Atlanteans

Atlanteans are the legendary inhabitants associated with Atlantis, a civilization described in ancient Greek literature and later myth and popular culture. The name Atlantean derives from Atlantis, the island or continent Plato presents as existing beyond the Pillars of Hercules in his dialogues Timaeus and Critias.

In Plato's account, Atlantis was a powerful and technologically advanced empire that sought to conquer parts of the known world. About 9,000 years before his own time, Atlanteans built a strong political system and naval power. According to the dialogue, the Atlantean kings ruled from a splendid metropolis, but their moral decline and hubris led the gods to punish them. In a single day and night of misfortune, Atlantis allegedly sank beneath the sea and disappeared.

Scholarly opinion holds that Atlantis has no conclusive archaeological or historical basis, and most historians regard the tale as a philosophical allegory or a literary device used by Plato. Over the centuries, the myth has been reinterpreted and expanded, with various theories proposing real-world correspondences or purely fictional origins.

The concept has profoundly influenced literature, science fiction, and popular media, where Atlanteans are commonly depicted as an advanced or utopian, or sometimes decadent, civilization that either survived in isolation or perished. In modern usage, Atlanteans appear in countless works, from comic books to films and video games, serving as a flexible template for tales about lost civilizations, advanced technology, and the interplay between power and morality.