The Atlantean invasion precipitated a conflict between the peoples outside (west of) and inside the Pillars, which initially went well for Atlantis: all of the land up to Tyrrhenia in modern-day Italy and the borders of Egypt were subjugated, and eventually the ancient Athens stood alone against the might of the western superpower.īut where - and what - were these 'Pillars'? Is there any dispute as to their location at the time Plato was writing? The Pillars of Heracles, a mysterious far-off location (from the ancient Greek perspective) commonly identified with the extremities of Europe and Africa on either side of the narrow Straits of Gibraltar, feature prominently in Plato's tale of Atlantis.

As for the Strait of Gibraltar, this was known in antiquity as the Pillars of Heracles, after the hero who was in this region during the latter stages of his legendary labours, rustling cattle on Erytheia (often associated with Gades) and meeting Atlas on the quest for the Apples of the Hesperides.

Monsters legends lord of atlantis