He spoke of it as a sophisticated antediluvian empire that flourished for eons on a now submerged continent in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, from where the Atlantic ocean gets its name.

The ancient Egyptians, via Plato, maintained that the Atlanteans possessed advanced ancient spiritual technology and wisdom, which the Greeks called Gnosis. Gnosis is a feminine Greek noun, which means “knowledge”. In the Hellenistic era the term became associated with the mystery cults and was used to describe an intuitive wisdom, as opposed to a common externally derived intellectual knowledge. Plato wrote:

“For many generations…they obeyed the laws and loved the divine to which they were akin…they reckoned that qualities of character were far more important than their present prosperity. So they bore the burden of their wealth and possessions lightly, and did not let their high standard of living intoxicate them or make them lose their self-control…

But when the divine element in them became weakened…and their human traits became predominant, they ceased to be able to carry their prosperity with moderation.”

―Plato, Timaeus