, great triremes could go up and down all the channels. And this leads to growing decadence because they start trading with other nations, which makes them more greedy for money. And this is part of what leads to their moral downfall.

They invent sea power. They invent the very first navy in the world. And there's a big description of it and how these huge, great triremes could go up and down all the channels. And this leads to growing decadence because they start trading with other nations, which makes them more greedy for money. And this is part of what leads to their moral downfall.

Yes, they start taking over other places, just as the Athenian democracy had. They take over places from Tuscany to Egypt, and they're expanding. And here, I think that Plato is drawing actually on the Athenians' experience, not only of their own empire, but of the great Persian empire. There's a certain amount of Persia in these Atlanteans.

Yes, they start taking over other places, just as the Athenian democracy had. They take over places from Tuscany to Egypt, and they're expanding. And here, I think that Plato is drawing actually on the Athenians' experience, not only of their own empire, but of the great Persian empire. There's a certain amount of Persia in these Atlanteans.

Yes, they start taking over other places, just as the Athenian democracy had. They take over places from Tuscany to Egypt, and they're expanding. And here, I think that Plato is drawing actually on the Athenians' experience, not only of their own empire, but of the great Persian empire. There's a certain amount of Persia in these Atlanteans.

Also Phoenicians, because the Phoenicians were the great ancient sea power. So we sort of pick and choose from different colourful, what the Greeks called barbarian, that is non-Greek, ancient cultures that were actually older than the Greeks. And the Egypt thing is in there because we actually get the source is Egyptian. So there's plenty of ways of imagining these gaudy, quite barbarous people.

Also Phoenicians, because the Phoenicians were the great ancient sea power. So we sort of pick and choose from different colourful, what the Greeks called barbarian, that is non-Greek, ancient cultures that were actually older than the Greeks. And the Egypt thing is in there because we actually get the source is Egyptian. So there's plenty of ways of imagining these gaudy, quite barbarous people.

Also Phoenicians, because the Phoenicians were the great ancient sea power. So we sort of pick and choose from different colourful, what the Greeks called barbarian, that is non-Greek, ancient cultures that were actually older than the Greeks. And the Egypt thing is in there because we actually get the source is Egyptian. So there's plenty of ways of imagining these gaudy, quite barbarous people.

At first, their island is just a natural utopia. It's full of beautiful natural blessings like timber and flora and fauna. And it's got food in abundance, which when we come on to the ancient Athens, it didn't have. So they were actually lucky. He's implying they didn't need to build an empire. They had everything that they needed.

At first, their island is just a natural utopia. It's full of beautiful natural blessings like timber and flora and fauna. And it's got food in abundance, which when we come on to the ancient Athens, it didn't have. So they were actually lucky. He's implying they didn't need to build an empire. They had everything that they needed.

At first, their island is just a natural utopia. It's full of beautiful natural blessings like timber and flora and fauna. And it's got food in abundance, which when we come on to the ancient Athens, it didn't have. So they were actually lucky. He's implying they didn't need to build an empire. They had everything that they needed.

I absolutely do. And it's because they invent the sea power and the Greeks acknowledge that the first great sea power was not the Greeks, it was the Phoenicians. And they freely admitted they'd learned an awful lot about shipbuilding and how to run a navy from the Phoenicians.

I absolutely do. And it's because they invent the sea power and the Greeks acknowledge that the first great sea power was not the Greeks, it was the Phoenicians. And they freely admitted they'd learned an awful lot about shipbuilding and how to run a navy from the Phoenicians.

I absolutely do. And it's because they invent the sea power and the Greeks acknowledge that the first great sea power was not the Greeks, it was the Phoenicians. And they freely admitted they'd learned an awful lot about shipbuilding and how to run a navy from the Phoenicians.

But any one-to-one correspondence fails because ultimately, I think what the Atlanteans are doing is representing what the Athenians became under the democracy. Plato splits his vision of Athens in two, and he puts one half of it in the idealized ancient Athens, primordial Athens of 9,000 years before, and one half of it in the Atlanteans.

But any one-to-one correspondence fails because ultimately, I think what the Atlanteans are doing is representing what the Athenians became under the democracy. Plato splits his vision of Athens in two, and he puts one half of it in the idealized ancient Athens, primordial Athens of 9,000 years before, and one half of it in the Atlanteans.

But any one-to-one correspondence fails because ultimately, I think what the Atlanteans are doing is representing what the Athenians became under the democracy. Plato splits his vision of Athens in two, and he puts one half of it in the idealized ancient Athens, primordial Athens of 9,000 years before, and one half of it in the Atlanteans.

But by doing that, he's sort of implying that somehow the Athenians had become more like these wicked barbarian nations. So no one-to-one correspondence really works. And I'm actually really the first scholar to have absolutely insisted on this. The most important article ever written was by a French scholar of considerable fame called Pierre Vidal-Nacquet.

But by doing that, he's sort of implying that somehow the Athenians had become more like these wicked barbarian nations. So no one-to-one correspondence really works. And I'm actually really the first scholar to have absolutely insisted on this. The most important article ever written was by a French scholar of considerable fame called Pierre Vidal-Nacquet.

But by doing that, he's sort of implying that somehow the Athenians had become more like these wicked barbarian nations. So no one-to-one correspondence really works. And I'm actually really the first scholar to have absolutely insisted on this. The most important article ever written was by a French scholar of considerable fame called Pierre Vidal-Nacquet.