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Who is Plato? Plato was born in Athens in 427 BC to
a well established aristocratic family. His father, Ariston,
could trace his lineage back to the old kings of Athens; his mother,
Perictione, was a sister of Charmides and the cousin of Critas, two
prominent figures in the Athenian oligarchy of 404-403 BC.
Plato also had two brothers, Glaucon and Adeimantus, who are portrayed
in his masterpiece, The Republic. Given this illustrious
background it is almost certain that Plato, as a Only a few years before Plato was born, Athens entered into a drawn-out war with Sparta (the Peloponnesian War), that eventually led to the decline of Athens' power in the Mediterranean world. Although he grew up during Athens' great experiment with democracy during the Fifth Century, it was certainly evident at this time that democracy was failing, and that some other type of political system was needed. Around the age of twenty, he became a disciple of Socrates, the father of Western philosophy. Socrates, as you may recall from reading the Apology, made it his mission to examine the beliefs of his fellow Athenians in order to help them and himself attain wisdom. Socrates' tenacious style of philosophical examination earned him a number of powerful enemies. In 399 BC he was tried on the charges of impiety and corruption of the city's youth, found guilty, and eventually forced to take his own life. The influence of Socrates on Plato's philosophical career cannot be understated. Plato was so taken by the character and ideas of Socrates that he used Socrates as the central figure in all his philosophical dialogues, and made considerable use of Socrates' method during his early part of his career. Disillusioned by the manner of
Socrates' death, Plato he gave up all thoughts of a political career,
dedicating himself instead wholly to philosophy. He left Athens
and for the next twelve years traveled around the Mediterranean,
studying philosophy, geometry, religion, and other sciences. During
this period, Plato was also invited to Syracuse, where he became
friendly with Dion, the bother-in-law of Dionysius, the tyrant of the
city. He would return to this city twice Eventually Plato returned to Athens in 387 to found his Academy, the aim of which was to philosophically educate the future leaders of Greek society. The Academy has been called the first European university, since its studies included, not just philosophy, but all the known sciences. Plato himself was said to have delivered many of the lectures at the Academy, although the notes from these lectures were never published. Among the most famous students of the Academy was Aristotle, who would later go on to found his own school, the Lyceum. Plato's Academy would continue to educate Athenian noblemen for several centuries, influencing most of the major philosophical schools of the Western world. Plato died at the age of 80 in 347 BC. Department of Philosophy | Sophia Project | Philosophy of Plato © 2000, M. Russo For more information contact: mrusso@molloy.edu |
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young man, was groomed
for a life of public service.
again (in 367 and 361) in a
futile effort to implement some of the political ideas that he had
developed in his Republic (Ep. 7). 