Critias, Plato
Critias, Plato
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Critias

Author: Plato

Narrator: Graham Dunlop

Unabridged: 41 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 06/16/2025

Categories: Nonfiction, History

Synopsis

Plato’s Critias is the foundational source of one of the most enduring mysteries in human history: the lost civilization of Atlantis. In this unfinished dialogue, Plato unveils a majestic tale passed down through Solon from ancient Egyptian priests—of a powerful empire beyond the Pillars of Heracles, rich in technology, beauty, and ambition.But this is no mere fantasy. Critias blends myth, philosophy, and political allegory to offer a cautionary vision: the rise and fall of a mighty civilization undone by its hubris. Through detailed descriptions of Atlantis’s geography, military power, and social organization, Plato reveals not only a mythic past but a philosophical warning to the future.Why did Atlantis fall? What makes a society just or unjust? What happens when divine order is abandoned for mortal pride? Though the dialogue ends abruptly, its impact has echoed through millennia—fueling imaginations, explorations, and philosophical debates ever since.This audiobook delivers Critias in its full glory: a glimpse into Plato’s unfinished vision of a civilization that may have once been—or was meant to be a mirror of our own.

About Plato

Plato (427-347 B.C.) was a classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, writer, and student of Socrates. Most of his works, which form some of the core foundations of Western philosophy, are written in the form of dialogues, in which Socrates often figures prominently. His best-known writings include the Republic, the Apology, the Symposium, Crito, and Statesman. Plato's work addresses such diverse themes as the nature of love, human knowledge and understanding, and the ideal form of government.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Glenn on November 27, 2022

Critias is a short Platonic dialogue. Actually, only the beginning portion of the dialogue survives - the dialogue breaks off at the point where Critias, the main speaker, describes in more depth ancient Athens and the lost island of Atlantis. Nothing like a lost, ancient civilization to spark the c......more

Goodreads review by Michael on December 30, 2019

I confess, I've been struggling to reach my quota of 52 books for this year's reading challenge, and that's part of the reason why I picked this short book. (It's down to the wire now; I'll be finishing my last book on New Year's Eve.) But in spite of its short length, it was a satisfying read. I've......more

Goodreads review by David on January 16, 2019

Welcome to Atlantis 15 January 2019 This incomplete ancient book has certainly triggered quite a stir over the centuries, particularly in the modern age. In fact, from all of my readings of historical and early literature, it really only seems that the whole Atlantis fad is a recent phenomena, which......more

Goodreads review by Kyle on February 22, 2016

Few people are aware of the fact that the mythical city of Atlantis was invented by Plato. In this dialogue, he explores this utopia in ridiculously annoying detail with excessive technological jargon. What we have now is a "skeleton whose bones are all that remain." The dialogue also cuts off mid-s......more

Goodreads review by Tyler on April 26, 2018

Really only worth it for the end. To think a society like Atlantis existed, even in a rough approximation to what was described, is an exciting prospect, theologically. Much like the Tower of Babel, this civilization was punished for their pride and extravagance. And many could learn from this.......more

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