The Search for Atlantis: A History of Plato's Ideal State

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Product Details
Price
$27.95  $25.99
Publisher
Pegasus Books
Publish Date
Pages
432
Dimensions
5.9 X 1.4 X 8.5 inches | 1.0 pounds
Language
English
Type
Hardcover
EAN/UPC
9781681778594

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About the Author
Dr. Stephen P. Kershaw has spent the majority of his career in the world of the ancient Greeks, both intellectually and physically. He has been a Classics tutor for twenty-five years and currently teaches at Oxford University. Kershaw has been commissioned to write Oxford University's new course on the Minoans and Mycenaeans, which will include investigations into the Atlantis tale in relation to the eruption of the Santorini volcano. Kershaw also runs the European Studies Classical Tour for Rhodes College and the University of the South. He has written several books, including A Brief Guide to the Greek Myths and A Brief History of the Roman Empire. Dr. Kershaw lives in England.

Reviews
Mr. Kershaw's subject is not Plato's text but the ways in which readers have dealt with it over the millennia. As his exhaustive survey shows, Atlantis has been adapted to countless ideologies and agendas over time, serving the needs of every sort of reader--'harmless hippies or Heinrich Himmler, ' in Mr. Kershaw's memorable phrase. The tortured moves that Mr. Kershaw documents, by which the Atlantis myth has been recast as fact and willfully misread, remind us of how vital such distinctions are for a society striving to stay free.
In addition to presenting assorted bizarre theories, Kershaw explores Greek and Egyptian mythology, Homeric works, and mid-fifth-century Athenian culture. He believes Plato's message is 'a timeless one about the pernicious effects of wealth on the ruling class.' A treasure trove of information for readers seduced by the drowned land.
A comprehensive debunking of the idea that Atlantis is an actual historical location. Readers interested in the classics will find this satisfying.