The Atlantis Story: A Short History of Plato's Myth

The Atlantis Story: A Short History of Plato's Myth
ISBN-10
0859898059
ISBN-13
9780859898058
Category
Literary Criticism / Ancient & Classical
Pages
192
Language
English
Published
2007
Publisher
University of Exeter Press
Author
Pierre Vidal-Naquet

Description

This is the history of the development through the ages of Plato's Atlantis story - the imperialist island state that disappeared in a cataclysm, leaving Athens to survive it...Instead of simply focusing on the various attempts to 'find' Atlantis - all of which are futile for the very good
reason that Plato made the island up - the author re-examines the very different uses made of the myth in different contexts and periods. He shows how Plato's myth was reinterpreted in the medieval period and after through conflation with the search for the lost tribes of Israel; how it became
involved with the debate about whether Europe should look back to its origins in the Classical or Biblical worlds; how the myth was reinterpreted with a more geographical emphasis following Columbus' discovery of America; and how it was used in the Enlightenment to add colour to nationalist
attempts to claim antiquity by finding unrecognised origins. Written in a clear and interesting way, Pierre Vidal-Naquet's original ideas rest on deep knowledge supported by primary references and illustrations.

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