Plato was a philosopher of ancient Greece. A student of Socrates and teacher of Aristotle, he founded the Academy in Athens and is regarded as one of the founders of Western philosophy.
In his late dialogues Timaeus and Critias, he told of a mighty island nation in the Atlantic that sank into the sea in a single day and night. This is the oldest record of the Atlantis legend, and for more than 2,000 years it has been the starting point of debates about the “lost continent.” Whether the story is history or an allegory for discussing the ideal state is still debated.
