The Greek philosopher Plato is the source of the legend. He described Atlantis in his dialogue "Kritias" five years after having mentioned it in "Timaios" for the first time.
He explained that Atlantis had existed nine thousand years before his time. It had been a land which may be called a continent by all rights, because it had been larger than Asia and Libya taken together (this referred to the known parts of the Near East and northern Africa). It had been located beyond the Straight of Gibraltar, taking a ship some weeks to travel there.
Much of what Plato describes seems more than
unlikely and for instance the timeframe mentioned cannot be matched
with the account of the people of Atlantis fighting against Athens,
which was founded only much later. Since Plato's story sounds too
fantastic, a hundred times more artists and writers have
investigated this legend than serious scientists.
On the other hand his descriptions are very detailed and even if not
everything can be true, there is much room for speculation:
Which parts of Plato's account are true ...?
