the physical size of the main island of Atlantis, Plato went into great detail, and the size he gives for that island is quite small in comparison to what would be “Libya and Asia” combined. Plato’s measurements were given in stadia, the supposed length of the first foot race in the Olympiad. One stade is believed by most scholars to be about 618 feet. He began by describing a circular city, located on the southern side of the main island, near the sea. This city was, according to Plato, about two miles in diameter. But the size of the island on which the center city was situated is described in detail:
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… the part about the city was all a smooth plain, enclosing it round about, and being itself encircled by mountains which stretched as far as to the sea; and this plain had a level surface and was a rectangle in shape, being 3000 stades long on either side and 2000 stades wide at its centre, reckoning upwards from the sea.
(Critias 118 A, B)
Based on this description in Critias, the main island which held the Center City was somewhere around 340 miles long and 225 miles wide. This is a large island, but nowhere near the size of Libya and Asia combined. Since the island empire of Atlantis began at the mouth of the Straits of Gibraltar, there are only a few conclusions that are possible. First, if an island that was roughly 340 miles by 225 miles in extent did exist just outside Gibraltar and extending into the Atlantic Ocean, then the mystery would be solved except for the statements regarding many other islands leading to the opposite continent. As mentioned earlier, an island, named Spartel, did exist there at the height of the last Ice Age, about 18,000 years ago. But it was only nine miles long and three miles wide. And by 12,000 B.C., it was well under water.
Andrew Collins and others assert that Plato’s claim in Timaeus of Atlantis being the size of Libya and Asia combined, refers to the full extent of the Atlantis empire. This idea is completely supported by other details from Plato’s story. It would explain why he mentioned many other islands being ruled by Atlantean kings as well as why he made the enigmatic reference to “the opposite continent” on the other side of the Atlantic. This is a fact that no one in Plato’s time supposedly knew. Finally, if we accept the date Plato gave for the destruction of Atlantis (9600 B.C.), other details in his story would preclude the area around Gibraltar, Spain, the British Isles, or even the islands in the Mediterranean as being the main island. The reasons for this are quite simple. In brief, Plato carefully described the climate of Atlantis as tropical. In 9600 B.C., the last Ice Age was nearing its end. But all the European and Mediterranean areas were still cold, in fact, some areas were still covered by ice sheets. If Plato’s dating of Atlantis is accepted, then the climate of these areas makes them impossible locations for Atlantis prior to 9600 B.C.
In sum, Plato’s description of the location of Atlantis clearly identifies it as a vast island empire starting just outside Gibraltar and extending across the Atlantic Ocean nearly to an “opposite continent.” The main island, where the fabled center city of Poseidon was located, was about 340 miles long and 225 miles wide.
The Beginning of Atlantis
Plato provided an intriguing story that described how Atlantis began, but he gave no dates for the beginning—only the date of its destruction. In Critias (108 B-C; 113 C-E) Plato related that the gods of legend divided up portions of the earth for each to rule:
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Once upon a time the gods were taking over by lot the whole earth according to its regions … So by just allotments they received each one his own, and they settled their countries … so Poseidon took for his allotment the island of Atlantis and settled therein the children whom he had begotten of a mortal woman …
(Critias 108B-C, 113C-E)
According to the story, the mortal woman was named Cleito, the daughter of Evenor and Leucippe. These individuals are described by Plato as “natives originally sprung from the earth.” Following the death of her parents, Cleito and Poseidon married and Poseidon began constructing a circular city on the “low mountain” where Cleito lived. This hill was in the midst of a vast plain that had a mountain range to its north protecting the plain from winds and cold. To make the hill “impregnable,” Poseidon constructed three circular canals around the hill interspersed with two bands of land. On the center hill, Poseidon brought “up from beneath the earth two springs of water”—one with hot water and the other cold water. According to Plato, the hill in the very center of the city, enclosed by the three canals, was just over one-half mile wide.
Depiction of Poseidon and Athena at Nashville’s Parthenon reconstruction. Photo—Lora Little.
After Poseidon and Cleito had their five sets of twin sons, the Center City of Atlantis was further enhanced by each generation: “… and as each king received it from his predecessors, he added to its adornment and did all he could to surpass the king before him, until finally they made of it an abode amazing to behold …” (Critias 115 D) Plato left no clues about the period of time that transpired from the beginning of Atlantis to the time it reached its height, but he related that many generations passed.
The Center City of Atlantis. Illustration—Dee Turman.
Poseidon’s Center City of Atlantis
By the time it reached its pinnacle, the Center City had a great palace on its central hill (now called the “Acropolis”) with roads leading across four bridges over the three canals. At the center of the Acropolis stood the “Royal Palace,” a huge temple 600 by 300 feet in size. It was a “holy ground” where Poseidon and Cleito conceived the “ten royal lines” derived from the five pairs of twins. A “wall of gold” encircled this area and the exterior of the temple was covered in silver with gold pinnacles. The interior of the temple was covered with gold, silver, and a mysterious metal Plato called “orichalcum.” Plato wrote that orichalcum “sparkled like fire.” A massive golden statue of “God” on a chariot pulled by six winged horses was the focal point of the temple. Surrounding this impressive figure were golden statues of 100 Nereids (sea nymphs), each riding a dolphin. Circling the temple’s exterior were golden statues of all the princes of Atlantis and their wives, including the offspring of the original ten kings.
From the mountain range far to the north of the city a uniform series of canals were made that eventually led to the city. These canals were used to irrigate the fertile plain surrounding the city. Another wide, deep canal was dug from the city to the south where it emptied into the ocean, nearly six miles away. Harbors and docks were built in the circular canals and extensive maritime shipping of fruits and vegetables is described by Plato as taking place in the city.
Over time, high stonewalls were erected on the circular bands of land along the canals. The high walls allowed bridges to be constructed over all the canals linking the rings of land to the Acropolis. These were, according to Plato, so high that the largest ships could pass underneath them. Stone towers and gates were built on all sides of the bridges and along the canal leading to the sea. The stone for the projects was quarried on the island and was red, black, and white. The outermost stonewall, enclosing the entire city, was covered with brass. The second wall was coated with tin. The wall encircling the Acropolis was coated with orichalcum.
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