One of the world’s greatest feats, namely the Lost City of Atlantis, deserves nothing short of the best in introduction; so here we go. A fictional utopia fondly discussed by Plato, it was his basis for the Ideal Society. Legend has it that the beautiful city from our childhood, Atlantis, was built by the Greek god Poseidon for his mortal wife Cleito. Falling in love with her, he took it upon himself to build one of the most beautiful and historic cities ever known to grace the face of the Earth. For more incredible facts on this fascinating city, scroll down and enjoy!

Fact 1: Greek myths tell us the tale of the beautiful city of Atlantis, which was created by none other than Poseidon, the god of the seas, when he fell hopelessly in love with the beautiful mortal woman Cleito. The story goes that the entire city was a labor of love built on top of a hill and called Atlantis, and it is believed that only those who lived there were far more beautiful and intelligent than the rest who didn’t. He had sprawling moats and towering pillars surround the hill in the hopes that Cleito couldn’t escape, because he was skeptical of her loyalty and wished to keep her captive. Poseidon’s new wife bore him 10 children, five pairs of twin sons.

Fact 2: Their 10 sons, the eldest being Atlas, grew up to inherit the beautiful city and reign over it. In honor of their father Poseidon, they erected a temple in the heart of the city that’s so high up that clouds breeze through it. In the heart of the temple lies a towering statue of the god of the sea in pure gold. He is depicted riding his chariot of winged horses.

Fact 3: The historical city wasn’t blessed with just looks; it was blessed with rare stones, gems, as well as minerals that could sustain a couple hundred other cities for a lifetime! From rare metals like brass to stones and crystals, this city was blessed beyond belief.

Fact 4: Get this: it’s believed that the only way you could enter the lost city was if you took a flight to Egypt and found yourself sitting at the right paw of the Sphinx. It’s said to be in place for the sole purpose of protecting the city, and it will lift its paw once more when the time is right. Atlantis is believed to be able to rise from the sea once more when the proper time comes. *Cue magical background music.*

Fact 5: If Atlantis were still up and running today, it would be bigger than the whole of Asia or Libya. And if you thought that was pretty big, if you combine the two areas, Atlantis would still be bigger! Just imagine the size of the thing. Incredible.

Fact 6: Where exactly does the beautiful city lie? Well, if you go flipping through the dialogues of Plato, you’ll note that he mentions the city lying beneath the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. However, our technology today can’t seem to find anything that registers as the great city on any sea bed. For thousands of years, the world believed Azores to be the site of the city, but new research has surfaced claiming Atlantis could possibly be resting between the waters of Morocco and Spain.

Fact 7: Atlantis was self-sufficient! The great city boasted herds of healthy animals, as well as fields of produce, that kept the people and the city running. Beautiful buildings can also be found erected throughout the city showing us that the people, aside from their skills in agriculture and animal husbandry, were master builders as well.

Fact 8: Beautiful people only? The great city had a reputation for being home to the most beautiful half-mortal and half-god creatures, which meant they were all statuesque and crazy beautiful. Basically, it was a Utopia for the crème of the crop. Plato’s thoughts on the matter concluded that Atlantis was a source of great Naval power; after all, a city with lush islands and unfathomable amounts of riches is something that deserves a title.

Fact 9: Poseidon made his eldest son Atlas king, as well as the kingdom’s namesake. It was under his rule that the city grew larger and more powerful, even conquering Africa as well as Europe. The Atlanteans grew too powerful; and with that, the gods devised a way to punish them. How the divine punishment was executed, you ask? By floods and earthquakes, of course! The great city eventually found itself deep into the ocean.

Fact 10: Back in 1679, a Swedish scientist by the name of Olaus Rudbeck published his four-volume book entitled Atland, where he tried to persuade readers that the lost city’s original site was Sweden, and because of that, all human languages descended from Swedish.