Critias
Here is the Platonic dialogue concerning the description of the civilization of Atlantis. At the beginning there is a brief summary commented by Turolla.
...completely accepted by Plato and brought by him in the famous myth of the Politicus to a powerful arrangement, a real theocracy exists in the origins of time, in the sense that man in those pristine centuries had the Gods as rulers. Shepherds they were of the human flock, in the relationship in which man himself can be shepherd of inferior creatures (sheep, goats and so on). For this purpose the Gods divided the whole earth among themselves and had the beginning of these divine dynasties of which the stories of the Egyptians and other peoples actually speak. The king - shepherd of the Atlantic land is Poseidon and special providences come from him and also the men who gave rise to the Atlantic dynasty. The names are Greek; However, Plato takes care to warn us that the names of the characters, already in the Egyptian source, had been translated into Egyptian and that Solon himself, with the intention of making a poem with this subject, had already translated them into Greek. Now, the second twin of the first pair has the Greek name Eumelo, but next to it is the indigenous name Gadiro. And this name certainly does not seem invented, if there really existed two localities of this name in the region which must have faced the Atlantic islands and precisely the part of them which had received the name from the king of this name. In short, the name of Gadiro did not appear by chance in the Platonic text; and behind the myth there could once again be history. Of course, the mythical transformation that undoubtedly exists is not due to Plato; here too he is the bearer of a voice that comes from farther away. He received and arranged; he did not invent; indeed he has faithfully preserved, as the mention of the continent beyond the sea (Timaeus, 25ai) without the possibility of a doubt demonstrates (i). After all, will the coincidence between the concentric areas excavated by Poseidon in the heart of the island be just a coincidence, the coincidence with the structure of prehistoric Mexican cities? Of course, the Atlantic area is made up of an interweaving of water and land in concentric rings. And American cities were built with a similar criterion.Certainly Plato again, when he said this detail, had not seen: only he had heard, and he repeated faithfully. Two thousand years later, with Christopher Columbus, men could see in action this strange constructive party of which, we believe, no real example exists in the old world. Of course, says one scholar of the problem, the island with a mountain surrounded by concentric rings of walls and canals, similar to the Acropolis in the capital of the Atlanteans, is also depicted in the Aztec drawings of Aztlan, the homeland of the Aztecs, where Aztlan consonance with Atlas is remarkable.
The islands were evidently separated by a large stretch of sea from a large continent beyond them. Indeed, we will repeat that, if Plato had really invented the story, the reference to the continent that he was opposite could not have occurred to him; this continent, which is certainly America, is outside the cycle of ideas that Plato, we admit, should have invented. When he had spoken of islands, his task was over, and nothing could have prompted him to add the useless detail of the opposite continent. It is precisely here, in this addition, useless to the story, the most decisive proof; Plato relates here, he does not invent, for the simple reason that neither he nor Solon nor Sonchis could have known that that continent, which he explicitly mentions here and a few lines below, truly existed
and from these islands (the passage opened) to a great continent which faces and encloses what is truly the open sea... Oh! but that boundless sea is truly a sea, and the land that surrounds it can truly be called a continent. (Tim,, 25 a)
Games of chance? Sure as long as it's a combination. But what should we say when combinations line up in a large series?
Natural Products of Atlantis (II4d3-1I5c3)
When we compared the Atlantis exposition to a type of work like Tacitus' Germany, our observation could perhaps seem exaggerated. Further reading of the text instead leads us more and more to ascertain its accuracy. Here actually begins a detailed and at the same time completely sober and completely concrete discussion, aimed at highlighting the individual characteristics of the country.
After a general mention of the wealth of that empire, Plato can count the products of the soil. First the minerals. The most important news is that in the Atlas there was a metal whose name is no longer known today, "orichalcum"; this metal certainly existing and then disappeared. On the other hand, other authors mention orichalcum, for which however (Shield of Heracles attributed to Hesiod, Aristotle and others) the reason is undoubtedly valid that they speak of a different metal from that of Atlas; this is a simple metal, as stated below, uaQf&aevyàg IXoy nvedAet;(i r6c2). That of the other authors is a compound metal; in short, we are unaware, and certainly Plato himself was unaware, what the object he calls by this name was. As when Plato reported the news of a continent extending beyond the islands of the West, he could in no way know from experience how true and exact that news was. Centuries have passed, and we can measure its correspondence with the truth; for orichalcum for now and perhaps forever we will ignore and remain in doubt.
Follow the products of fauna and flora
The fauna records nothing in particular, except the particular, which says little in any case, of the elephant, the most voracious of the jroAvßopáraTog animals. The flora appears very rich. Strange is the enigmatic way in which Plato tells us about some fruits. Rivaud leaves it uncertain whether we are dealing with the olive, the pomegranate apple and the lemon, or rather we are dealing with exotic fruits such as, for example, coconut, locust beans and dates. One can perhaps observe that the way in which Plato names the three fruits makes the identification with the second series of objects more probable. For the first, known in the Greek world, only the name was enough and there was no need for a designation further. The other three, on the other hand, little known and whose name certainly said nothing to the minds, they were to be designated by means of their properties. We believe that the probability that the designation of these products in the Egyptian source was done in this way remains excluded. Careful examination of this part led us to identify large areas of probability for the Platonic narration; in any case it is concrete and succinct. Think how easy it would have been to indulge in strange and amazing details. The same relationship that exists between the Gospels and the apocryphal gospels. On the other hand, the nature of the Platonic spirit, even for the very times in which he lived, is profoundly different from that of a Luciano who invents for the sake of inventing. On the other hand, the probability that the designation of these products in the Egyptian source was made in this way is excluded.
The description of the single works built by the successive sovereigns in the kingdom and both rivaling each other to beautify the region and their own home continues. Here too the exactness of the details permits only two resolutions: either a romantic attitude in Plato, who, we repeat, is extraneous to the nature of man and the gods of his own times; or the correspondence to a truth received by Plato in any way which is hardly other than what he himself is exposing.
The first resolution then brings with it, as a consequence, the devaluation of the Critias' writing itself.
What meaning would all these minute details have? Are these accurate measurements? Of course, admitting the fantastic origin of the story, it will be said that Plato wanted to give concreteness to what he said about him; this is true; it is also true that the minute listing here and everywhere becomes excessive. Certainly this of Atlantis, as we said at the beginning, is a mystery. Palmar proof will always be hardly obtained. And the mystery presents itself to our minds by faith and in this way nourishes them according to its particular attitudes and with resolutions unknown to scientific and open cognition.If we deny Plato's narration, we run into inconveniences, we have to deny a lot of reasons; if on the other hand we affirm, neither can we attain positive certainty.It almost seems as if a fog obscures our gazes; a fog that is opaque, and at the same time, for a mysterious reason, this fog is also lucid. The essence of the mystery is precisely opaque to a rational vision, translucent to a further vision. Mystery, in any case, this of Atlantis, still rooted in the visible being; little mystery, we would like to say. However, initiation and teaching to further great mysteries, to which the iliac man is likewise blind.
It now remains to provide some indications on the individual details.
The text refers to that concentric structure of channels separated by dry areas which surround the nucleus of the mother island, a structure which Plato traces back to Poseidon and which, due to its strangeness and its very particular reason, can hardly be the result of fantasy.
We will now indicate the dimensions of the works mentioned in this chapter.
The straight canal which connects the sea with the external circular canal (the circular canals were excavated by Poseidon) is 8880 meters long (fifty stadiums); 88 meters wide; 29 meters deep; this canal almost constitutes a port for ships coming from the sea. Note in this regard the exaggerated dimension of the width. Nearly one hundred meters is an unusual width for a canal. We can now ask ourselves: didn't Plato notice this? Is it possible that if the measure were pure fantasy, Plato would attribute, without giving any reason, a similar dimension whose scarce truthfulness was patent? If Plato had invented, we can be more than sure, he would have been very careful not to attribute this dimension to his channels. On the contrary, the matter is quite different if he does nothing but faithfully repeat some figures which respond to a certain very particular reality. The fact is that these canals have no commercial navigability purpose. The figures and dimensions, such as, for example, the dimensions of the Pyramids, all have a particular meaning which escapes us but which undoubtedly exists (i). This is so true that (i i5e3) the channel for, shall we say, practical purpose is much narrower. Thus, as the text explicitly notes, the plain is defended from the north winds, open to warm winds. This gives the climate sweetness. The shape of this plain is oblong; it has one side of three thousand stadia and one side of about two thousand.
(in modern measurements 533 kilometers by 359 kilometers).
Ducting system
The whole plain is surrounded by a large canal; on the contrary, the precise dimensions are given with the usual accuracy; depth, a pewter (9.6o meters); width, one stadium (177.60 meters);this channel is interrupted near the capital and then flows into the sea on the two opposite sides of the city itself, whose concentric system of rings of land and water therefore remains detached.Its total length was 1770 kilometers, that is, ten thousand stadia.In addition to this large canal there are thirty straight canals, however, and parallel to each other. The purpose of these canals is to ensure irrigation to the plain; are separated from each other at an interval of one hundred stadia, i.e. about twenty kilometers (07760 meters each); then there are oblique channels converging towards the capital.
As for the plain (the surface is easily obtained: 191.38r square kilometres; for comparison we will give: Iceland ioz.850; England 243.411) it has been divided into 60.000 districts of about three square kilometers each; these districts are above all military organizations to make conscription possible in case of war. Plato also gives the exact number of military formations: 10.000 combat chariots; 240.000 horses, 1.200.000 fighters; 240.000 sailors capable of organizing a fleet of 1.200 ships.
Furthermore, the set of districts in turn forms ten provinces headed by one of the ten kings. Because the figures provided are valid only for the districts of the plain, the mountainous areas, very rich and populous, of which Plato does not give the number, must be added to its dimensions: however they were enrolled in the districts of the plain.
Royal authority;blood sacrifice (xxgcx -i2odS)
It precedes a hint that demonstrates the system by which this federal empire is governed. Each king in his own territory is lord; however, there are provisions that regulate the mutual relations of the ten sovereigns; these dispositions are engraved, as an immovable memory, on an orichalcum column, placed in the heart of the city in concentric centers.
And up to this point there is no news, let's say, normal. What follows instead is a tale full of mysterious light; a ray of light that reveals religious rites and practices, not only very remote, but also practices and rites full of meanings. These are the most solemn moments for the ten kings: the oath to reign according to justice; likewise the judgment they pronounce against any of them who have committed a work that does not conform to the spirit of tradition.
Here motifs (i2oa-b2) of Plato begin to emerge.
Decline of Atlantis and its causes (2od6 -end)
With the preceding chapter the exposition of the characteristics and geographical conditions of Atlantis is over. Now the narration of historical events should begin; that is, the exposition of that war in which the value of prehistoric Athens shone so much. Well, at this point, the dialogue remains suddenly interrupted. Plato only gives us a page that should prepare the events, and, at the moment of preparing to deal with them, the hint of a party of Homeric character: the council of the Gods. And only a few words are given. One can remain doubtful about the effectiveness of the epic party, even in the hands of a great though capable, even in the few lines composed, of instilling a sublimity that in this regard the Homeric song did not possess; sublimity and austerity. In any case Plato himself, we believe, felt the ineffectiveness of the medium; he himself left it alone. However, the hint is precious to us.
Here we are undoubtedly in the field of fantasy and personal invention. The only scene that Plato has sketched has generic, indeterminate, poetic characteristics; in short, the true and proper opposite of the specific, determined, practical characteristics of the geographical - monographic part, in which, if we willingly recognize, as was said just now, a contribution of synthesis and unification that goes back in full to the Master, we nevertheless recognize that his greatness did not lack the support of reality. This explains the powerful engraving of those pages which are not poetic, have no poetry, have no fantastic truth, but truth deriving from a real vision. Hence their characteristics of concreteness and engraving.
As for the reasons Plato enumerated to explain both the greatness of the Atlanteans and their decadence; they are (and it is understandable) totally, stupendously platonic. And such they cannot fail to be, given that their ineptness is the judgment of certain events, and this cannot fail to be personal - Naturally, the speculative lines of great previous works point in full force here; the mind grasps the profound ece - or and the complete consequences. Which is natural; but once again it demonstrates the objective and real character of the previous part, where one would look in vain for veins of Platonic philosophy.
DIALOGUE
Timaeus - What a sense of satisfaction, oh Socrates! As if I had p.106 provided a long stretch of road, here is my resting place. How gladly I now feel free from the long byways of reasoning! And I raise prayer to that God who was truly born into life one ancient day, and who was also born a little while ago, even though he was only recalled 5 by word. May he grant that these discourses of ours, at least those that have the right measure in themselves, have the means of perpetuating themselves h in time; if, on the other hand, even contrary to our will, we had uttered a dissonant word, may that God impose an appropriate reparation on us! And it is a just reparation that whoever has uttered a discordant voice is brought back to harmonious agreement. So he himself 5 (and for this we raise heartfelt prayer) will grant us cone. Science, perfect drug, of all drugs the most sublime. Thus we will be able to explain with the right word what remains on the origin of Dei. And now, after the prayer, according to the agreements, we entrust the next argument to Critias.
Critias - I accept the assignment, friend Timaeus. But as you also did in the beginning, when you asked for forgiveness, aware of having to deal with such a sublime subject: well, I will do the same too. On the contrary, I would like your feelings of compassion to be even greater when thinking about the theme I will have to carry out. Unfortunately, I am aware that this request of mine will seem a little presumptuous to you and the way I ask it a little brusque. In any case, I will always do it.
Think about it. Who will have the courage to say that your discussion 5 was not conducted in the most perfect way? No proof is needed on this point. On the other hand, it is difficult to demonstrate that the next topics, because they are more difficult, need a stronger venia. You see, Timaeus, when speaking to men, some truth about the Gods is exposed, it is easier to find a consensus than when one speaks of mortals to others who are also mortals. Experience comes and the obscurity in which the listeners find themselves in relation to those problems makes the subject easy for whoever has to speak on the subject; Oh! we know very well what our knowledge of Divinity boils down to.Indeed, follow me a little on this side, I want to express my thoughts to you more clearly.
It is inevitable that whatever one says is imitation and image. However, let's look at how things go if we are dealing with images made by painters.Let us think a little of the praise or criticism of the spectators for the greater or lesser degree of ability in representing the effigy of a human or divine body. We will see one thing. When the earth is painted, mountains, rivers, woods, or the whole sky, the stars in its womb and which proceed in it: in this case, we feel satisfied, if the artist has been able to render some of them, even for short stroke, the resemblance. Furthermore, since we don't know anything precise about it, we don't even set about carefully examining and discussing the representation. We just need that kind of imprecise and illusory scenario. In reverse, with particular acuteness we perceive the defects, if there is an artist who puts his hand to effigy the features of our organisms, because we are considering those objects with daily observation. And we take the side of severe judges against those who have failed to fully translate every note of similarity. Well, the same fact also occurs with regard to speech. When it comes to celestial things, to matters relating to the Godhead, we are happy if in our words the relation of similitude is scant. Instead for human and mortal events our criticism is more demanding. And we take the side of severe judges against those who have failed to fully translate every note of similarity. Well, the same fact also occurs with regard to speech. When it comes to celestial things, to matters relating to the Godhead, we are happy if in our words the relation of similitude is scant.Instead for human and mortal events our criticism is more demanding. And we take the side of severe judges against those who have failed to fully translate every note of similarity. Well, the same fact also occurs with regard to speech. When it comes to celestial things, to matters relating to the Godhead, we are happy if in our words the relation of similitude is scant.Instead for human and mortal events our criticism is more demanding.
Consequently, in the event that I fail to give full due character to what I say, you will certainly pity me. And then, they are things said like this, without any preparation. Oh! you must think that it is easy to portray the deadly vicissitudes of human history; difficult, but, as an object of opinion.
I said all this because it was necessary that the memory of it be alive in your minds. Furthermore, Socrates, to ask of you in relation to what I will have to say feelings of indulgence, no less; but, major. And if this gift seems right to you, oh! Cheerfully go, grant it.
Socrates - And why shouldn't we give you this gift, Critias? Indeed, look, this same concession also for the use of Hermocrates who is the third interlocutor. Heh! Of course, because soon, when it's his turn, he'll make the same request you made. In order, therefore, that he can easily find another proem, and so that he does not find himself having to repeat the same things over and over again, he should be calm and when it will be his turn, he may also begin to speak, sure of finding on our part every sense of indulgence, I want to make an initial statement, my dear Critias, to show you what the intentions of your listeners are. You see, the first poet had a huge success in front of his audience. Consequently, it will be necessary for you to seek the favor of your audience in the highest degree,
Hermocrates - Eh!Socrates, the admonition you gave to Critias also applies to me. But it is also true that, until today, no man who loses heart has ever raised a trophy of victory. What do you say, Critias? We must therefore proceed with the heart of the strong, forward, against the argument; and invoke Apollo Paean and the Muses, and demonstrate the deeds of those ancient citizens, brave men; and surround their foreheads with a hymn.
Critias - Hermocrates, my friend, your turn is set for tomorrow; before you stands another; that's why you have so much confidence.But what this commitment means, the fact itself will show you. In any case, it is better to listen to your words of exhortation and encouragement. And besides the Gods you mentioned, we must invoke still others, and especially Mnemosyne, memory. You see well that this Goddess is entrusted with the most conspicuous task, given the subject I have to deal with. In fact, she will have to recall alive to my memory, and transmit them to you, words that the priests said one distant day; words which were later brought here by Solon. Well, I am sure that, if we get to this, the public will judge that I have fulfilled what was required of me. Here, then, is what must now be done without a doubt; and enough with the delays.
***********
First of all, in the meantime, we must keep in mind something very important. Nine thousand years ago, war broke out between the peoples living beyond the Pillars of Hercules and all those peoples on this side of the same strait.It is now a question of fully exposing the events of this war. Over these inland peoples, Athens was said to have taken the lead; that our city waged the whole war, from beginning to end; instead the enemies were led by the kings of the island Atlantis (that island we were saying was once larger than Asia and Libya). Submerged by repeated cataclysms, today it comes to form a muddy shallows, difficult for sailors to pass, those who sail from here towards the high seas that extend beyond. One must stop, such a strong obstacle is.
The multitude of barbarian peoples, the individual Greek races that existed at that time will be able to be indicated as the development of the discourse will have to encounter the appropriate topics for the individual places.Instead, it is necessary in principle to explain a little the preparation and conditions of the Athenians at the time and of the adversaries with whom the war was waged; thus seeing the power of the two parties and the civil constitutions. In the meantime, it is good to deal first with those who lived here and tell their characteristics.
The Gods, one distant day, had divided the whole earth by lot, region by region. And there was no rivalry. Of course!, it would be nice if the Gods ignored what is convenient for each one; or if, on the other hand, even knowing this, they sought to acquire by contention what rather belongs to another. The fact is instead that, making use of the lots of Justice, each one obtained what was dear to him and each one took up residence in his land. Once everyone had taken up residence, he educated men and made them grow as possessions and as flocks pertinent to him. Just like shepherds of their own flock. The only difference was that they did not force the body with material means. This is what shepherds do when, grazing the flock, they avail themselves of beatings. Instead the Gods guided the entire constitution of the mortal from the point where one can most easily guide the living. From the stern they directed and that hand reached the soul. It was persuasion that provided the steering of the ship, according to the drawings of the pilots. Truly helmsmen and guides, the Gods of all human species!
And a God was allotted a region; another another; and they took care to make them ornate and beautiful. Hephaestus, on the other hand, and Athena had a common nature which is moreover also fraternal, born as they are of the same father; on the other hand. The same goals, precisely given their love of wisdom and their love for the arts: for all these reasons, the two Deities had in fate, one and the other, a single region; precisely this land, which they should have considered as their own and naturally suitable for the growth of virtues and spiritual activities; for which they prepared a population that would have been original, conspicuous people for goodness. Hence they turned every thought to organizing its political conditions according to their own judgment. Of these Priscan peoples the name has been preserved; companies, however,
It was already said before that the surviving races gradually remained obscure in the mountains and unaware of letters. These people had only heard the name of the princes who had been in the plain and, alongside the name, they shaved and dispersed the deeds. Thus, as for names, they liked to attribute them to their children; instead the virtues and the constitutions of those ancient peoples such people did not know; only some news and about single people; and this one, wrapped in shadow. Furthermore, the needs in which adults and offspring found themselves in the affair of long generations were serious; every effort and every activity of thought aimed at overcoming the difficulties of existence; any discourse aimed at this end. No curiosity therefore for what had happened in distant years and in the early ages. In fact, copious legends arise as they develop and there is an interest in investigating ancient times, when living conditions are better, when by now the basic necessities of life have found an appropriate organization; certainly not before.
For this reason the names of ancient men have been saved, regardless of any enterprise. And this statement of mine has a sure proof. Solon said that the priests expounded the events of ancient warfare, using, for the most part, those names which are remembered for the ages before Theseus; for example, the name of Cécrope, of Erétteo, of Erittónio, of Brisíttone and others; and for female names it was the same. And Solon said that even in the simulacra the figure of the Goddess was represented then dressed in arms as common were the activities for men and women in the war. In accordance with this custom, the Goddess at that time was portrayed with weapons in her simulacrum. This is a clear sign that all animals living in society, both male and female, have gifts granted by nature,
In those remote centuries therefore, on this earth the classes of citizens lived distinct: those who attended to the various arts, those who attended to the work of the earth, and the warrior class separated from the others from the beginning by the work of divine men. All the suitable means were granted to this last class so that the common existence could develop and find a suitable way of elevation.Moreover, none of the warriors had a private possession; everything, the warriors considered it common to all the comrades; likewise they did not expect other citizens to give anything beyond the common means of subsistence.In short, the life you described yesterday, these men actually practiced, the life you were talking about in connection with the Guardians, assuming their existence.
We now come to details whose tradition is alive; details that deserve our full confidence, corresponding as they are to the truth.Meanwhile the borders.It is said that the region in those ancient times was limited by the Isthmus and on the other side, towards the mainland, that is, it reached as far as the peaks of Citerone and Parneto. And these boundaries went beyond the mountain and descended down, including, on the right side, Orópia; on the left, instead, in the direction of the sea, the Asopo was excluded. In goodness, it surpassed all other earths; as a result, the region was then able to maintain a large army, which was exempt from field work. And here's another proof. That part which in our day nevertheless remains, it can well compete with any other region for its copious production of excellent fruit and for the fact that it offers excellent pastures to all sorts of livestock, and in the very ancient centuries, the products, in addition to being excellent, were also in large quantities. But how can this statement be made with certainty? And why can today's earth be said to be a remnant of one day's?
In its entirety, the region extends along its entire length over the sea, jutting out from the rest of the continent, almost as if it were the extreme part. And in reality, the basin of the sea that surrounds it is all very deep near the coasts. Consequently, since innumerable and violent cataclysms occurred in this period of nine thousand years (many, from that time to today, have indeed passed): the soil, through these vicissitudes of centuries and events, fell down, descending from the mountain localities, without forming soils with sediments of any importance, as happens in other localities, continuously dragged down, it ends up disappearing into the depths of the sea. Therefore, compared to one day, the present conditions remained: how, in the islands of little extension, bones that look like a sick organism. And the fat and soft earth, as much as there was, was carried down; and the structure, devoid of bark, of the region remained.
But in the primitive ages, everything was intact; the region had, as an orographic system, groups of elevated hills; and the plains, called c today after the porous stone, were covered with greasy loam. And there were many forests in the mountains, traces of which still exist today. Some of our mountains today are barely able to feed bees alone; and it is not long since trees were cut down on those mountains to make beams for the roof of very large buildings. and these roofs still remain. And there were still many and tall trees, suitable for cultivation; and the land offered abundant grazing for the flocks.In addition, rainwater from year to year was used; not like today that the d earth loses them, as the water from the naked earth flows down to the sea. On the contrary, the earth had a lot of it and in itself it received a lot of it; and much of it was preserved by means of clayey strata; whence then the earth, distributing the water it had absorbed, gave rise to copious courses of rivers and springs, from the high regions to the deepest plains, in all localities. And there are still traces of this wealth: the temples near the springs that flowed one day; clear signs that what is being said now is true. The temples by the springs that flowed one day; clear signs that what is being said now is true.
This is the condition, therefore, for the agricultural parts of the country; and furthermore, truly such agricultural populations lived there and were concerned precisely with agriculture; men who loved beauty and were endowed with every best quality, possessed excellent land and abundant means of irrigation; on earth then, the seasons took place measured and well temperate. Then there was the village; here are the living conditions in those days.
Meanwhile, the Acropolis area was not then in the conditions it is today. A single night, with its immense waters, made the area totally bare of earth; all around everything has been almost diluted. In reality there were earthquakes and a terrifying deluge, the third, preceding the massacre in the time of Deucalion. When these cataclysms had not yet occurred, in another time, the Acropolis reached as far as the Erídano and the Ilissus, and included in itself the Pnyx and, as an extreme border, Mount Lycabettus, on the opposite side of the Pnyx. The area was rich in land, in all its extension; and the flat top, except for a small stretch. The extreme parts housed the homes of craftsmen and farmers who worked the nearby fields. The same for its slopes. In the upper part instead he had taken up residence, separated from the others, the warrior class, around the temple of Athena and Hephaestus. This sector, surrounded by a single boundary wall, almost looked like the park of a single house. These warriors lived in common abodes in the area of the Acropolis which turns north; they had built refectories for the winter and so there was everything suitable and convenient for a life in common, buildings for common use and temples. all of them, apart from gold and silver, the use of which was absolutely not permitted.
These warriors tended to a life between excessive luxury and petty poverty. Their houses were elegant; and there they, their children and grandchildren, reached old age and handed over. Then to others equal to those same houses in constant exchange. The parts exposed at noon were still there; during the summer they left the gardens, gymnasiums and refectories facing this too hot area and used the buildings facing north with this criterion. And the only source was on the site where the Acropolis is now. Following the earthquakes, this spring dried up and small fountains remain today arranged around. So the source offered copious sap to those men. well temperate for summer and winter. This is how those men lived. Guardians of their fellow citizens and guides, kindly received, of the other Greeks, they sought that the number of the population, female and male, was kept intact over the perennial course of the centuries; a number capable of meeting the needs of warfare in the present and in the future. And this number was approximately twenty thousand souls. Thus these people lived thus; and according to these immutable principles they governed their own land and all of Hellas, with full spirit of justice. And his fame was high throughout Europe and Asia; handsome people for beauty and for every kind of spiritual virtue. The renown has come to all parts of the time, as instead to the conditions of the opponents, such as they were in those years and such as they were at the beginning of time,
Before the story, in any case, it will be good to prepare a declaration.Indeed, a sense of wonder may arise in you as you repeatedly hear Greek names referring to foreign men. Well, listen to the cause of that fact. Solon, having already conceived the design of using this story for his own poem, therefore tried to get well informed on the value of these names, and he found that the Egyptian priests had written them, already translated into their language. Then, in turn, grasping the meaning of each name, he expressed it in Greek forms and thus transcribed it. The related manuscripts were indeed in the hands of my grandfather, and are still in my possession; and when I was a boy, I studied with them. Bottom line, no wonder you'll hear the characters' names look the same as the names here. You know why.
We mentioned a draw a moment ago; that is, that the Gods divided the whole earth among themselves; and from here were major areas; from there, instead, minors; and in all the Gods they established sacrifices and offerings for their benefit. Consequently Poseidon had the island of Atlantis in his lot, and in a certain place on the island he placed to dwell his descendants whom he had begotten from a mortal woman. Not far from the sea, but near the center of the whole island, there was then a plain; among all the plains the most pleasant and the richest in products. Beside the plain, about fifty stadia distant from the center of the island, a mountain. And upon this mountain, in every part of it of little height, d dwelt a man whose name was Euénore; and this man aside, it goes to the seed of those who were born of the earth in the beginning of time. He lived together with his wife Leucíppe. These two spouses generated a daughter, Cleito, and this was the only offspring. And when the maiden had come to the wedding time, her mother and her father died. And Poseidon conceived that maiden's desire and joined her. And there was a hill where she had her house; and the God made that hill a fortified place, breaking the earth into steep obstacles all around. For this purpose he obtained alternately, now large, now small, concentric spaces, like wheels; and two wheels were of earth; three formed by the sea. Perfect, as done on the lathe, was the tour, starting from the center of the island. And the intervals of each space, one from the other, they were like iniskira iii every part the same. Thus no man could have penetrated that area. Especially since there were still no ships and no navigational art in those days. Furthermore, the God personally added every ornament to the central part of the island, and he did all this without difficulty, because he was a God. For example, he collected two spring waters that came up from the depths of the earth; and one o'clock was hot; cold the other flowed from the source like a stream. Besides, he did. that the earth produced all fruit and in abundance. The God begat five generations of sons and twins; he grew them all; and the whole island of Atlantis he divided into ten zones. And to the first born of the older two, he assigned his mother's house and all the area that extended around it; the largest and richest. Furthermore, he instituted him king of the other brothers whom he also made sovereigns but subordinate to him. And to each the God gave dominion of a great people and vastness of a great territory. To all the God gave names. To the eldest, to the high king, he assigned that name by which he resols all and the sea were then called (Atlantic is this name); in short, the first king who had reigned in that ancient time was called Atlas.Instead, the extreme part of the island in front of the columns of Heracles was given to the twin, but born after him, in front of that region that is now called Gadirica, in accordance with the name that distinguished this section of the island. The king's name came to be Eumelus in Greek; in the local language, Gadiro; which name must have given then appellation to the region. As for the second twins, one Anfere, the other called Euemonc; as for the third group, Mnéseo was the one born first; the one after, Autoctono. In the fourth set of twins, Elasippus fled first; Méstore, the second; in the fifth group the names Azae and Diáprepe were given respectively to the one born before and to the one born after. All these kings, personally and their descendants, lived there for many generations, and held dominion over many other islands along the sea. Furthermore, as has already been said previously, they also had dominion over the peoples who were in the inner part of the Pillars of Hercules, as far as Egypt and Tyrrhenia. Thus, therefore, numerous and honorable descendants were born of Atlas; and the eldest king always passed on the dominion to the eldest of the descendants; therefore, for many generations, the kingdom remained intact. And those kings attained to such a degree of wealth as never before had existed in any monarchy; and not even in the future will such wealth be easily formed. All the products that the capital and the rest of the territory could supply were collected at the disposal of these sovereigns.Certainly many products came from distant regions, given the rights of supremacy; but the island itself already offered many products for the various needs of life. In the first place, meanwhile, the products of the mines, hard metals as well as malleable metals; moreover the one of which now only the name remains (but then, in addition to the name, there was the metal itself): Orichalcum, of which there were mines in many places on the island; apart from gold, the most precious metal used in those times. Furthermore, Risola brought in great abundance every material that the woods produce useful for the work of the carpenters; still rich pastures for wild and domestic animals. For example, the number of elephants was very copious; but there was also pasture for the other animals on the marshes on the lakes on the rivers, and for those who graze on the mountains and on the plains: well, plenty of food for all, not even excluding the elephant, very large and particularly voracious. the most precious of the metals used in those times. Furthermore, Risola brought in great abundance every material that the woods produce useful for the work of the carpenters; still rich pastures for wild and domestic animals. For example, the number of elephants was very copious; but there was also pasture for the other animals on the marshes on the lakes on the rivers, and for those who graze on the mountains and on the plains: well, plenty of food for all, not even excluding the elephant, very large and particularly voracious. the most precious of the metals used in those times. Furthermore, Risola brought in great abundance every material that the woods produce useful for the work of the carpenters;still rich pastures for wild and domestic animals. For example, the number of elephants was very copious;but there was also pasture for the other animals on the marshes on the lakes on the rivers, and for those who graze on the mountains and on the plains: well, plenty of food for all, not even excluding the elephant, very large and particularly voracious.
But furthermore that land bore and made grow very well every aromatic plant that even today is produced by our soil: roots, fronds, woods and oozing resins, either from flowers or from fruits. And again every fruit of the earth obtained by cultivation, as well as that which is dried in the sun, the basis of our nourishment; and also those fruits which we use for food whose name, given to all varieties, is "legumes". Also that woody-looking fruit that supplies potions, foods and perfumes; that fruit capable of entertaining us and giving us joy; difficult-to-keep fruit of fruit trees. And again those products of the earth that can be offered to the suffering after lunch, comforting a heavy stomach. then rice, kissed by the sun one day, bore all these fruits; vigorous, stupendous, superb and in inexhaustible quantity. Taking advantage of these riches, the Atlanteans built temples, palaces for the sovereigns, ports, arsenals; and the whole region as a whole they organized in the following way. On the circular, wheel-shaped areas occupied by the sea (they surrounded the ancient capital) they built bridges, and thus opened a path towards the external areas and towards the royal palaces which from the very first years were built in the place where the God and ancestors. Each sovereign received the palace from his predecessor and added new ornaments to those already there; each one thus tried to surpass, as far as he could, the magnificence of his predecessor. In this way they made the palace an object of amazement for those who saw its immensity and observed the beauty of the works. For example, they dug, starting from the sea, a channel; and this three plethra wide; a hundred feet deep; fifty stadia long; and they led him to the outermost circular wheel-shaped area. They therefore gave way to the ships to sail up as in a port, from the sea towards the interior. And the mouth of this channel was opened so that larger ships could enter. There were also the other wheeled areas; formed of earth, they separated the others, containing instead water. Well, in the places where the bridges were, they built, through these areas of land, passages sufficient for a single trireme, so that the ship could pass from one area to another; indeed they covered the passage above with a roof, so that navigation could take place under a cover. In reality, the banks of the circular areas, made up of earth,
The largest circular area, towards which the sea had been driven in, was three stadia wide; and the adjoining one, formed of earth, was as broad as the first. Then there were the next two; and that containing water was two stadia wide; the dry one was equal to the previous one in which there was water. But the girdle area around the central island was one stadium wide. And the island, in which was the royal palace, was five stadia in diameter; the kings on all sides surrounded it with a stone wall (likewise the other areas with a wheel) and on both sides the bridge which had the width of a plethra. They therefore placed towers and gates upon the various bridges on all sides along the mouths through which the sea passed. The necessary stone they obtained from the central island in the extreme parts, and likewise from the other internal and external areas. And some of this stone was white; black part; red part. Then taking advantage of the areas made empty for stone cutting, those kings built shelter basins for ships, deep doubles, in the innermost part of the island; and the rock itself served as a roof. As for the buildings, some were simple; others instead built them as a weaving work, that is mixing the stones; so that they were multi-coloured, and constituted a pleasant and pleasant object of vision. As for the circumference of the wall that surrounded the outermost area, they surrounded it entirely with copper, and used the metal as if it were the tint of the wall itself.Instead, for the inner wall, he made use of molten tin; as then to the wall just around the acropolis, they used orichalcum with fiery flashes.
And now we come to the royal buildings that were inside the acropolis, arranged in the following way.In the central part, an enclosure consecrated to Cleito and Poseidon; it was reserved, and could not be entered; a wall of gold surrounded it all. This is the place where, at the beginning of time, Poseidon and Cleito had conceived and generated the lineage of the ten kings. There, every year, sacrifices were made to each of those kings with the first fruits of the season on behalf of all the ten kingdoms. And there was a particular temple for Poseidon; one stadia long, three plethrae wide; the height proportional to these measures. The look had something barbaric about it. Outside the whole temple was covered in silver; the only exception, the pediment, which was gold. The interior, on the other hand, had an ivory ceiling, all decorated with gold, silver and orichalcum. The other parts, walls, columns and floors, entirely covered with orichalcum. And there stood statues of gold; the God standing in a chariot, charioteer of six winged steeds; his person so tall that the tip of his head touched the roof. There were still a hundred Nereids on dolphins all around; one hundred, because in those times this was considered the number. Furthermore, inside the temple, there are other statues in large numbers, offered by private individuals. Around the temple, on the outside, effigy in gold, the images of the royal consorts and of those who were descendants of the ten kings; as well as a large number of other simulacra conspicuous in size, both of sovereigns as well as private citizens, both of the city itself, and of foreign countries subjected to the Atlanteans. As for the altar, it was in full correspondence, in size and in precious work, with the splendor of the room; the palace then in harmony with the greatness of that empire and entirely proportionate to the richness of the sacred precinct. Then there were the fountains. One, of cold water; the other, with hot water. And they poured water in great abundance, excellent and full of every virtue; therefore both cold and hot water were particularly useful. They used these fountains as they had buildings and tree plantings all around them, suitable for wet locations. Then there were cisterns; and some were in the open air; others, however, for the bad season, had a roof and were used for hot baths. The cisterns for use by the king were separate from those of private individuals; and then there were special ones for women, and special ones for horses and other beasts. To each type they attributed suitable decoration. The water that came from the fountains was conducted towards the sacred wood of Poseidon where trees of all kinds grew, stupendous, miraculously tall;so great, the vigor of the land. These waters, again, with the help of bridges, were carried, by means of aqueducts, up to the extreme circular areas.In these extreme areas, many temples dedicated to a large number of deities had been set up; many parks and many gymnasiums. And some for the school of children, others for riding .- each in the individual islands that the various circular areas made in the shape of a wheel came to constitute. There were other buildings, but particularly in the center of the largest island, a special racecourse one stadium wide; the length instead, calculating the entire circle, was suitable for horse races. Around it, at regular intervals, some barracks for the ordinary bodyguards; instead, for the most trusted elements, the guard post had been arranged in the smallest circular area, very close to the acropolis. Then there were the soldiers tied body and soul to the prince; and these were inside the acropolis; their houses, all around the royal palace. The arsenals also full of trircini; and all the objects needed to equip a Botta. All arranged in perfect order. This, then, is the layout of the buildings around the king's palace. But whoever passed through the outer gates three in number, he found a circular wall starting from the sea, and which was in every part fifty stadia distant from the greater area and the harbour. This wall enclosed the entrance to the canal with the entrance coming from the sea in a single sector. This wall, in its entire extension, gave shelter to many very closely packed houses. As for the entrance channel and the largest port, it was overflowing with ships and merchants from all over the world. And this assembly produced the sound of voices, noises of all kinds, tumult, day and night.it gave shelter to many very dense houses. As for the entrance channel and the largest port, it was overflowing with ships and merchants from all over the world. And this assembly produced the sound of voices, noises of all kinds, tumult, day and night.it gave shelter to many very dense houses. As for the entrance channel and the largest port, it was overflowing with ships and merchants from all over the world. And this assembly produced the sound of voices, noises of all kinds, tumult, day and night.
I have finished treating of the capital and of the ancient residence reserved for the sovereigns much as it was once reported to Solon.It is now a question of describing the natural condition of the remaining country and the characteristics of its organization. Meanwhile, it is known that the whole town was very high and steep above the sea; instead the region around the capital was all flat; it surrounded the city, and in turn it was surrounded all around by mountains that reached as far as the sea; smooth plain and all the same. Overall oblong shape; on the one hand, extended for three thousand stadia; in the central part, elevated and far from the sea, for two thousand stadia. The plain, throughout the island, was oriented towards the South; then sheltered from the north winds to the north, As for the mountains that surrounded it, the multitude, its immensity and beauty were celebrated in comparison with all the mountains that are now. On those mountains villages in large numbers, rich in inhabitants; and rivers and lakes and meadows, sufficient to supply food for all kinds of animals, domestic or wild. And woods for all kinds of trees and in immense quantity; wood suitable for all jobs, abundant for every particular use. This plain, therefore, by the work of nature, as well as by the care of many kings over many centuries, had the following characteristics. The territory, in its main part, came to be a quadrilateral: right angles, elongated shape. Where the form was lacking, regularity had been provided for by means of a canal which surrounded the entire plain. The depth, the width and length of this pit would seem incredible, being a work done by human hands; all the more so if you compare it, in its grandeur, to other works of this kind.In any case, we must say what we have heard. The pit was a plethron deep; one stadium wide on all sides; and since all of d had been excavated around the plain, the length of the entire trench was ten thousand stadia.It collected the waters that descended from the mountain, went all around the plain, reached here and there towards the city and on this side was left to flow towards the sea. Upstream of this channel, minor channels, about a hundred feet wide, all in a straight line; engraved along the plain, they were facing the main channel deriving towards the sea. Each of these minor pits was a hundred stadia apart. In the places where the timber was brought down from the mountains towards the capital, and where the other seasonal products were received by boat, navigable canals connecting with the other canals had been cut, obliquely to the with each other, and facing the capital. After all, those men enjoyed the harvest of the earth twice a year: in winter, as they enjoyed the meteoric waters; in summer instead they used the waters offered by the earth, deriving the sap from the irrigation canals. As for the number of inhabitants living in the plain, in relation to war needs, things had been arranged so that each sector could provide a captain. The extent of each district was ten times ten stadia, in all sixty thousand districts. The number of inhabitants of the mountain and the rest of the region was said to be enormous; distributed by groups of localities and villages, they all gathered in the said military sectors, under the orders of the various captains.It was arranged that each captain should furnish one sixth of a war chariot for war purposes, up to the number of ten thousand chariots; likewise, two horses and their riders; in addition, a pair of horses, apart from those of the chariot, and together with a soldier, trained to fight on foot, armed with a small shield; as well as the charioteer of the two horses and a fighter stationary on the same chariot, Also, two hoplites, archers and two slingers each; each captain, again, three lightly armed soldiers, skilled at throwing stones and armed with javelins; then four sailors, to complete the crew of one thousand two hundred ships. The war organization therefore for the city, where the kings had their headquarters, was this; for the other nine provinces, there were other criteria that would take a long time to pursue.
Now follows the ordering of hierarchies and public offices, established from the very beginning.Each of the ten kings had complete dominion over the people in his sector and city; the legislative power almost completely in their own hands. The king could punish and put to death whoever he wanted. On the other hand, as regards reciprocal relations and government coordination, the decrees of Poseidon were in force, in accordance with the tradition handed down in writing in orichalcum column by the care of the first kings. This column was located in the center of the island in the temple of Poseidon. There, alternately every five and six years, the kings gathered thus respecting the alternating cycle of even and odd. In this assembly they decided on common interests; they investigated whether someone had violated the law and took appropriate judicial action. Whenever they had to pronounce such a sentence on each other they exchanged signs of faith in the manner which I will now describe. There were free grazing some bulls in the sanctuary of Poseidon; the ten kings therefore remained alone, they raised prayers to the God that he would allow him to capture the victim that was most pleasing to him. Then the kings turned to hunting. They had no iron weapons; of wood and only nets. Then they dragged in front of the column the bull they had come to take; and on the top they slaughtered him, faithful to the scriptures.In the column, in fact, in addition to the laws, it was a formula of imprecation which sanctioned terrible curses to those who did not obey the laws themselves. Consequently, when, in accordance with the laws, they had sacrificed the bull and all the parts of the animal had been purified, the ten kings, each on his own account, filled a crater and threw clots of coagulated blood into it. The rest they threw into the fire, after purifying the pillar. At a later time, they drew vials of gold from the crater, poured everything into the fire, and swore an oath to judge according to the spirit of the laws written in the pillar, ready to punish anyone who had violated them in the past; likewise, reciprocally, in the future, nothing, as far as was in their will, they would have violated those scriptures; with this pact alone they would either have exercised dominion or would have obeyed any b command.compliance with the spirit of paternal laws. After these imprecations, made by each for himself and for his descendants, they drank the blood and placed the cup in the sanctuary of the God. This done, they proceeded to refresh themselves and to other operations. Meanwhile the darkness and the fire that had served the sacrifices were now cold. Then everyone wore a magnificent robe, a dark indigo color, and sat on the ground, on the remains of the fire that had been used for the oath. At nightfall, they put out every fire near the temple. And they were judged and judged in case one accused another of some illegality. Once the sentence had been pronounced, they wrote it down, as soon as Ilice was there,
There were many provisions of law in relation to the powers of individual rulers. The most important: don't bring weapons against each other; lend each other assiduous assistance, in the event that among themselves someone tries to depose a colleague of sovereign lineage in some city; decide jointly on war plans like their predecessors and likewise on other events; always grant hegemony to the lineage of Atlas. The king did not have the right to give death to any royal family member, unless half of the ten kings agreed. God therefore gathered and turned against our lands this so great and so organized power, then existing in those regions. Here is more or less, as is known, the reason. For many generations, until the day when the nature of the God had power among those dynasts, they remained faithful to the laws in spiritual harmony with the Deity with whom they were allied. The designs that those minds were formulating, all conformed to the truth, in every respect generous and great. With a meek heart, according to spiritual perspectives, they resolved the problems that gradually arose, both in political interests and in mutual relationships. Consequently, they held everything in contempt; the only exception, virtue; they carried, as if it were a weight but without difficulty, that heap of gold and those immense riches. Indeed, wealth did not make hearts drunk; the abundance in which they lived did not make them soft; because of the money they possessed, they did not lose self-control and did not fall into error. With lucid vision in the depths of hearts tempered in harmony, they understood that all these possessions grow in mutual friendship aided by virtue; on the other hand, they dissolve when man attaches too much value and with too much eagerness pursued them then not only wealth, together with that also virtues such to ruin. Nurturing this conviction and keeping the divine spark of their nature intact, these dynasts saw that everything mentioned above flourished as an increase.
When instead the part of God became irritated, mingled, several times, with innumerable mortal element; when mortal custom came to impose its dominion among these dynasts: then finally they were no longer able to bear the present fortune; then they turned to unworthy conduct. At this moment, anyone who had observed them and had been capable of insight would have had only one impression: those men were deformed. They had lost the most precious treasure of all they possessed. Of course, anyone who is unable to see true life, directed towards happiness, would have judged that at that very moment they were extraordinarily beautiful and happy. And instead men all full of unjust imperialistic greed and arrogance.
The God of Gods, Zeus, the one who, according to laws, as king governs, could certainly observe these conditions, and he realized that a lineage equipped with excellent qualities was in an unfortunate condition. He then decided to impose a just penalty, in order to induce in them a sense of repentance and moderation. He then gathered all the Gods in their stupendous abode, placed at the center of the whole cosmos and which allows you to look from a dominant position on everything that participates in becoming. So he picked them up and spoke…
