also, if you go and check out Homer's description of Troy, there isn't the level of detail that Plato provides for Atlantis, or at least his understanding of Atlantis. Whether or not Atlantis existed, it would seem to me that at least Plato thought of fit as a real place rather than an allegorical one.

Usually when a mythical city is described, the author highlights their mystery, utopian qualities, or moral lessons they impart, rather than providing a blueprint of their layout and structure.

Some people have pointed out that the layout is similar to Syracuse, which Plato had recently been living in.

There is a map of Middle-Earth. It doesn't mean the place is real.

The map of middle earth isn't in the middle of a philosophical treatise on understanding the nature of the physical world and the composition of the universe..... :/

It's rather in the middle of a story populated with (demi-)gods interfering in the affairs of men, mythical creatures, and heroes of elvish descent. And hobbitses. Filthy, nasty hobbitses!

:)

And Utopia is.. it’s perfectly valid genre. Inventing a fantasy world to convey your theoretical ideas in a more approachable way seems like a very sensible approach.

For that matter Tolkien to claims that his world is actually set on our planet just thousands of years ago.

> whats strange is that plato's account of Atlantis is detialed with specific measurements and descriptions of the layout of the city

Not at all strange . The opposite, that’s exactly what I would expect from an author designing a sci-fi/fantasy/fictional world. If it was based on some old myth one would expect the complete opposite of that (vague and uncertain descriptions)

> Plato didnt have a track record of fabricating tales completel

Do you believe that’s what all people who write fiction do? Fabricate tales?

> especially since he presents atlantis in a matter-of-fact way within dialogues that are otherwise serious philosophical texts.

Yes, many authors did or still do that.