Q 01/05

Which philosopher's works are the only primary sources for the story of Atlantis?

A) Aristotle

B) Homer

C) Herodotus

D) Plato

Answer · why

D) Plato

Every later mention of the island traces back to two of his dialogues.

Q 02/05

In which two of Plato's dialogues does the story of Atlantis appear?

A) Timaeus and Critias

B) Meno and Gorgias

C) Phaedo and Symposium

D) Protagoras and Parmenides

Answer · why

A) Timaeus and Critias

Timaeus and Critias open what looks like a planned trilogy, but the Critias breaks off mid-story and no third dialogue is known.

Q 03/05

Plato's full Greek name for the land, Atlantis nesos, literally means what?

A) Western sea

B) Island of Atlas

C) Sunken land

D) Mountain of Atlas

Answer · why

B) Island of Atlas

Island of Atlas: in Plato's tale this Atlas is not the sky-bearing Titan but the island's first king, a son of its divine founder, and the surrounding...

Q 04/05

Plato says the story reached Greece through which famous lawgiver, who heard it from priests in Egypt?

A) Lycurgus

B) Cleisthenes

C) Solon

D) Draco

Answer · why

C) Solon

Solon, Plato says, meant to turn the tale into an epic that might have rivalled Homer, but political strife at home left him no time to write it.

Q 05/05

According to Plato, Atlantis lay beyond what landmark?

A) The Cape of Storms

B) The Pillars of Hercules

C) The Nile Delta

D) The Bosporus Strait

Answer · why

B) The Pillars of Hercules

The Pillars of Hercules are the rocks flanking the Strait of Gibraltar, which the hero was said to have set up to mark the farthest limit of his trave...