17-03-2000, 14:44
Notre ami "Fangorn" m'a indiqué hier soir quelques corrections, et a relevé quelques passages d'intérêt dans le Timée et le Critias de Platon.
Dans le Critias en particulier, la part divine des Atlantes (nés de l'union du Dieu Poséidon avec une mortelle) diminue à mesure qu'ils se mèlent aux autres mortels. Parallèlement, les Atlantes perdent leurs anciennes vertus divines (tempérance, grandeur) et deviennent ambitieux et avides de pouvoir. Les Dieux, menés par Zeus, décident alors de les châtier:
[121a](...) But when the portion of divinity within them was now becoming faint and weak through being ofttimes blended with a large measure of mortality, [121b] whereas the human temper was becoming dominant, then at length they lost their comeliness, through being unable to bear the burden of their possessions, and became ugly to look upon, in the eyes of him who has the gift of sight; for they had lost the fairest of their goods from the most precious of their parts; but in the eyes of those who have no gift of perceiving what is the truly happy life, it was then above all that they appeared to be superlatively fair and blessed, filled as they were with lawless ambition and power. And Zeus, the God of gods, who reigns by Law, inasmuch as he has the gift of perceiving such things, marked how this righteous race was in evil plight, and desired to inflict punishment upon them, to the end that when chastised they might strike a truer note.
On comparera avec profit ce thème à la Númenor de Tolkien...
Pour ceux qui voudraient regarder de plus prêt, les textes de Platon sont disponible en anglais sur le Perseus Project (d'où provient l'extrait cité ci-dessus). Vous pouvez même obtenir le texte en Grec ancien;-)
Didier.