Even today, Atlantis represents the ultimate lost civilization, a symbol of a once advanced and harmonious human society that vanished in an ancient time we never knew. But when did this myth begin? Is there any truth to it? And why does it still hold such power in our imagination?

The earliest texts about Atlantis are two dialogues by Plato from the fourth century BC: the *Timaeus* and the *Critias*. In them, he describes this immensely powerful civilization located on a large island-continent beyond the Pillars of Hercules. Yet, in a single day and night, the island sank into the ocean, disappearing forever. Plato often used fantastical stories and myths as a means to discuss the society and politics of his time. In fact, in antiquity, almost no one believed in the real existence of Atlantis, and by the Middle Ages, the legend was completely forgotten.

What brought Atlantis back to the forefront? The discovery of America, which undeniably proved the existence of new continents and civilizations. So, why exclude the possibility that Atlantis once existed? The myth then gained a strength that has never faded, and many scholars (some quite serious, others less so...) have discussed it and tried to pinpoint Atlantis' exact location. The list is long (from Bacon to Rudbeck, from Kircher to Donnelly), and the fascination remains unchanged, reaching even into modern times. A quick online search will show countless pages dedicated to Atlantis.

But why has a story born from the mind of an ancient philosopher, with no historical or archaeological evidence to support it, enchanted and continues to enchant so many people?

Perhaps because it reflects an idea common to many different civilizations: that of a golden age, a Garden of Eden where humans once lived happily and in harmony, a mythical time forever lost in a moment. The importance of Atlantis, then, does not lie in its historical reality or in finding it, but in its search, understood as a goal towards which humanity instinctively strives—an incredibly fragile dream.