"Plato the Philosopher"

Plato was born in 427 BC and died in 347

BC. In his early life Plato was exposed to war service and

political ambitions. However, he was never really sorrowful towards t

the Athenian democracy and he could not join wholeheartedly in its

government. He was a devoted follower of Socrates, whose disciple

he became in 409, BC and the execution of that philosopher by the

democrats in 399 BC was a crushing blow.

He left Athens, beleiving that until "Kings were

philosophers things would never go well with the world. (He traced

his family from the early kings of Athens and maybe he had himself

in mind.) For many years he visited the Greek cities of Africa and

Italy, taking in Pythagorean ideas, and then in 387 BC he

returned to Athens. There, the second half of his long life, he devoted

himself to philosophy. In the western suburbs he founded a school

that might be defined as the first university.

Because it was on the grounds that had once

belonged to a legendary Greek called The Academy, and this term

has been used for schools ever since. Plato received the customary

Athenian eductcation in poetry, music and gymnastics. At about the

age of nineteen he became a student and friend of a brilliant teacher,

the great Socrates. Plato stayed with him until the latter was put to

death in 399 B.C. The next ten years Plato spent in travel.

Tyrant of Syracuse had him sold as a slave. He was ransomed

by a friend and returned to Athens. From there ge set up a school

in the famous academy, a pleasure ground about a mile outside the

city.

Beneath the lofty trees, Plato taught philosophy

to the youth of Greece until his death at the age of eighty.