The Law on the Pillar
The ten kings keep their laws on a metal pillar and meet in secret to hunt a bull and judge one another.
The long age of the ten kings, as Plato tells it
What the text says
These were inscribed by the first kings on a pillar of orichalcum, which was situated in the middle of the island, at the temple of Poseidon
Critias 119c
hunted the bulls, without weapons, but with staves and nooses; and the bull which they caught they led up to the pillar and cut its throat over the top of it so that the blood fell upon the sacred inscription.
Critias 119e
all of them put on most beautiful azure robes, and, sitting on the ground, at night, over the embers of the sacrifices by which they had sworn
Critias 120b
They were not to take up arms against one another
Critias 120c
The story
Each of the ten kings rules his own land as he likes. But the rules between the kings come from Poseidon himself, and the first kings carve them on a pillar of orichalcum in the temple.
Every fifth year, then every sixth, the ten kings meet at the temple. Alone, with no weapons, only sticks and ropes, they hunt one of the bulls that roam the temple grounds. They lead the bull they catch to the pillar and sacrifice it so its blood runs over the words of the law.
They mix the blood with wine, drink from golden cups, and swear to judge by the pillar's laws. When night comes and the fire cools, they put on deep blue robes, put out every flame, and sit on the ground in the dark to judge one another. At dawn they write their judgments on a golden tablet.
Their most important rules: never fight each other, help one another if anyone tries to overthrow a royal family, and let the line of Atlas lead. Plato does not say whether any king ever broke these rules.
There is no evidence that this ceremony happened. People who link Atlantis to the Minoans of Crete point to Minoan art that shows young people leaping over bulls, a sign that bulls mattered in Minoan religion. That is a theory about where Plato might have drawn ideas, not proof of a connection.