Atlantis was an ancient civilisation famed for its advanced technology and ruinous fate. According to legend it had advanced further in technology than any other civilization in history. They could levitate stone or after the destruction, spread the word about farming to the rest of the world. Atlantis had sonar, central heating, TVs, flying cars, and a crystal which generated energy from the stars.
Well, that’s what the legend says, apparently. Over the last 2,300 years or so the story and mythology of Atlantis have grown exponentially. It has become a place of fevered imagination. Many people have used it to further their own ambitions, using it as an example of the very ideology they themselves have.
But what exactly does Plato say about Atlantis? Afterall, he is the primary source for the ancient civilisation – its originator and the author of the core text from which all the rest has sprung. Does he actually say that Atlantis has advanced technology and if it does, what kinds of tech does it boast?
What does Plato say about Atlantis’ technology?
First, the context. Let’s remember that Plato was writing in the 4th century BC at a time when bronze was still being used for armour, alongside leather, in Greece even though Europe was deep into the iron age. Secondly, the context of the Atlantis story. It is set in 9,600 BC, at a time when archaeologically we have only stone technology surviving. Here is what he says:
The city and Its buildings
Atlantis is sure a construction marvel. If it were real, then it would have been a magnificent and unique place. Plato describes it as the evolution of a natural phenomenon – concentric rings of water, which were bridged and paved, and then connected to the sea by way of a canal. This turned the place into a harbour. They also cut through the almost mountainous rings so a single trireme could sail through to the central island. This was all enclosed by a stone wall and peppered with watch towers. This whole outer wall was covered in bronze – a magnificent sight unless left to green.
The palace itself on the central island was a marvel. There was a shrine to Poseidon and Cleito surrounded by a golden wall – and only the royal family could pass through. The temple to Poseidon himself lay a stade long and 300 feet wide, and was covered in silver except for the statues which were coated in gold.
This palace also boasted baths with both hot and cold water due to the hot and cold springs which sprung up on the central island. The palace also contained accommodation for the royals and statues to each one of them made of gold (or coated in it). Water from the bath flowed into the grove of Poseidon which had such good soil that all manner of trees could grow there and no doubt bore delicious fruits.
As for the outer rings, they too had magnificent temples and gardens, as well as areas for exercise. There was also a place set aside for horse racing on the main island. There were also hollow docks on the rings and island with natural stone roofs, and military barracks dotted around, but mostly on the central island to protect the kings. The land and canal beyond the outer ring, but within the outer wall, were filled with houses and merchant ships.
The rest of the island
Plato has Atlantis set not as an island in itself, but as a natural marvel within a larger island. One, which as we saw above, had been connected to the wider Atlantic sea (but not ocean) beyond. He describes the whole area as being high above the sea level and that over several generations, the kings corrected defects in the main plain to make it a full rectangle and dug a 100ft deep ditch around it and into this the main river of the island flowed in, around the plain, and into the sea. Channels were cut into this ditch running across the plain to irrigate it – this allowed the land to produce two harvests a year and for them to float timber down from the mountains for export. That’s it.
Does Plato say that Atlantis had advanced technology?
The technology which Plato mentions is all within a Hellenic realm of understanding. The boats are triremes, the military have chariots, javelins, hoplites, archers and slingers. They harken back to a golden age of military combat – something Caesar found enchanting about the ancient British he encountered during his invasion. All the things mentioned were possible within his day and were evidenced by places such as Carthage, Athens itself, and especially in Egypt with its pyramids. However, they were on a grander scale than anyone would have known.
Indeed, even if we look at their fall, it was not because of some grand construction like the Tower of Babel or the attainment of knowledge like in the Garden of Eden, but from diluting their divine blood by mixing with normal, mere mortals. Such was their blood weakened that their power went awry and they faced Zeus’ wrath.
So no, Plato does not say that Atlantis was particularly advanced in technology as we would understand it now, and he does not state anything that would be too out of the ordinary for his own day. Certainly, what he purports to be the state of Atlantis would have been exceptional for 9,600 BC, but not impossible.
Why do people believe that Atlantis had advanced technology?
There is quite a gap between the publication of Timaeus and Critias in around 360 BC and its rapid rise to mythological status in the modern period. Yes, it was influential in Roman times and Neoplatonist times during the Roman Empire, but this was mostly regarding the Timaeus portion of the book.
A possible explanation for how people came to believe that Atlantis had magical crystal technology or TVs or even central heating might be pure fancy or a kind of whisper game where exaggerations are exaggerated with each retelling.
However, there may be another prosaic explanation. Plato is talking about a highly mythological society, yes, but one based in his own world and time. Compared to that it appears advanced, and it certainly appears advanced compared to the time it is set. It is quite possible people have taken this advancement and assumed it to be that more developed than their own times.
Conclusion: Did Atlantis have advanced technology?
In short, no, Atlantis did not have advanced technology of the sort mentioned by many modern and early modern writers. It was presented as being particularly powerful and rich within a bronze age / iron age Greek context. That’s all.