{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_1571/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_1571","id":"gutenberg_1571","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1571","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Classics of Literature","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Philosophy & Ethics","Classical literature"],"text":"Produced by Sue Asscher\n\n\n\n\n\nCRITIAS\n\nby Plato\n\n\nTranslated by Benjamin Jowett\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION AND ANALYSIS.\n\nThe Critias is a fragment which breaks off in the middle of a sentence.\nIt was designed to be the second part of a trilogy, which, like the\nother great Platonic trilogy of the Sophist, Statesman, Philosopher, was\nnever completed. Timaeus had brought down the origin of the world to\nthe creation of man, and the dawn of history was now to succeed the\nphilosophy of nature. The Critias is also connected with the Republic.\nPlato, as he has already told us (Tim.), intended to represent the\nideal state engaged in a patriotic conflict. This mythical conflict is\nprophetic or symbolical of the struggle of Athens and Persia, perhaps\nin some degree also of the wars of the Greeks and Carthaginians, in the\nsame way that the Persian is prefigured by the Trojan war to the mind\nof Herodotus, or as the narrative of the first part of the Aeneid is\nintended by Virgil to foreshadow the wars of Carthage and Rome. The\nsmall number of the primitive Athenian citizens (20,000), 'which is\nabout their present number' (Crit.), is evidently designed to contrast\nwith the myriads and barbaric array of the Atlantic hosts. The passing\nremark in the Timaeus that Athens was left alone in the struggle, in\nwhich she conquered and became the liberator of Greece, is also an\nallusion to the later history. Hence we may safely conclude that the\nentire narrative is due to the imagination of Plato, who has used the\nname of Solon and introduced the Egyptian priests to give verisimilitude\nto his story. To the Greek such a tale, like that of the earth-born\nmen, would have seemed perfectly accordant with the character of his\nmythology, and not more marvellous than the wonders of the East narrated\nby Herodotus and others: he might have been deceived into believing it.\nBut it appears strange that later ages should have been imposed upon by\nthe fiction. As many attempts have been made to find the great island of\nAtlantis, as to discover the country of the lost tribes. Without regard\nto the description of Plato, and without a suspicion that the whole\nnarrative is a fabrication, interpreters have looked for the spot in\nevery part of the globe, America, Arabia Felix, Ceylon, Palestine,\nSardinia, Sweden.\n\nTimaeus concludes with a prayer that his words may be acceptable to the\nGod whom he has revealed, and Critias, whose turn follows, begs that a\nlarger measure of indulgence may be conceded to him, because he has to\nspeak of men whom we know and not of gods whom we do not know. Socrates\nreadily grants his request, and anticipating that Hermocrates will make\na similar petition, extends by anticipation a like indulgence to him.\n\nCritias returns to his story, professing only to repeat what Solon was\ntold by the priests. The war of which he was about to speak had occurred\n9000 years ago. One of the combatants was the city of Athens, the other\nwas the great island of Atlantis. Critias proposes to speak of these\nrival powers first of all, giving to Athens the precedence; the various\ntribes of Greeks and barbarians who took part in the war will be dealt\nwith as they successively appear on the scene.\n\nIn the beginning the gods agreed to divide the earth by lot in a\nfriendly manner, and when they had made the allotment they settled\ntheir several countries, and were the shepherds or rather the pilots of\nmankind, whom they guided by persuasion, and not by force. Hephaestus\nand Athena, brother and sister deities, in mind and art united, obtained\nas their lot the land of Attica, a land suited to the growth of virtue\nand wisdom; and there they settled a brave race of children of the soil,\nand taught them how to order the state. Some of their names, such as\nCecrops, Erechtheus, Erichthonius, and Erysichthon, were preserved and\nadopted in later times, but the memory of their deeds has passed away;\nfor there have since been many deluges, and the remnant who survived\nin the mountains were ignorant of the art of writing, and during many\ngenerations were wholly devoted to acquiring the means of life...And the\narmed image of the goddess which was dedicated by the ancient Athenians\nis an evidence to other ages that men and women had in those days,\nas they ought always to have, common virtues and pursuits. There were\nvarious classes of citizens, including handicraftsmen and husbandmen and\na superior class of warriors who dwelt apart, and were educated, and had\nall things in common, like our guardians. Attica in those days extended\nsouthwards to the Isthmus, and inland to the heights of Parnes and\nCithaeron, and between them and the sea included the district of Oropus.\nThe country was then, as what remains of it still is, the most fertile\nin the world, and abounded in rich plains and pastures. But in the\ncourse of ages much of the soil was washed away and disappeared in\nthe deep sea. And the inhabitants of this fair land were endowed with\nintelligence and the love of beauty.\n\nThe Acropolis of the ancient Athens extended to the Ilissus and\nEridanus, and included the Pnyx, and the Lycabettus on the opposite side\nto the Pnyx, having a level surface and deep soil. The side of the hill\nwas inhabited by craftsmen and husbandmen; and the warriors dwelt by\nthemselves on the summit, around the temples of Hephaestus and Athene,\nin an enclosure which was like the garden of a single house. In winter\nthey retired into houses on the north of the hill, in which they held\ntheir syssitia. These were modest dwellings, which they bequeathed\nunaltered to their children's children. In summer time the south\nside was inhabited by them, and then they left their gardens and\ndining-halls. In the midst of the Acropolis was a fountain, which gave\nan abundant supply of cool water in summer and warm in winter; of this\nthere are still some traces. They were careful to preserve the number of\nfighting men and women at 20,000, which is equal to that of the present\nmilitary force. And so they passed their lives as guardians of the\ncitizens and leaders of the Hellenes. They were a just and famous race,\ncelebrated for their beauty and virtue all over Europe and Asia.\n\nAnd now I will speak to you of their adversaries, but first I ought to\nexplain that the Greek names were given to Solon in an Egyptian form,\nand he enquired their meaning and translated them. His manuscript was\nleft with my grandfather Dropides, and is now in my possession...In the\ndivision of the earth Poseidon obtained as his portion the island of\nAtlantis, and there he begat children whose mother was a mortal. Towards\nthe sea and in the centre of the island there was a very fair and\nfertile plain, and near the centre, about fifty stadia from the plain,\nthere was a low mountain in which dwelt a man named Evenor and his wife\nLeucippe, and their daughter Cleito, of whom Poseidon became enamoured.\nHe to secure his love enclosed the mountain with rings or zones varying\nin size, two of land and three of sea, which his divine power readily\nenabled him to excavate and fashion, and, as there was no shipping in\nthose days, no man could get into the place. To the interior island he\nconveyed under the earth springs of water hot and cold, and supplied the\nland with all things needed for the life of man. Here he begat a family\nconsisting of five pairs of twin male children. The eldest was Atlas,\nand him he made king of the centre island, while to his twin brother,\nEumelus, or Gadeirus, he assigned that part of the country which was\nnearest the Straits. The other brothers he made chiefs over the rest of\nthe island. And their kingdom extended as far as Egypt and Tyrrhenia.\nNow Atlas had a fair posterity, and great treasures derived from\nmines--among them that precious metal orichalcum; and there was\nabundance of wood, and herds of elephants, and pastures for animals of\nall kinds, and fragrant herbs, and grasses, and trees bearing fruit.\nThese they used, and employed themselves in constructing their temples,\nand palaces, and harbours, and docks, in the following manner:--First,\nthey bridged over the zones of sea, and made a way to and from the royal\npalace which they built in the centre island. This ancient palace was\nornamented by successive generations; and they dug a canal which passed\nthrough the zones of land from the island to the sea. The zones of earth\nwere surrounded by walls made of stone of divers colours, black and\nwhite and red, which they sometimes intermingled for the sake of\nornament; and as they quarried they hollowed out beneath the edges of\nthe zones double docks having roofs of rock. The outermost of the walls\nwas coated with brass, the second with tin, and the third, which was the\nwall of the citadel, flashed with the red light of orichalcum. In the\ninterior of the citadel was a holy temple, dedicated to Cleito and\nPoseidon, and surrounded by an enclosure of gold, and there was\nPoseidon's own temple, which was covered with silver, and the pinnacles\nwith gold. The roof was of ivory, adorned with gold and silver and\norichalcum, and the rest of the interior was lined with orichalcum.\nWithin was an image of the god standing in a chariot drawn by six winged\nhorses, and touching the roof with his head; around him were a hundred\nNereids, riding on dolphins. Outside the temple were placed golden\nstatues of all the descendants of the ten kings and of their wives;\nthere was an altar too, and there were palaces, corresponding to the\ngreatness and glory both of the kingdom and of the temple.\n\nAlso there were fountains of hot and cold water, and suitable buildings\nsurrounding them, and trees, and there were baths both of the kings\nand of private individuals, and separate baths for women, and also for\ncattle. The water from the baths was carried to the grove of Poseidon,\nand by aqueducts over the bridges to the outer circles. And there\nwere temples in the zones, and in the larger of the two there was a\nracecourse for horses, which ran all round the island. The guards were\ndistributed in the zones according to the trust reposed in them; the\nmost trusted of them were stationed in the citadel. The docks were full\nof triremes and stores. The land between the harbour and the sea was\nsurrounded by a wall, and was crowded with dwellings, and the harbour\nand canal resounded with the din of human voices.\n\nThe plain around the city was highly cultivated and sheltered from the\nnorth by mountains; it was oblong, and where falling out of the straight\nline followed the circular ditch, which was of an incredible depth. This\ndepth received the streams which came down from the mountains, as well\nas the canals of the interior, and found a way to the sea. The entire\ncountry was divided into sixty thousand lots, each of which was a square\nof ten stadia; and the owner of a lot was bound to furnish the sixth\npart of a war-chariot, so as to make up ten thousand chariots, two\nhorses and riders upon them, a pair of chariot-horses without a\nseat, and an attendant and charioteer, two hoplites, two archers, two\nslingers, three stone-shooters, three javelin-men, and four sailors to\nmake up the complement of twelve hundred ships.\n\nEach of the ten kings was absolute in his own city and kingdom. The\nrelations of the different governments to one another were determined by\nthe injunctions of Poseidon, which had been inscribed by the first kings\non a column of orichalcum in the temple of Poseidon, at which the kings\nand princes gathered together and held a festival every fifth and every\nsixth year alternately. Around the temple ranged the bulls of Poseidon,\none of which the ten kings caught and sacrificed, shedding the blood of\nthe victim over the inscription, and vowing not to transgress the laws\nof their father Poseidon. When night came, they put on azure robes\nand gave judgment against offenders. The most important of their laws\nrelated to their dealings with one another. They were not to take up\narms against one another, and were to come to the rescue if any of their\nbrethren were attacked. They were to deliberate in common about war, and\nthe king was not to have the power of life and death over his kinsmen,\nunless he had the assent of the majority.\n\nFor many generations, as tradition tells, the people of Atlantis were\nobedient to the laws and to the gods, and practised gentleness and\nwisdom in their intercourse with one another. They knew that they could\nonly have the true use of riches by not caring about them. But gradually\nthe divine portion of their souls became diluted with too much of the\nmortal admixture, and they began to degenerate, though to the outward\neye they appeared glorious as ever at the very time when they were\nfilled with all iniquity. The all-seeing Zeus, wanting to punish them,\nheld a council of the gods, and when he had called them together, he\nspoke as follows:--\n\nNo one knew better than Plato how to invent 'a noble lie.' Observe (1)\nthe innocent declaration of Socrates, that the truth of the story is\na great advantage: (2) the manner in which traditional names and\nindications of geography are intermingled ('Why, here be truths!'): (3)\nthe extreme minuteness with which the numbers are given, as in the\nOld Epic poetry: (4) the ingenious reason assigned for the Greek names\noccurring in the Egyptian tale: (5) the remark that the armed statue\nof Athena indicated the common warrior life of men and women: (6) the\nparticularity with which the third deluge before that of Deucalion is\naffirmed to have been the great destruction: (7) the happy guess that\ngreat geological changes have been effected by water: (8) the indulgence\nof the prejudice against sailing beyond the Columns, and the popular\nbelief of the shallowness of the ocean in that part: (9) the confession\nthat the depth of the ditch in the Island of Atlantis was not to be\nbelieved, and 'yet he could only repeat what he had heard', compared\nwith the statement made in an earlier passage that Poseidon, being a\nGod, found no difficulty in contriving the water-supply of the centre\nisland: (10) the mention of the old rivalry of Poseidon and Athene, and\nthe creation of the first inhabitants out of the soil. Plato here, as\nelsewhere, ingeniously gives the impression that he is telling the truth\nwhich mythology had corrupted.\n\nThe world, like a child, has readily, and for the most part\nunhesitatingly, accepted the tale of the Island of Atlantis. In modern\ntimes we hardly seek for traces of the submerged continent; but even\nMr. Grote is inclined to believe in the Egyptian poem of Solon of which\nthere is no evidence in antiquity; while others, like Martin, discuss\nthe Egyptian origin of the legend, or like M. de Humboldt, whom\nhe quotes, are disposed to find in it a vestige of a widely-spread\ntradition. Others, adopting a different vein of reflection, regard the\nIsland of Atlantis as the anticipation of a still greater island--the\nContinent of America. 'The tale,' says M. Martin, 'rests upon the\nauthority of the Egyptian priests; and the Egyptian priests took a\npleasure in deceiving the Greeks.' He never appears to suspect that\nthere is a greater deceiver or magician than the Egyptian priests, that\nis to say, Plato himself, from the dominion of whose genius the critic\nand natural philosopher of modern times are not wholly emancipated.\nAlthough worthless in respect of any result which can be attained by\nthem, discussions like those of M. Martin (Timee) have an interest of\ntheir own, and may be compared to the similar discussions regarding the\nLost Tribes (2 Esdras), as showing how the chance word of some poet\nor philosopher has given birth to endless religious or historical\nenquiries. (See Introduction to the Timaeus.)\n\nIn contrasting the small Greek city numbering about twenty thousand\ninhabitants with the barbaric greatness of the island of Atlantis, Plato\nprobably intended to show that a state, such as the ideal Athens, was\ninvincible, though matched against any number of opponents (cp. Rep.).\nEven in a great empire there might be a degree of virtue and justice,\nsuch as the Greeks believed to have existed under the sway of the first\nPersian kings. But all such empires were liable to degenerate, and soon\nincurred the anger of the gods. Their Oriental wealth, and splendour of\ngold and silver, and variety of colours, seemed also to be at variance\nwith the simplicity of Greek notions. In the island of Atlantis, Plato\nis describing a sort of Babylonian or Egyptian city, to which he opposes\nthe frugal life of the true Hellenic citizen. It is remarkable that in\nhis brief sketch of them, he idealizes the husbandmen 'who are lovers\nof honour and true husbandmen,' as well as the warriors who are his\nsole concern in the Republic; and that though he speaks of the common\npursuits of men and women, he says nothing of the community of wives and\nchildren.\n\nIt is singular that Plato should have prefixed the most detested of\nAthenian names to this dialogue, and even more singular that he should\nhave put into the mouth of Socrates a panegyric on him (Tim.). Yet we\nknow that his character was accounted infamous by Xenophon, and that\nthe mere acquaintance with him was made a subject of accusation against\nSocrates. We can only infer that in this, and perhaps in some other\ncases, Plato's characters have no reference to the actual facts. The\ndesire to do honour to his own family, and the connection with Solon,\nmay have suggested the introduction of his name. Why the Critias was\nnever completed, whether from accident, or from advancing age, or from a\nsense of the artistic difficulty of the design, cannot be determined.\n\n\n\n\n\nCRITIAS.\n\n\nPERSONS OF THE DIALOGUE: Critias, Hermocrates, Timaeus, Socrates.\n\n\nTIMAEUS: How thankful I am, Socrates, that I have arrived at last, and,\nlike a weary traveller after a long journey, may be at rest! And I pray\nthe being who always was of old, and has now been by me revealed, to\ngrant that my words may endure in so far as they have been spoken truly\nand acceptably to him; but if unintentionally I have said anything\nwrong, I pray that he will impose upon me a just retribution, and\nthe just retribution of him who errs is that he should be set right.\nWishing, then, to speak truly in future concerning the generation of\nthe gods, I pray him to give me knowledge, which of all medicines is the\nmost perfect and best. And now having offered my prayer I deliver up the\nargument to Critias, who is to speak next according to our agreement.\n(Tim.)\n\nCRITIAS: And I, Timaeus, accept the trust, and as you at first said\nthat you were going to speak of high matters, and begged that some\nforbearance might be shown to you, I too ask the same or greater\nforbearance for what I am about to say. And although I very well know\nthat my request may appear to be somewhat ambitious and discourteous, I\nmust make it nevertheless. For will any man of sense deny that you\nhave spoken well? I can only attempt to show that I ought to have more\nindulgence than you, because my theme is more difficult; and I shall\nargue that to seem to speak well of the gods to men is far easier than\nto speak well of men to men: for the inexperience and utter ignorance\nof his hearers about any subject is a great assistance to him who has to\nspeak of it, and we know how ignorant we are concerning the gods. But I\nshould like to make my meaning clearer, if you will follow me. All that\nis said by any of us can only be imitation and representation. For if\nwe consider the likenesses which painters make of bodies divine and\nheavenly, and the different degrees of gratification with which the eye\nof the spectator receives them, we shall see that we are satisfied\nwith the artist who is able in any degree to imitate the earth and its\nmountains, and the rivers, and the woods, and the universe, and the\nthings that are and move therein, and further, that knowing nothing\nprecise about such matters, we do not examine or analyze the painting;\nall that is required is a sort of indistinct and deceptive mode of\nshadowing them forth. But when a person endeavours to paint the human\nform we are quick at finding out defects, and our familiar knowledge\nmakes us severe judges of any one who does not render every point of\nsimilarity. And we may observe the same thing to happen in discourse;\nwe are satisfied with a picture of divine and heavenly things which has\nvery little likeness to them; but we are more precise in our criticism\nof mortal and human things. Wherefore if at the moment of speaking I\ncannot suitably express my meaning, you must excuse me, considering that\nto form approved likenesses of human things is the reverse of easy. This\nis what I want to suggest to you, and at the same time to beg, Socrates,\nthat I may have not less, but more indulgence conceded to me in what I\nam about to say. Which favour, if I am right in asking, I hope that you\nwill be ready to grant.\n\nSOCRATES: Certainly, Critias, we will grant your request, and we will\ngrant the same by anticipation to Hermocrates, as well as to you and\nTimaeus; for I have no doubt that when his turn comes a little while\nhence, he will make the same request which you have made. In order,\nthen, that he may provide himself with a fresh beginning, and not be\ncompelled to say the same things over again, let him understand that the\nindulgence is already extended by anticipation to him. And now, friend\nCritias, I will announce to you the judgment of the theatre. They are of\nopinion that the last performer was wonderfully successful, and that you\nwill need a great deal of indulgence before you will be able to take his\nplace.\n\nHERMOCRATES: The warning, Socrates, which you have addressed to him, I\nmust also take to myself. But remember, Critias, that faint heart never\nyet raised a trophy; and therefore you must go and attack the argument\nlike a man. First invoke Apollo and the Muses, and then let us hear you\nsound the praises and show forth the virtues of your ancient citizens.\n\nCRITIAS: Friend Hermocrates, you, who are stationed last and have\nanother in front of you, have not lost heart as yet; the gravity of\nthe situation will soon be revealed to you; meanwhile I accept your\nexhortations and encouragements. But besides the gods and goddesses\nwhom you have mentioned, I would specially invoke Mnemosyne; for all the\nimportant part of my discourse is dependent on her favour, and if I can\nrecollect and recite enough of what was said by the priests and brought\nhither by Solon, I doubt not that I shall satisfy the requirements of\nthis theatre. And now, making no more excuses, I will proceed.\n\nLet me begin by observing first of all, that nine thousand was the sum\nof years which had elapsed since the war which was said to have taken\nplace between those who dwelt outside the pillars of Heracles and\nall who dwelt within them; this war I am going to describe. Of the\ncombatants on the one side, the city of Athens was reported to have been\nthe leader and to have fought out the war; the combatants on the other\nside were commanded by the kings of Atlantis, which, as I was saying,\nwas an island greater in extent than Libya and Asia, and when afterwards\nsunk by an earthquake, became an impassable barrier of mud to voyagers\nsailing from hence to any part of the ocean. The progress of the history\nwill unfold the various nations of barbarians and families of Hellenes\nwhich then existed, as they successively appear on the scene; but I must\ndescribe first of all the Athenians of that day, and their enemies who\nfought with them, and then the respective powers and governments of the\ntwo kingdoms. Let us give the precedence to Athens.\n\nIn the days of old, the gods had the whole earth distributed among\nthem by allotment (Cp. Polit.) There was no quarrelling; for you cannot\nrightly suppose that the gods did not know what was proper for each\nof them to have, or, knowing this, that they would seek to procure for\nthemselves by contention that which more properly belonged to others.\nThey all of them by just apportionment obtained what they wanted, and\npeopled their own districts; and when they had peopled them they tended\nus, their nurselings and possessions, as shepherds tend their flocks,\nexcepting only that they did not use blows or bodily force, as shepherds\ndo, but governed us like pilots from the stern of the vessel, which\nis an easy way of guiding animals, holding our souls by the rudder of\npersuasion according to their own pleasure;--thus did they guide all\nmortal creatures. Now different gods had their allotments in different\nplaces which they set in order. Hephaestus and Athene, who were brother\nand sister, and sprang from the same father, having a common nature, and\nbeing united also in the love of philosophy and art, both obtained as\ntheir common portion this land, which was naturally adapted for wisdom\nand virtue; and there they implanted brave children of the soil, and put\ninto their minds the order of government; their names are preserved, but\ntheir actions have disappeared by reason of the destruction of those who\nreceived the tradition, and the lapse of ages. For when there were\nany survivors, as I have already said, they were men who dwelt in the\nmountains; and they were ignorant of the art of writing, and had heard\nonly the names of the chiefs of the land, but very little about their\nactions. The names they were willing enough to give to their children;\nbut the virtues and the laws of their predecessors, they knew only by\nobscure traditions; and as they themselves and their children lacked for\nmany generations the necessaries of life, they directed their attention\nto the supply of their wants, and of them they conversed, to the neglect\nof events that had happened in times long past; for mythology and the\nenquiry into antiquity are first introduced into cities when they begin\nto have leisure (Cp. Arist. Metaphys.), and when they see that the\nnecessaries of life have already been provided, but not before. And this\nis the reason why the names of the ancients have been preserved to us\nand not their actions. This I infer because Solon said that the priests\nin their narrative of that war mentioned most of the names which are\nrecorded prior to the time of Theseus, such as Cecrops, and Erechtheus,\nand Erichthonius, and Erysichthon, and the names of the women in like\nmanner. Moreover, since military pursuits were then common to men and\nwomen, the men of those days in accordance with the custom of the\ntime set up a figure and image of the goddess in full armour, to be a\ntestimony that all animals which associate together, male as well as\nfemale, may, if they please, practise in common the virtue which belongs\nto them without distinction of sex.\n\nNow the country was inhabited in those days by various classes of\ncitizens;--there were artisans, and there were husbandmen, and there\nwas also a warrior class originally set apart by divine men. The\nlatter dwelt by themselves, and had all things suitable for nurture\nand education; neither had any of them anything of their own, but they\nregarded all that they had as common property; nor did they claim to\nreceive of the other citizens anything more than their necessary food.\nAnd they practised all the pursuits which we yesterday described as\nthose of our imaginary guardians. Concerning the country the Egyptian\npriests said what is not only probable but manifestly true, that the\nboundaries were in those days fixed by the Isthmus, and that in the\ndirection of the continent they extended as far as the heights of\nCithaeron and Parnes; the boundary line came down in the direction of\nthe sea, having the district of Oropus on the right, and with the river\nAsopus as the limit on the left. The land was the best in the world, and\nwas therefore able in those days to support a vast army, raised from\nthe surrounding people. Even the remnant of Attica which now exists may\ncompare with any region in the world for the variety and excellence of\nits fruits and the suitableness of its pastures to every sort of animal,\nwhich proves what I am saying; but in those days the country was fair\nas now and yielded far more abundant produce. How shall I establish my\nwords? and what part of it can be truly called a remnant of the land\nthat then was? The whole country is only a long promontory extending far\ninto the sea away from the rest of the continent, while the surrounding\nbasin of the sea is everywhere deep in the neighbourhood of the shore.\nMany great deluges have taken place during the nine thousand years, for\nthat is the number of years which have elapsed since the time of which I\nam speaking; and during all this time and through so many changes, there\nhas never been any considerable accumulation of the soil coming down\nfrom the mountains, as in other places, but the earth has fallen away\nall round and sunk out of sight. The consequence is, that in comparison\nof what then was, there are remaining only the bones of the wasted body,\nas they may be called, as in the case of small islands, all the richer\nand softer parts of the soil having fallen away, and the mere skeleton\nof the land being left. But in the primitive state of the country, its\nmountains were high hills covered with soil, and the plains, as they\nare termed by us, of Phelleus were full of rich earth, and there was\nabundance of wood in the mountains. Of this last the traces still\nremain, for although some of the mountains now only afford sustenance to\nbees, not so very long ago there were still to be seen roofs of timber\ncut from trees growing there, which were of a size sufficient to cover\nthe largest houses; and there were many other high trees, cultivated by\nman and bearing abundance of food for cattle. Moreover, the land reaped\nthe benefit of the annual rainfall, not as now losing the water which\nflows off the bare earth into the sea, but, having an abundant supply\nin all places, and receiving it into herself and treasuring it up in\nthe close clay soil, it let off into the hollows the streams which it\nabsorbed from the heights, providing everywhere abundant fountains and\nrivers, of which there may still be observed sacred memorials in places\nwhere fountains once existed; and this proves the truth of what I am\nsaying.\n\nSuch was the natural state of the country, which was cultivated, as we\nmay well believe, by true husbandmen, who made husbandry their business,\nand were lovers of honour, and of a noble nature, and had a soil the\nbest in the world, and abundance of water, and in the heaven above an\nexcellently attempered climate. Now the city in those days was arranged\non this wise. In the first place the Acropolis was not as now. For the\nfact is that a single night of excessive rain washed away the earth and\nlaid bare the rock; at the same time there were earthquakes, and then\noccurred the extraordinary inundation, which was the third before the\ngreat destruction of Deucalion. But in primitive times the hill of the\nAcropolis extended to the Eridanus and Ilissus, and included the Pnyx on\none side, and the Lycabettus as a boundary on the opposite side to the\nPnyx, and was all well covered with soil, and level at the top, except\nin one or two places. Outside the Acropolis and under the sides of the\nhill there dwelt artisans, and such of the husbandmen as were tilling\nthe ground near; the warrior class dwelt by themselves around the\ntemples of Athene and Hephaestus at the summit, which moreover they had\nenclosed with a single fence like the garden of a single house. On the\nnorth side they had dwellings in common and had erected halls for dining\nin winter, and had all the buildings which they needed for their common\nlife, besides temples, but there was no adorning of them with gold\nand silver, for they made no use of these for any purpose; they took a\nmiddle course between meanness and ostentation, and built modest houses\nin which they and their children's children grew old, and they handed\nthem down to others who were like themselves, always the same. But in\nsummer-time they left their gardens and gymnasia and dining halls, and\nthen the southern side of the hill was made use of by them for the same\npurpose. Where the Acropolis now is there was a fountain, which was\nchoked by the earthquake, and has left only the few small streams which\nstill exist in the vicinity, but in those days the fountain gave an\nabundant supply of water for all and of suitable temperature in summer\nand in winter. This is how they dwelt, being the guardians of their\nown citizens and the leaders of the Hellenes, who were their willing\nfollowers. And they took care to preserve the same number of men and\nwomen through all time, being so many as were required for warlike\npurposes, then as now--that is to say, about twenty thousand. Such\nwere the ancient Athenians, and after this manner they righteously\nadministered their own land and the rest of Hellas; they were renowned\nall over Europe and Asia for the beauty of their persons and for the\nmany virtues of their souls, and of all men who lived in those days\nthey were the most illustrious. And next, if I have not forgotten what I\nheard when I was a child, I will impart to you the character and origin\nof their adversaries. For friends should not keep their stories to\nthemselves, but have them in common.\n\nYet, before proceeding further in the narrative, I ought to warn you,\nthat you must not be surprised if you should perhaps hear Hellenic names\ngiven to foreigners. I will tell you the reason of this: Solon, who was\nintending to use the tale for his poem, enquired into the meaning of\nthe names, and found that the early Egyptians in writing them down had\ntranslated them into their own language, and he recovered the meaning of\nthe several names and when copying them out again translated them into\nour language. My great-grandfather, Dropides, had the original writing,\nwhich is still in my possession, and was carefully studied by me when\nI was a child. Therefore if you hear names such as are used in this\ncountry, you must not be surprised, for I have told how they came to be\nintroduced. The tale, which was of great length, began as follows:--\n\nI have before remarked in speaking of the allotments of the gods, that\nthey distributed the whole earth into portions differing in extent, and\nmade for themselves temples and instituted sacrifices. And Poseidon,\nreceiving for his lot the island of Atlantis, begat children by a mortal\nwoman, and settled them in a part of the island, which I will describe.\nLooking towards the sea, but in the centre of the whole island, there\nwas a plain which is said to have been the fairest of all plains and\nvery fertile. Near the plain again, and also in the centre of the island\nat a distance of about fifty stadia, there was a mountain not very high\non any side. In this mountain there dwelt one of the earth-born primeval\nmen of that country, whose name was Evenor, and he had a wife named\nLeucippe, and they had an only daughter who was called Cleito. The\nmaiden had already reached womanhood, when her father and mother\ndied; Poseidon fell in love with her and had intercourse with her, and\nbreaking the ground, inclosed the hill in which she dwelt all round,\nmaking alternate zones of sea and land larger and smaller, encircling\none another; there were two of land and three of water, which he turned\nas with a lathe, each having its circumference equidistant every way\nfrom the centre, so that no man could get to the island, for ships and\nvoyages were not as yet. He himself, being a god, found no difficulty\nin making special arrangements for the centre island, bringing up two\nsprings of water from beneath the earth, one of warm water and the other\nof cold, and making every variety of food to spring up abundantly from\nthe soil. He also begat and brought up five pairs of twin male children;\nand dividing the island of Atlantis into ten portions, he gave to the\nfirst-born of the eldest pair his mother's dwelling and the surrounding\nallotment, which was the largest and best, and made him king over the\nrest; the others he made princes, and gave them rule over many men, and\na large territory. And he named them all; the eldest, who was the first\nking, he named Atlas, and after him the whole island and the ocean\nwere called Atlantic. To his twin brother, who was born after him, and\nobtained as his lot the extremity of the island towards the pillars of\nHeracles, facing the country which is now called the region of Gades in\nthat part of the world, he gave the name which in the Hellenic language\nis Eumelus, in the language of the country which is named after him,\nGadeirus. Of the second pair of twins he called one Ampheres, and the\nother Evaemon. To the elder of the third pair of twins he gave the name\nMneseus, and Autochthon to the one who followed him. Of the fourth pair\nof twins he called the elder Elasippus, and the younger Mestor. And\nof the fifth pair he gave to the elder the name of Azaes, and to the\nyounger that of Diaprepes. All these and their descendants for many\ngenerations were the inhabitants and rulers of divers islands in the\nopen sea; and also, as has been already said, they held sway in our\ndirection over the country within the pillars as far as Egypt and\nTyrrhenia. Now Atlas had a numerous and honourable family, and they\nretained the kingdom, the eldest son handing it on to his eldest for\nmany generations; and they had such an amount of wealth as was never\nbefore possessed by kings and potentates, and is not likely ever to be\nagain, and they were furnished with everything which they needed, both\nin the city and country. For because of the greatness of their empire\nmany things were brought to them from foreign countries, and the island\nitself provided most of what was required by them for the uses of life.\nIn the first place, they dug out of the earth whatever was to be found\nthere, solid as well as fusile, and that which is now only a name and\nwas then something more than a name, orichalcum, was dug out of the\nearth in many parts of the island, being more precious in those\ndays than anything except gold. There was an abundance of wood for\ncarpenter's work, and sufficient maintenance for tame and wild animals.\nMoreover, there were a great number of elephants in the island; for as\nthere was provision for all other sorts of animals, both for those which\nlive in lakes and marshes and rivers, and also for those which live\nin mountains and on plains, so there was for the animal which is the\nlargest and most voracious of all. Also whatever fragrant things there\nnow are in the earth, whether roots, or herbage, or woods, or essences\nwhich distil from fruit and flower, grew and thrived in that land; also\nthe fruit which admits of cultivation, both the dry sort, which is given\nus for nourishment and any other which we use for food--we call them\nall by the common name of pulse, and the fruits having a hard rind,\naffording drinks and meats and ointments, and good store of chestnuts\nand the like, which furnish pleasure and amusement, and are fruits which\nspoil with keeping, and the pleasant kinds of dessert, with which we\nconsole ourselves after dinner, when we are tired of eating--all these\nthat sacred island which then beheld the light of the sun, brought forth\nfair and wondrous and in infinite abundance. With such blessings the\nearth freely furnished them; meanwhile they went on constructing their\ntemples and palaces and harbours and docks. And they arranged the whole\ncountry in the following manner:--\n\nFirst of all they bridged over the zones of sea which surrounded the\nancient metropolis, making a road to and from the royal palace. And at\nthe very beginning they built the palace in the habitation of the god\nand of their ancestors, which they continued to ornament in successive\ngenerations, every king surpassing the one who went before him to the\nutmost of his power, until they made the building a marvel to behold for\nsize and for beauty. And beginning from the sea they bored a canal of\nthree hundred feet in width and one hundred feet in depth and fifty\nstadia in length, which they carried through to the outermost zone,\nmaking a passage from the sea up to this, which became a harbour, and\nleaving an opening sufficient to enable the largest vessels to find\ningress. Moreover, they divided at the bridges the zones of land which\nparted the zones of sea, leaving room for a single trireme to pass out\nof one zone into another, and they covered over the channels so as\nto leave a way underneath for the ships; for the banks were raised\nconsiderably above the water. Now the largest of the zones into which a\npassage was cut from the sea was three stadia in breadth, and the zone\nof land which came next of equal breadth; but the next two zones, the\none of water, the other of land, were two stadia, and the one which\nsurrounded the central island was a stadium only in width. The island\nin which the palace was situated had a diameter of five stadia. All\nthis including the zones and the bridge, which was the sixth part of a\nstadium in width, they surrounded by a stone wall on every side, placing\ntowers and gates on the bridges where the sea passed in. The stone which\nwas used in the work they quarried from underneath the centre island,\nand from underneath the zones, on the outer as well as the inner\nside. One kind was white, another black, and a third red, and as they\nquarried, they at the same time hollowed out double docks, having roofs\nformed out of the native rock. Some of their buildings were simple,\nbut in others they put together different stones, varying the colour\nto please the eye, and to be a natural source of delight. The entire\ncircuit of the wall, which went round the outermost zone, they covered\nwith a coating of brass, and the circuit of the next wall they coated\nwith tin, and the third, which encompassed the citadel, flashed with the\nred light of orichalcum. The palaces in the interior of the citadel were\nconstructed on this wise:--In the centre was a holy temple dedicated to\nCleito and Poseidon, which remained inaccessible, and was surrounded\nby an enclosure of gold; this was the spot where the family of the ten\nprinces first saw the light, and thither the people annually brought the\nfruits of the earth in their season from all the ten portions, to be an\noffering to each of the ten. Here was Poseidon's own temple which was a\nstadium in length, and half a stadium in width, and of a proportionate\nheight, having a strange barbaric appearance. All the outside of the\ntemple, with the exception of the pinnacles, they covered with silver,\nand the pinnacles with gold. In the interior of the temple the roof\nwas of ivory, curiously wrought everywhere with gold and silver and\norichalcum; and all the other parts, the walls and pillars and floor,\nthey coated with orichalcum. In the temple they placed statues of gold:\nthere was the god himself standing in a chariot--the charioteer of\nsix winged horses--and of such a size that he touched the roof of the\nbuilding with his head; around him there were a hundred Nereids riding\non dolphins, for such was thought to be the number of them by the men of\nthose days. There were also in the interior of the temple other images\nwhich had been dedicated by private persons. And around the temple on\nthe outside were placed statues of gold of all the descendants of the\nten kings and of their wives, and there were many other great offerings\nof kings and of private persons, coming both from the city itself and\nfrom the foreign cities over which they held sway. There was an altar\ntoo, which in size and workmanship corresponded to this magnificence,\nand the palaces, in like manner, answered to the greatness of the\nkingdom and the glory of the temple.\n\nIn the next place, they had fountains, one of cold and another of hot\nwater, in gracious plenty flowing; and they were wonderfully adapted for\nuse by reason of the pleasantness and excellence of their waters. They\nconstructed buildings about them and planted suitable trees, also they\nmade cisterns, some open to the heaven, others roofed over, to be used\nin winter as warm baths; there were the kings' baths, and the baths of\nprivate persons, which were kept apart; and there were separate baths\nfor women, and for horses and cattle, and to each of them they gave as\nmuch adornment as was suitable. Of the water which ran off they carried\nsome to the grove of Poseidon, where were growing all manner of trees of\nwonderful height and beauty, owing to the excellence of the soil, while\nthe remainder was conveyed by aqueducts along the bridges to the outer\ncircles; and there were many temples built and dedicated to many gods;\nalso gardens and places of exercise, some for men, and others for horses\nin both of the two islands formed by the zones; and in the centre of\nthe larger of the two there was set apart a race-course of a stadium in\nwidth, and in length allowed to extend all round the island, for horses\nto race in. Also there were guard-houses at intervals for the guards,\nthe more trusted of whom were appointed to keep watch in the lesser\nzone, which was nearer the Acropolis; while the most trusted of all had\nhouses given them within the citadel, near the persons of the kings. The\ndocks were full of triremes and naval stores, and all things were quite\nready for use. Enough of the plan of the royal palace.\n\nLeaving the palace and passing out across the three harbours, you came\nto a wall which began at the sea and went all round: this was everywhere\ndistant fifty stadia from the largest zone or harbour, and enclosed the\nwhole, the ends meeting at the mouth of the channel which led to the\nsea. The entire area was densely crowded with habitations; and the\ncanal and the largest of the harbours were full of vessels and merchants\ncoming from all parts, who, from their numbers, kept up a multitudinous\nsound of human voices, and din and clatter of all sorts night and day.\n\nI have described the city and the environs of the ancient palace nearly\nin the words of Solon, and now I must endeavour to represent to you the\nnature and arrangement of the rest of the land. The whole country was\nsaid by him to be very lofty and precipitous on the side of the sea,\nbut the country immediately about and surrounding the city was a level\nplain, itself surrounded by mountains which descended towards the\nsea; it was smooth and even, and of an oblong shape, extending in one\ndirection three thousand stadia, but across the centre inland it was two\nthousand stadia. This part of the island looked towards the south, and\nwas sheltered from the north. The surrounding mountains were celebrated\nfor their number and size and beauty, far beyond any which still exist,\nhaving in them also many wealthy villages of country folk, and rivers,\nand lakes, and meadows supplying food enough for every animal, wild or\ntame, and much wood of various sorts, abundant for each and every kind\nof work.\n\nI will now describe the plain, as it was fashioned by nature and by the\nlabours of many generations of kings through long ages. It was for the\nmost part rectangular and oblong, and where falling out of the straight\nline followed the circular ditch. The depth, and width, and length of\nthis ditch were incredible, and gave the impression that a work of such\nextent, in addition to so many others, could never have been artificial.\nNevertheless I must say what I was told. It was excavated to the depth\nof a hundred feet, and its breadth was a stadium everywhere; it was\ncarried round the whole of the plain, and was ten thousand stadia in\nlength. It received the streams which came down from the mountains, and\nwinding round the plain and meeting at the city, was there let off into\nthe sea. Further inland, likewise, straight canals of a hundred feet\nin width were cut from it through the plain, and again let off into the\nditch leading to the sea: these canals were at intervals of a hundred\nstadia, and by them they brought down the wood from the mountains to the\ncity, and conveyed the fruits of the earth in ships, cutting transverse\npassages from one canal into another, and to the city. Twice in the year\nthey gathered the fruits of the earth--in winter having the benefit of\nthe rains of heaven, and in summer the water which the land supplied by\nintroducing streams from the canals.\n\nAs to the population, each of the lots in the plain had to find a leader\nfor the men who were fit for military service, and the size of a lot was\na square of ten stadia each way, and the total number of all the lots\nwas sixty thousand. And of the inhabitants of the mountains and of\nthe rest of the country there was also a vast multitude, which was\ndistributed among the lots and had leaders assigned to them according to\ntheir districts and villages. The leader was required to furnish for the\nwar the sixth portion of a war-chariot, so as to make up a total of ten\nthousand chariots; also two horses and riders for them, and a pair of\nchariot-horses without a seat, accompanied by a horseman who could\nfight on foot carrying a small shield, and having a charioteer who stood\nbehind the man-at-arms to guide the two horses; also, he was bound\nto furnish two heavy-armed soldiers, two archers, two slingers, three\nstone-shooters and three javelin-men, who were light-armed, and four\nsailors to make up the complement of twelve hundred ships. Such was\nthe military order of the royal city--the order of the other nine\ngovernments varied, and it would be wearisome to recount their several\ndifferences.\n\nAs to offices and honours, the following was the arrangement from the\nfirst. Each of the ten kings in his own division and in his own city had\nthe absolute control of the citizens, and, in most cases, of the laws,\npunishing and slaying whomsoever he would. Now the order of precedence\namong them and their mutual relations were regulated by the commands\nof Poseidon which the law had handed down. These were inscribed by the\nfirst kings on a pillar of orichalcum, which was situated in the\nmiddle of the island, at the temple of Poseidon, whither the kings were\ngathered together every fifth and every sixth year alternately, thus\ngiving equal honour to the odd and to the even number. And when they\nwere gathered together they consulted about their common interests, and\nenquired if any one had transgressed in anything, and passed judgment,\nand before they passed judgment they gave their pledges to one another\non this wise:--There were bulls who had the range of the temple of\nPoseidon; and the ten kings, being left alone in the temple, after they\nhad offered prayers to the god that they might capture the victim which\nwas acceptable to him, hunted the bulls, without weapons, but with\nstaves and nooses; and the bull which they caught they led up to the\npillar and cut its throat over the top of it so that the blood fell upon\nthe sacred inscription. Now on the pillar, besides the laws, there\nwas inscribed an oath invoking mighty curses on the disobedient. When\ntherefore, after slaying the bull in the accustomed manner, they had\nburnt its limbs, they filled a bowl of wine and cast in a clot of blood\nfor each of them; the rest of the victim they put in the fire, after\nhaving purified the column all round. Then they drew from the bowl in\ngolden cups, and pouring a libation on the fire, they swore that they\nwould judge according to the laws on the pillar, and would punish him\nwho in any point had already transgressed them, and that for the future\nthey would not, if they could help, offend against the writing on\nthe pillar, and would neither command others, nor obey any ruler who\ncommanded them, to act otherwise than according to the laws of their\nfather Poseidon. This was the prayer which each of them offered up\nfor himself and for his descendants, at the same time drinking and\ndedicating the cup out of which he drank in the temple of the god; and\nafter they had supped and satisfied their needs, when darkness came\non, and the fire about the sacrifice was cool, all of them put on most\nbeautiful azure robes, and, sitting on the ground, at night, over the\nembers of the sacrifices by which they had sworn, and extinguishing all\nthe fire about the temple, they received and gave judgment, if any of\nthem had an accusation to bring against any one; and when they had\ngiven judgment, at daybreak they wrote down their sentences on a golden\ntablet, and dedicated it together with their robes to be a memorial.\n\nThere were many special laws affecting the several kings inscribed about\nthe temples, but the most important was the following: They were not\nto take up arms against one another, and they were all to come to the\nrescue if any one in any of their cities attempted to overthrow the\nroyal house; like their ancestors, they were to deliberate in common\nabout war and other matters, giving the supremacy to the descendants of\nAtlas. And the king was not to have the power of life and death over any\nof his kinsmen unless he had the assent of the majority of the ten.\n\nSuch was the vast power which the god settled in the lost island of\nAtlantis; and this he afterwards directed against our land for the\nfollowing reasons, as tradition tells: For many generations, as long as\nthe divine nature lasted in them, they were obedient to the laws,\nand well-affectioned towards the god, whose seed they were; for they\npossessed true and in every way great spirits, uniting gentleness with\nwisdom in the various chances of life, and in their intercourse with one\nanother. They despised everything but virtue, caring little for their\npresent state of life, and thinking lightly of the possession of gold\nand other property, which seemed only a burden to them; neither were\nthey intoxicated by luxury; nor did wealth deprive them of their\nself-control; but they were sober, and saw clearly that all these goods\nare increased by virtue and friendship with one another, whereas by too\ngreat regard and respect for them, they are lost and friendship with\nthem. By such reflections and by the continuance in them of a divine\nnature, the qualities which we have described grew and increased among\nthem; but when the divine portion began to fade away, and became diluted\ntoo often and too much with the mortal admixture, and the human nature\ngot the upper hand, they then, being unable to bear their fortune,\nbehaved unseemly, and to him who had an eye to see grew visibly debased,\nfor they were losing the fairest of their precious gifts; but to those\nwho had no eye to see the true happiness, they appeared glorious and\nblessed at the very time when they were full of avarice and unrighteous\npower. Zeus, the god of gods, who rules according to law, and is able to\nsee into such things, perceiving that an honourable race was in a woeful\nplight, and wanting to inflict punishment on them, that they might\nbe chastened and improve, collected all the gods into their most holy\nhabitation, which, being placed in the centre of the world, beholds\nall created things. And when he had called them together, he spake as\nfollows--[*]\n\n     * The rest of the Dialogue of Critias has been lost.","title":"Critias","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":9844}