Why today's leaders should pay heed to Plato's tales of an ideal state, and its ruin

The myth of Atlantis has fascinated people for centuries. Plato's dialogues Timaeus and Critias imagine an enormous island paradise, home to a prosperous society. But the Atlanteans degenerate and engage Athens in an imperialist war, before a cataclysmic natural disaster plunges Atlantis beneath the waves.

This new translation of the dialogues, with commentary and critical discussion, makes clear their contemporary relevance. The author follows the quest for the island from Scandinavia to Antarctica, and also explores how the myth of Atlantis has been interpreted and manipulated by successive generations - used by the Conquistadors to justify their annexations in the sixteenth century, and by Himmler to prove the Aryan supremacy in the twentieth. Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.

Plato's dialogues appear remarkably prescient in our 'post-truth' world. Not because they invite a search for a mysterious lost continent, but because of their warnings about the pernicious effects of wealth and power on a ruling class: Atlantis-style luxury, excess, corruption and imperialism can lead only to decay and disaster. The Timaeus and Critias should be prescribed reading for every political leader.