How big was Atlantis?

Question

Any dimensions that you can tell me would be helpful. For example, how high, wide, deep was that civilization.

Answer 1

All the dimensions given in Plato's account of Atlantis are approximately 10 times the size of Crete. Its distance from Egypt is about 10 times the distance of Crete, too, and the date of its destruction is 10 times longer ago than the volcanic eruption and tidal wave which probably destroyed Minoan Crete in 1500 BC.

It is very plausible that when Solon got this story from an Egyptian priest, he mistranslated the numbers, and Plato just copied them, which would have put Atlantis beyond the pillars of Hercules instead of just south of Greece.

Answer 2

Atlantis (Greek: Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος, "Island of Atlas") is the name of an island first mentioned and described by the classical Greek philosopher Plato in the dialogues of Timaeus and Critias. According to him this island, lying "beyond the pillars of Hercules", was a naval power, having conquered many parts of western Europe and Africa. Soon after a failed invasion of Athens, Atlantis sank in the waves "in a single day and night of misfortune" due to a natural catastrophe which happened 9,000 years before Plato's time.

As a story embedded in Plato's dialogues, Atlantis is mostly seen as a myth created by Plato to back up a previously invented theory with real facts. Some scholars express the opinion that Plato intended to tell real history. Although the function of the story of Atlantis seems to be clear to most scholars, they dispute whether and how much Plato's account was inspired by older traditions. Some scholars argue Plato drew upon memories of past events such as the Thera eruption or the Trojan War, while others insist that he took inspiration of contemporary events like the destruction of Helike in 373 BC or the failed Athenian invasion of Sicily in 415–413 BC.