But in primitive times
the hill of the Acropolis extended to the Eridanus and Ilissus,
and included the Pnyx on one side, and the Lycabettus as a
boundary on the opposite side to the Pnyx, and was all well
covered with soil, and level at the top, except in one or two
places. Outside the Acropolis and under the sides of the hill
there dwelt artisans, and such of the husbandmen as were tilling
the ground near; the warrior class dwelt by themselves around the
temples of Athene and Hephaestus at the summit, which moreover
they had enclosed with a single fence like the garden of a single
house. On the north side they had dwellings in common and had
erected halls for dining in winter, and had all the buildings
which they needed for their common life, besides temples, but
there was no adorning of them with gold and silver, for they made
no use of these for any purpose; they took a middle course
between meanness and ostentation, and built modest houses in
which they and their children's children grew old, and they
handed them down to others who were like themselves, always the
same. But in summer-time they left their gardens and gymnasia and
dining halls, and then the southern side of the hill was made use
of by them for the same purpose. Where the Acropolis now is there
was a fountain, which was choked by the earthquake, and has left
only the few small streams which still exist in the vicinity, but
in those days the fountain gave an abundant supply of water for
all and of suitable temperature in summer and in winter. This is
how they dwelt, being the guardians of their own citizens and the
leaders of the Hellenes, who were their willing followers. And
they took care to preserve the same number of men and women
through all time, being so many as were required for warlike
purposes, then as now-that is to say, about twenty thousand. Such
were the ancient Athenians, and after this manner they
righteously administered their own land and the rest of Hellas;
they were renowned all over Europe and Asia for the beauty of
their persons and for the many virtues of their souls, and of all
men who lived in those days they were the most illustrious. And
next, if I have not forgotten what I heard when I was a child, I
will impart to you the character and origin of their adversaries.
For friends should not keep their stories to themselves, but have
them in common.
Yet, before proceeding further in the narrative, I ought to
warn you, that you must not be surprised if you should perhaps
hear Hellenic names given to foreigners. I will tell you the
reason of this: Solon, who was intending to use the tale for his
poem, enquired into the meaning of the names, and found that the
early Egyptians in writing them down had translated them into
their own language, and he recovered the meaning of the several
names and when copying them out again translated them into our
language. My great-grandfather, Dropides, had the original
writing, which is still in my possession, and was carefully
studied by me when I was a child. Therefore if you hear names
such as are used in this country, you must not be surprised, for
I have told how they came to be introduced. The tale, which was
of great length, began as follows:-
I have before remarked in speaking of the allotments of the
gods, that they distributed the whole earth into portions
differing in extent, and made for themselves temples and
instituted sacrifices. And Poseidon, receiving for his lot the
island of Atlantis, begat children by a mortal woman, and settled
them in a part of the island, which I will describe. Looking
towards the sea, but in the centre of the whole island, there was
a plain which is said to have been the fairest of all plains and
very fertile. Near the plain again, and also in the centre of the
island at a distance of about fifty stadia, there was a mountain
not very high on any side.
In this mountain there dwelt one of the earth born primeval
men of that country, whose name was Evenor, and he had a wife
named Leucippe, and they had an only daughter who was called
Cleito. The maiden had already reached womanhood, when her father
and mother died; Poseidon fell in love with her and had
intercourse with her, and breaking the ground, inclosed the hill
in which she dwelt all round, making alternate zones of sea and
land larger and smaller, encircling one another; there were two
of land and three of water, which he turned as with a lathe, each
having its circumference equidistant every way from the centre,
so that no man could get to the island, for ships and voyages
were not as yet. He himself, being a god, found no difficulty in
making special arrangements for the centre island, bringing up
two springs of water from beneath the earth, one of warm water
and the other of cold, and making every variety of food to spring
up abundantly from the soil. He also begat and brought up five
pairs of twin male children; and dividing the island of Atlantis
into ten portions, he gave to the first-born of the eldest pair
his mother's dwelling and the surrounding allotment, which was
the largest and best, and made him king over the rest; the others
he made princes, and gave them rule over many men, and a large
territory. And he named them all; the eldest, who was the first
king, he named Atlas, and after him the whole island and the
ocean were called Atlantic. To his twin brother, who was born
after him, and obtained as his lot the extremity of the island
towards the Pillars of Heracles, facing the country which is now
called the region of Gades in that part of the world, he gave the
name which in the Hellenic language is Eumelus, in the language
of the country which is named after him, Gadeirus.
