Atlantis and Syracuse

Syracuse was the place where Plato tried to approach his ideal state in reality - and failed because of the decadence and unjustness of the city and its ruler. Indeed Syracuse shares many similarities with Plato's Atlantis: Like Atlantis it was situated on a large and fertile island in the west a city of abundant wealth and power. As in Atlantis the ruler's castle and magnificent temples were gathered on a small island. As in Atlantis there were several harbors quarries and walls encircling the city. And like Atlantis Syracuse waged war with Athens. But what sounds like a hot trail to decipher the enigma of Plato's Atlantis lay forgotten for a long time: As early as 1917 far ahead of his time Gunnar Rudberg wrote this most coherent scientific analysis. The world did not however take notice of a Swedish text. Translated now for the first time Rudberg's thesis is still a very good read on Plato's Atlantis presenting not only one of the most credible solutions for Plato's Atlantis but also offering an introduction to Atlantis research in general; the work confronts today's prevailing hypotheses with valuable criticism. Also included is a remarkable classification scheme of ancient and modern Atlantis hypotheses.