I'm not arguing that Atlantis was actually a real place, I'm arguing based on how it was written, based on his other works that use allegory, based on other wor

I'm not arguing that Atlantis was actually a real place, I'm arguing based on how it was written, based on his other works that use allegory, based on other works that are attributed to Plato and his use of allegory; I think Plato thought it was a real place. Plato mentions that the story was heard by Solon in Egypt, and transmitted orally over several generations through the family of Dropides, until it reached Critias( a dialogue speaker in Timaeus and Critias. ) Which is more likely, he completely made up Atlantis and all that detail in a very weird way, or he just reached for something that he thought was historically true that he came across during his life. Oral histories extremely important in the time that lead up to the time of Plato's life (and afterwards as well.) In the absence of widespread literacy and accessible writing materials, these oral narratives served as the primary medium through which historical events, cultural norms, legal statutes, and philosophical ideas were transmitted across generations. Socrates, Plato's teacher, famously never wrote anything down, his philosophy was preserved and passed down primarily through the oral accounts of his students. (Like Plato!) in "Phaedrus," Plato discusses the art of rhetoric and the importance of the spoken word over the written word, which can be seen as a nod to the value of oral tradition. So I don't think it's as binary as, fact or allegory. There are other facets, to how this description of Atlantis came to be.