Atlantis (Greek: Atlantis) is an island described by Plato, whose existence has never been proven. According to Plato, the island was located west of the Pillars of Heracles, which have been interpreted as the Strait of Gibraltar. Atlantis was said to have been the most powerful kingdom on Earth during its time.

The uncertain identity of Atlantis has inspired writers and others to propose numerous theories, often linking it to other ancient cultures around the Mediterranean, islands or hypothetical islands in the Atlantic Ocean, or lands bordering the Atlantic. Within academic research, Plato’s texts about Atlantis are generally regarded as a description of a fictional ideal state.

It is equally likely, however, that Atlantis is a completely fictional story intended to glorify the morality of the ancient Athenians. Moreover, later European folklore contains many legends based on a similar concept, involving cities or regions that sank into the sea or the earth because of the sinful or otherwise blameworthy behavior of their inhabitants.

Olof Rudbeck the Elder claimed in his major work Atland eller Manheim (1679–1702) that Atlantis, the cradle of civilization, was identical to Sweden. Gustaf Fröding dreamed in his poem Atlantis of “shining white facades” on the seabed (New Poems, 1894). For Francis Bacon, Atlantis symbolized the ideal city of science. Later science fiction writers have also been drawn to the theme.

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