Critias

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CRITIAS

by Plato

Translated by Benjamin Jowett

INTRODUCTION AND ANALYSIS.

The Critias is a fragment which breaks off in the middle of a sentence. It
was designed to be the second part of a trilogy, which, like the other
great Platonic trilogy of the Sophist, Statesman, Philosopher, was never
completed. Timaeus had brought down the origin of the world to the
creation of man, and the dawn of history was now to succeed the philosophy
of nature. The Critias is also connected with the Republic. Plato, as he
has already told us (Tim.), intended to represent the ideal state engaged
in a patriotic conflict. This mythical conflict is prophetic or symbolical
of the struggle of Athens and Persia, perhaps in some degree also of the
wars of the Greeks and Carthaginians, in the same way that the Persian is
prefigured by the Trojan war to the mind of Herodotus, or as the narrative
of the first part of the Aeneid is intended by Virgil to foreshadow the
wars of Carthage and Rome. The small number of the primitive Athenian
citizens (20,000), 'which is about their present number' (Crit.), is
evidently designed to contrast with the myriads and barbaric array of the
Atlantic hosts. The passing remark in the Timaeus that Athens was left
alone in the struggle, in which she conquered and became the liberator of
Greece, is also an allusion to the later history. Hence we may safely
conclude that the entire narrative is due to the imagination of Plato, who
has used the name of Solon and introduced the Egyptian priests to give
verisimilitude to his story. To the Greek such a tale, like that of the
earth-born men, would have seemed perfectly accordant with the character of
his mythology, and not more marvellous than the wonders of the East
narrated by Herodotus and others: he might have been deceived into
believing it. But it appears strange that later ages should have been
imposed upon by the fiction. As many attempts have been made to find the
great island of Atlantis, as to discover the country of the lost tribes.
Without regard to the description of Plato, and without a suspicion that
the whole narrative is a fabrication, interpreters have looked for the spot
in every part of the globe, America, Arabia Felix, Ceylon, Palestine,
Sardinia, Sweden.

Timaeus concludes with a prayer that his words may be acceptable to the God
whom he has revealed, and Critias, whose turn follows, begs that a larger
measure of indulgence may be conceded to him, because he has to speak of
men whom we know and not of gods whom we do not know. Socrates readily
grants his request, and anticipating that Hermocrates will make a similar
petition, extends by anticipation a like indulgence to him.

Critias returns to his story, professing only to repeat what Solon was told
by the priests. The war of which he was about to speak had occurred 9000
years ago. One of the combatants was the city of Athens, the other was the
great island of Atlantis. Critias proposes to speak of these rival powers
first of all, giving to Athens the precedence; the various tribes of Greeks
and barbarians who took part in the war will be dealt with as they
successively appear on the scene.

In the beginning the gods agreed to divide the earth by lot in a friendly
manner, and when they had made the allotment they settled their several
countries, and were the shepherds or rather the pilots of mankind, whom
they guided by persuasion, and not by force. Hephaestus and Athena,
brother and sister deities, in mind and art united, obtained as their lot
the land of Attica, a land suited to the growth of virtue and wisdom; and
there they settled a brave race of children of the soil, and taught them
how to order the state. Some of their names, such as Cecrops, Erechtheus,
Erichthonius, and Erysichthon, were preserved and adopted in later times,
but the memory of their deeds has passed away; for there have since been
many deluges, and the remnant who survived in the mountains were ignorant
of the art of writing, and during many generations were wholly devoted to
acquiring the means of life...And the armed image of the goddess which was
dedicated by the ancient Athenians is an evidence to other ages that men
and women had in those days, as they ought always to have, common virtues
and pursuits. There were various classes of citizens, including
handicraftsmen and husbandmen and a superior class of warriors who dwelt
apart, and were educated, and had all things in common, like our guardians.
Attica in those days extended southwards to the Isthmus, and inland to the
heights of Parnes and Cithaeron, and between them and the sea included the
district of Oropus. The country was then, as what remains of it still is,
the most fertile in the world, and abounded in rich plains and pastures.
But in the course of ages much of the soil was washed away and disappeared
in the deep sea. And the inhabitants of this fair land were endowed with
intelligence and the love of beauty.

The Acropolis of the ancient Athens extended to the Ilissus and Eridanus,
and included the Pnyx, and the Lycabettus on the opposite side to the Pnyx,
having a level surface and deep soil. The side of the hill was inhabited
by craftsmen and husbandmen; and the warriors dwelt by themselves on the
summit, around the temples of Hephaestus and Athene, in an enclosure which
was like the garden of a single house. In winter they retired into houses
on the north of the hill, in which they held their syssitia. These were
modest dwellings, which they bequeathed unaltered to their children's
children. In summer time the south side was inhabited by them, and then
they left their gardens and dining-halls. In the midst of the Acropolis
was a fountain, which gave an abundant supply of cool water in summer and
warm in winter; of this there are still some traces. They were careful to
preserve the number of fighting men and women at 20,000, which is equal to
that of the present military force. And so they passed their lives as
guardians of the citizens and leaders of the Hellenes. They were a just
and famous race, celebrated for their beauty and virtue all over Europe and
Asia.

And now I will speak to you of their adversaries, but first I ought to
explain that the Greek names were given to Solon in an Egyptian form, and
he enquired their meaning and translated them. His manuscript was left
with my grandfather Dropides, and is now in my possession...In the division
of the earth Poseidon obtained as his portion the island of Atlantis, and
there he begat children whose mother was a mortal. Towards the sea and in
the centre of the island there was a very fair and fertile plain, and near
the centre, about fifty stadia from the plain, there was a low mountain in
which dwelt a man named Evenor and his wife Leucippe, and their daughter
Cleito, of whom Poseidon became enamoured. He to secure his love enclosed
the mountain with rings or zones varying in size, two of land and three of
sea, which his divine power readily enabled him to excavate and fashion,
and, as there was no shipping in those days, no man could get into the
place. To the interior island he conveyed under the earth springs of water
hot and cold, and supplied the land with all things needed for the life of
man. Here he begat a family consisting of five pairs of twin male
children. The eldest was Atlas, and him he made king of the centre island,
while to his twin brother, Eumelus, or Gadeirus, he assigned that part of
the country which was nearest the Straits. The other brothers he made
chiefs over the rest of the island. And their kingdom extended as far as
Egypt and Tyrrhenia. Now Atlas had a fair posterity, and great treasures
derived from mines--among them that precious metal orichalcum; and there
was abundance of wood, and herds of elephants, and pastures for animals of
all kinds, and fragrant herbs, and grasses, and trees bearing fruit. These
they used, and employed themselves in constructing their temples, and
palaces, and harbours, and docks, in the following manner:--First, they
bridged over the zones of sea, and made a way to and from the royal palace
which they built in the centre island. This ancient palace was ornamented
by successive generations; and they dug a canal which passed through the
zones of land from the island to the sea. The zones of earth were
surrounded by walls made of stone of divers colours, black and white and
red, which they sometimes intermingled for the sake of ornament; and as
they quarried they hollowed out beneath the edges of the zones double docks
having roofs of rock. The outermost of the walls was coated with brass,
the second with tin, and the third, which was the wall of the citadel,
flashed with the red light of orichalcum. In the interior of the citadel
was a holy temple, dedicated to Cleito and Poseidon, and surrounded by an
enclosure of gold, and there was Poseidon's own temple, which was covered
with silver, and the pinnacles with gold. The roof was of ivory, adorned
with gold and silver and orichalcum, and the rest of the interior was lined
with orichalcum. Within was an image of the god standing in a chariot
drawn by six winged horses, and touching the roof with his head; around him
were a hundred Nereids, riding on dolphins. Outside the temple were placed
golden statues of all the descendants of the ten kings and of their wives;
there was an altar too, and there were palaces, corresponding to the
greatness and glory both of the kingdom and of the temple.

Also there were fountains of hot and cold water, and suitable buildings
surrounding them, and trees, and there were baths both of the kings and of
private individuals, and separate baths for women, and also for cattle.
The water from the baths was carried to the grove of Poseidon, and by
aqueducts over the bridges to the outer circles. And there were temples in
the zones, and in the larger of the two there was a racecourse for horses,
which ran all round the island. The guards were distributed in the zones
according to the trust reposed in them; the most trusted of them were
stationed in the citadel. The docks were full of triremes and stores. The
land between the harbour and the sea was surrounded by a wall, and was
crowded with dwellings, and the harbour and canal resounded with the din of
human voices.

The plain around the city was highly cultivated and sheltered from the
north by mountains; it was oblong, and where falling out of the straight
line followed the circular ditch, which was of an incredible depth. This
depth received the streams which came down from the mountains, as well as
the canals of the interior, and found a way to the sea. The entire country
was divided into sixty thousand lots, each of which was a square of ten
stadia; and the owner of a lot was bound to furnish the sixth part of a
war-chariot, so as to make up ten thousand chariots, two horses and riders
upon them, a pair of chariot-horses without a seat, and an attendant and
charioteer, two hoplites, two archers, two slingers, three stone-shooters,
three javelin-men, and four sailors to make up the complement of twelve
hundred ships.

Each of the ten kings was absolute in his own city and kingdom. The
relations of the different governments to one another were determined by
the injunctions of Poseidon, which had been inscribed by the first kings on
a column of orichalcum in the temple of Poseidon, at which the kings and
princes gathered together and held a festival every fifth and every sixth
year alternately. Around the temple ranged the bulls of Poseidon, one of
which the ten kings caught and sacrificed, shedding the blood of the victim
over the inscription, and vowing not to transgress the laws of their father
Poseidon. When night came, they put on azure robes and gave judgment
against offenders. The most important of their laws related to their
dealings with one another. They were not to take up arms against one
another, and were to come to the rescue if any of their brethren were
attacked. They were to deliberate in common about war, and the king was
not to have the power of life and death over his kinsmen, unless he had the
assent of the majority.

For many generations, as tradition tells, the people of Atlantis were
obedient to the laws and to the gods, and practised gentleness and wisdom
in their intercourse with one another. They knew that they could only have
the true use of riches by not caring about them. But gradually the divine
portion of their souls became diluted with too much of the mortal
admixture, and they began to degenerate, though to the outward eye they
appeared glorious as ever at the very time when they were filled with all
iniquity. The all-seeing Zeus, wanting to punish them, held a council of
the gods, and when he had called them together, he spoke as follows:--

No one knew better than Plato how to invent 'a noble lie.' Observe (1) the
innocent declaration of Socrates, that the truth of the story is a great
advantage: (2) the manner in which traditional names and indications of
geography are intermingled ('Why, here be truths!'): (3) the extreme
minuteness with which the numbers are given, as in the Old Epic poetry:
(4) the ingenious reason assigned for the Greek names occurring in the
Egyptian tale: (5) the remark that the armed statue of Athena indicated
the common warrior life of men and women: (6) the particularity with which
the third deluge before that of Deucalion is affirmed to have been the
great destruction: (7) the happy guess that great geological changes have
been effected by water: (8) the indulgence of the prejudice against
sailing beyond the Columns, and the popular belief of the shallowness of
the ocean in that part: (9) the confession that the depth of the ditch in
the Island of Atlantis was not to be believed, and 'yet he could only
repeat what he had heard', compared with the statement made in an earlier
passage that Poseidon, being a God, found no difficulty in contriving the
water-supply of the centre island: (10) the mention of the old rivalry of
Poseidon and Athene, and the creation of the first inhabitants out of the
soil. Plato here, as elsewhere, ingeniously gives the impression that he
is telling the truth which mythology had corrupted.

The world, like a child, has readily, and for the most part unhesitatingly,
accepted the tale of the Island of Atlantis. In modern times we hardly
seek for traces of the submerged continent; but even Mr. Grote is inclined
to believe in the Egyptian poem of Solon of which there is no evidence in
antiquity; while others, like Martin, discuss the Egyptian origin of the
legend, or like M. de Humboldt, whom he quotes, are disposed to find in it
a vestige of a widely-spread tradition. Others, adopting a different vein
of reflection, regard the Island of Atlantis as the anticipation of a still
greater island--the Continent of America. 'The tale,' says M. Martin,
'rests upon the authority of the Egyptian priests; and the Egyptian priests
took a pleasure in deceiving the Greeks.' He never appears to suspect that
there is a greater deceiver or magician than the Egyptian priests, that is
to say, Plato himself, from the dominion of whose genius the critic and
natural philosopher of modern times are not wholly emancipated. Although
worthless in respect of any result which can be attained by them,
discussions like those of M. Martin (Timee) have an interest of their own,
and may be compared to the similar discussions regarding the Lost Tribes (2
Esdras), as showing how the chance word of some poet or philosopher has
given birth to endless religious or historical enquiries. (See
Introduction to the Timaeus.)

In contrasting the small Greek city numbering about twenty thousand
inhabitants with the barbaric greatness of the island of Atlantis, Plato
probably intended to show that a state, such as the ideal Athens, was
invincible, though matched against any number of opponents (cp. Rep.).
Even in a great empire there might be a degree of virtue and justice, such
as the Greeks believed to have existed under the sway of the first Persian
kings. But all such empires were liable to degenerate, and soon incurred
the anger of the gods. Their Oriental wealth, and splendour of gold and
silver, and variety of colours, seemed also to be at variance with the
simplicity of Greek notions. In the island of Atlantis, Plato is
describing a sort of Babylonian or Egyptian city, to which he opposes the
frugal life of the true Hellenic citizen. It is remarkable that in his
brief sketch of them, he idealizes the husbandmen 'who are lovers of honour
and true husbandmen,' as well as the warriors who are his sole concern in
the Republic; and that though he speaks of the common pursuits of men and
women, he says nothing of the community of wives and children.

It is singular that Plato should have prefixed the most detested of
Athenian names to this dialogue, and even more singular that he should have
put into the mouth of Socrates a panegyric on him (Tim.). Yet we know that
his character was accounted infamous by Xenophon, and that the mere
acquaintance with him was made a subject of accusation against Socrates.
We can only infer that in this, and perhaps in some other cases, Plato's
characters have no reference to the actual facts. The desire to do honour
to his own family, and the connection with Solon, may have suggested the
introduction of his name. Why the Critias was never completed, whether
from accident, or from advancing age, or from a sense of the artistic
difficulty of the design, cannot be determined.

CRITIAS.

PERSONS OF THE DIALOGUE: Critias, Hermocrates, Timaeus, Socrates.

TIMAEUS: How thankful I am, Socrates, that I have arrived at last, and,
like a weary traveller after a long journey, may be at rest! And I pray
the being who always was of old, and has now been by me revealed, to grant
that my words may endure in so far as they have been spoken truly and
acceptably to him; but if unintentionally I have said anything wrong, I
pray that he will impose upon me a just retribution, and the just
retribution of him who errs is that he should be set right. Wishing, then,
to speak truly in future concerning the generation of the gods, I pray him
to give me knowledge, which of all medicines is the most perfect and best.
And now having offered my prayer I deliver up the argument to Critias, who
is to speak next according to our agreement. (Tim.)

CRITIAS: And I, Timaeus, accept the trust, and as you at first said that
you were going to speak of high matters, and begged that some forbearance
might be shown to you, I too ask the same or greater forbearance for what I
am about to say. And although I very well know that my request may appear
to be somewhat ambitious and discourteous, I must make it nevertheless.
For will any man of sense deny that you have spoken well? I can only
attempt to show that I ought to have more indulgence than you, because my
theme is more difficult; and I shall argue that to seem to speak well of
the gods to men is far easier than to speak well of men to men: for the
inexperience and utter ignorance of his hearers about any subject is a
great assistance to him who has to speak of it, and we know how ignorant we
are concerning the gods. But I should like to make my meaning clearer, if
you will follow me. All that is said by any of us can only be imitation
and representation. For if we consider the likenesses which painters make
of bodies divine and heavenly, and the different degrees of gratification
with which the eye of the spectator receives them, we shall see that we are
satisfied with the artist who is able in any degree to imitate the earth
and its mountains, and the rivers, and the woods, and the universe, and the
things that are and move therein, and further, that knowing nothing precise
about such matters, we do not examine or analyze the painting; all that is
required is a sort of indistinct and deceptive mode of shadowing them
forth. But when a person endeavours to paint the human form we are quick
at finding out defects, and our familiar knowledge makes us severe judges
of any one who does not render every point of similarity. And we may
observe the same thing to happen in discourse; we are satisfied with a
picture of divine and heavenly things which has very little likeness to
them; but we are more precise in our criticism of mortal and human things.
Wherefore if at the moment of speaking I cannot suitably express my
meaning, you must excuse me, considering that to form approved likenesses
of human things is the reverse of easy. This is what I want to suggest to
you, and at the same time to beg, Socrates, that I may have not less, but
more indulgence conceded to me in what I am about to say. Which favour, if
I am right in asking, I hope that you will be ready to grant.

SOCRATES: Certainly, Critias, we will grant your request, and we will
grant the same by anticipation to Hermocrates, as well as to you and
Timaeus; for I have no doubt that when his turn comes a little while hence,
he will make the same request which you have made. In order, then, that he
may provide himself with a fresh beginning, and not be compelled to say the
same things over again, let him understand that the indulgence is already
extended by anticipation to him. And now, friend Critias, I will announce
to you the judgment of the theatre. They are of opinion that the last
performer was wonderfully successful, and that you will need a great deal
of indulgence before you will be able to take his place.

HERMOCRATES: The warning, Socrates, which you have addressed to him, I
must also take to myself. But remember, Critias, that faint heart never
yet raised a trophy; and therefore you must go and attack the argument like
a man. First invoke Apollo and the Muses, and then let us hear you sound
the praises and show forth the virtues of your ancient citizens.

CRITIAS: Friend Hermocrates, you, who are stationed last and have another
in front of you, have not lost heart as yet; the gravity of the situation
will soon be revealed to you; meanwhile I accept your exhortations and
encouragements. But besides the gods and goddesses whom you have
mentioned, I would specially invoke Mnemosyne; for all the important part
of my discourse is dependent on her favour, and if I can recollect and
recite enough of what was said by the priests and brought hither by Solon,
I doubt not that I shall satisfy the requirements of this theatre. And
now, making no more excuses, I will proceed.

Let me begin by observing first of all, that nine thousand was the sum of
years which had elapsed since the war which was said to have taken place
between those who dwelt outside the pillars of Heracles and all who dwelt
within them; this war I am going to describe. Of the combatants on the one
side, the city of Athens was reported to have been the leader and to have
fought out the war; the combatants on the other side were commanded by the
kings of Atlantis, which, as I was saying, was an island greater in extent
than Libya and Asia, and when afterwards sunk by an earthquake, became an
impassable barrier of mud to voyagers sailing from hence to any part of the
ocean. The progress of the history will unfold the various nations of
barbarians and families of Hellenes which then existed, as they
successively appear on the scene; but I must describe first of all the
Athenians of that day, and their enemies who fought with them, and then the
respective powers and governments of the two kingdoms. Let us give the
precedence to Athens.

In the days of old, the gods had the whole earth distributed among them by
allotment (Cp. Polit.) There was no quarrelling; for you cannot rightly
suppose that the gods did not know what was proper for each of them to
have, or, knowing this, that they would seek to procure for themselves by
contention that which more properly belonged to others. They all of them
by just apportionment obtained what they wanted, and peopled their own
districts; and when they had peopled them they tended us, their nurselings
and possessions, as shepherds tend their flocks, excepting only that they
did not use blows or bodily force, as shepherds do, but governed us like
pilots from the stern of the vessel, which is an easy way of guiding
animals, holding our souls by the rudder of persuasion according to their
own pleasure;--thus did they guide all mortal creatures. Now different
gods had their allotments in different places which they set in order.
Hephaestus and Athene, who were brother and sister, and sprang from the
same father, having a common nature, and being united also in the love of
philosophy and art, both obtained as their common portion this land, which
was naturally adapted for wisdom and virtue; and there they implanted brave
children of the soil, and put into their minds the order of government;
their names are preserved, but their actions have disappeared by reason of
the destruction of those who received the tradition, and the lapse of ages.
For when there were any survivors, as I have already said, they were men
who dwelt in the mountains; and they were ignorant of the art of writing,
and had heard only the names of the chiefs of the land, but very little
about their actions. The names they were willing enough to give to their
children; but the virtues and the laws of their predecessors, they knew
only by obscure traditions; and as they themselves and their children
lacked for many generations the necessaries of life, they directed their
attention to the supply of their wants, and of them they conversed, to the
neglect of events that had happened in times long past; for mythology and
the enquiry into antiquity are first introduced into cities when they begin
to have leisure (Cp. Arist. Metaphys.), and when they see that the
necessaries of life have already been provided, but not before. And this
is the reason why the names of the ancients have been preserved to us and
not their actions. This I infer because Solon said that the priests in
their narrative of that war mentioned most of the names which are recorded
prior to the time of Theseus, such as Cecrops, and Erechtheus, and
Erichthonius, and Erysichthon, and the names of the women in like manner.
Moreover, since military pursuits were then common to men and women, the
men of those days in accordance with the custom of the time set up a figure
and image of the goddess in full armour, to be a testimony that all animals
which associate together, male as well as female, may, if they please,
practise in common the virtue which belongs to them without distinction of
sex.

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