Blue Star posted:

From what I know, Atlantis isnt something that anyone really believed in. Even at the time, it was just an allegory that Plato came up with and everyone knew it. I think he was using it as a device to contrast with his idea of a perfect Athens. Like, Atlantis was super advanced and powerful but they werent virtuous like the Athenians were, and the Athenians end up defeating them because the gods are on their side, so Atlantis sinks beneath the waves. All of the thinkers and philosophers knew that Atlantis was just something Plato came up with, all through the Roman Empire and the Middle Ages. Im not sure when that changed but I think in the 19th century, when archeology was starting to become a thing, less knowledgeable folks started to make poo poo up about how Atlantis was totally real and Atlanteans founded the Mayans, the Egyptians, Mesopotamians, etc. and they had psychic spiritual powers. But that all came from "modern" people, not ancient times.