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In the dialogue Critias, a well-known Athenian politician relates that the Olympian Gods divided the earth between them. The gods gave the sea-god Poseidon was allocated the great island of Atlantis. This civilization was located beyond the Straits of Gibraltar and was therefore situated in the Atlantic Ocean. It was believed to be very large and was approximately 500 miles long.<ref>Plato. Critias. 32 b</ref>It was very fertile and rich, but it was very prone to earthquakes.

According to Egyptian sources, the island was hilly , and in the center was a great vast plain. Critias in the Platonic dialogue states that Poseidon had five pairs of twins with a nymph. The firstborn son was named Atlas , and he later became monarch of the island. The Atlantic Ocean is was named after this fabled kingKing Atlas. The other sons of Poseidon were also given extensive territories to rule in and around Atlantis. According to the Platonic dialogue, Poseidon created a palace for the mother of Atlas. Near here, the Atlanteans build a canal and tunnels that linked this palace to the rest of the island<ref>Plato. Critias. 32 b</ref>. They also built a great city that was surrounded by mighty walls, that were multi-colored and covered with precious metals.

Plato has Critias state that Atlantis was a veritable paradise on earth for many centuries. It was a well-ordered land, that was justly ruled, and its kings were wise. In According to the Platonic dialogue, Poseidon created a palace for the island is portrayed as the perfect society and a Utopiamother of Atlas. However, over timeNear here, the Atlanteans became decadent build a canal and lost their old virtue and become increasingly rapacious and war-liketunnels that linked this palace to the rest of the island. <ref> Plato. Critias. 32 b</ref> Some 9000 years ago there was They also built a great warcity that was surrounded by mighty walls, between the Atlanteans that were multi-colored and the rest of the inhabited world. The Atlanteans had subjugated most of Europe, as far as Italycovered with precious metals. Athens led a coalition against the new Atlantean Empire. Even though the Athenians were betrayed by their allies, they still managed to defeat the Atlanteans.<ref>Plato. Critias. 32 b</ref>

Soon after the defeat of Plato has Critias state that Atlantiswas a veritable paradise on earth for many centuries. It was a well-ordered land, that was justly ruled, a series of floods and earthquakes shook its kings were wise. In the Platonic dialogue, the islandis portrayed as the perfect society and a Utopia. These disasters eventually sank Atlantis into However, over time, the seaAtlanteans became decadent and lost their old virtue and become increasingly rapacious and war-like.<ref>Forsyth, pPlato. Critias. 1832 b</ref> All traces of it apart from some records have vanished according to the Dialogue. We do not know if Plato invented the fable or if there was an actual myth about the great island, in the Classical era. In Ancient times, opinion was divided on the historicity of the island, some such as Strabo believed it to be true, while others saw it as a fiction.

Some 9000 years ago, there was a great war between the Atlanteans and the rest of the inhabited world. The Atlanteans had subjugated most of Europe, as far as Italy. Athens led a coalition against the new Atlantean Empire. Even though their allies betrayed the Athenians, they still managed to defeat the Atlanteans.<ref>Plato. Critias. 32 b</ref>  Soon after the defeat of Atlantis, a series of floods and earthquakes shook the island. These disasters eventually sank Atlantis into the sea.<ref>Forsyth, p. 18</ref> All traces of it apart from some records have vanished according to the dialogue. We do not know if Plato invented the fable or if there was an actual myth about the grand island, in the Classical era. In Ancient times, opinion was divided on the historicity of the island; some such as Strabo believed it to be accurate, while others saw it as a fiction.  The tale of Atlantis inspired Francis Bacon in his great work the New Atlantis and St Thomas More in his work Utopia. In 1882, the Minnesotan politician Ignatius L. Donnelly wrote the pseudo-historical work Atlantis: The Antediluvian World. Donnelly took Plato literally , and he contended that there had once been a huge an enormous island in the mid-Atlantic and that the Atlanteans once had a superior civilization. This work revived interest in Plato’s philosophical narrative , and from then on there are those who , some have been committed to finding the lost island or continent.

====Was Atlantis in Spain?====[[File: Atlantis 3.png|200px|thumb|left|A map of the Tartessos cultural area]]Tartessos was a semi-mythical city or a kingdom in what is now south-west Spain. It became very wealthy because of its many mines. This kingdom or city was so famous that it is even mentioned in the Old Testament. Archaeologists have not been able to find the city of Tartessos but they have found many remains from a sophisticated culture that flourished in south-west Spain. Based on the remains it appears to have been very rich. It appears that Tartessos according to Greek sources such as Herodotus was a rich city with a great harbor and it was very powerful.  However, it appears that the city or kingdom disappears from history sometime around 600 BC .<ref> Chamorro, Javier G. "Survey of Archaeological Research on Tartessos". American Journal of Archaeology. 91 (2): (1987) 197–232 </ref>. Many believe that the city was inundated by a floor and now many lay lays submerged in marshland. Tartessos has some similarities with the story of Atlantis. It was fabulously rich, sophisticated and possibly was destroyed by a natural cataclysm. Moreover, the location of the Tartessos culture was located beyond the Pillars of Hercules (Gibraltar), which was believed to be also the site of Atlantis. It seems highly likely that the Greeks were familiar with the prehistoric Spanish civilization because of its important role in the trade-in metals. It is plausible to suggest that Tartessos, was one of the sources for the Myth of Atlantis.

In the 4th millennium BC, a sophisticated Stone Age civilization emerged in Malta, an archipelago of islands in the center of the Mediterranean. This civilization is often known as the Temple culture. Beginning in around 3500 BC, the people of the island began to erect massive temples and other monuments. They are The Maltese built some of the earliest free-standing buildings that have been built in all of human culturethe world. The majority of the temples consist of five semi-circular rooms that surrounded a central space, which was probably a sacred space.  There have been many important archaeological finds in these temples, especially of figures of obese women. These are believed to represent some fertility goddess or a mother goddess. Some believe that Malta and its temples were the centers of an important a significant pan-Mediterranean cult. The Maltese temple culture was one that lasted until 2200 BC. No one knows for sure why the civilization collapsed , but it may have been a result of over-farming and climate change. The Temple culture may have been handed down in the oral tradition , and it possibly contributed to the myth of a great civilization, that was lost, after a cataclysmic flood.

Atlantis has captured the imagination of many generations. However, it has been greatly misunderstood. Plato used the story of the doomed civilization to illustrate his philosophical views and arguments. He may or may not have used an existing myth or simply created it, something he did repeatedly in his works. Plato probably based his philosophical tale on a real-life model. An analysis of the Atlantean narrative would indicate that the Athenian philosopher based on his tale on s told about a number of historical societies that collapsed. In all likelihood, Plato probably based his tale on the collapse of the Minoan Civilization and in particular the destruction of Akrotiri.

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