Timaeus

The Timaeus is Plato's grand vision of the universe: a cosmos shaped by a divine craftsman, structured by mathematics, and animated by a world soul. It is also the source of the legend of Atlantis. For more than two thousand years, this dialogue has shaped how readers imagine the order of nature and the place of human beings within it.

The dialogue opens with Socrates recalling the ideal state described the day before. Critias then tells, in outline, the story Solon heard in Egypt of ancient Athens and its victory over the island empire of Atlantis. Timaeus follows with a sweeping account of creation: the world soul, time as a moving image of eternity, the geometric structure of the elements, the receptacle in which things come to be, and the human body and soul.

This edition contains the complete dialogue in Benjamin Jowett's English translation, preceded by Jowett's own Introduction and Analysis. It also includes a new introduction, a guide to key ideas, a summary, a discussion of themes, a glossary and discussion questions, for students and general readers curious about ancient cosmology.