- Plato was in military service from 409
BC to 404 BC
- At the end of the war he joined the
oligarchy of the Thirty Tyrants (headed by his uncle) in Athens set up
in 404 BC, but their violent ways caused him to leave quickly.
- 399 B.C., Execution of his teacher,
Socrates, greatly affected his life. It caused him not to pursue
politics in Athens and to leave Athens to travel to Egypt and other
places.
- War broke out and Plato joined the
military service again.
- 387 B.C., He founded the Academy school
in Athens
- Plato recorded the dialogues of his
teacher, Socrates, including Charmides, Lysis, and Euthyphro,
and later, the Republic, and the Laws .
- Plato died in 247 B.C.
- Plato's Academy flourished until 529 AD
when it was closed down by the Christian Emperor Justinian who claimed
it was a pagan establishment. Having survived for 900 years it is the
longest surviving university known.
Student of:
Cratylus and Socrates.
Teacher of:
Aristotle
Family:
Plato was the youngest son of Ariston and Perictione, both members of
prominent families in Athens, Greece.
Lifetime:
Plato was in the military during 409-404 B.C., during the time of the
Peloponnesian war.
After the war, he became involved with the
Oligarchy of Thirty Tyrants, a group brought to power by the
Spartans. His Uncle Critias was leader of this group. The
Thirty Tyrants maintained their position of power by implicating prominent
Athenians in their schemes. Plato was asked to arrest a particular
man and bring him to Athens for execution. He refused. If the
Thirty Tyrants had not been overthrown, and democracy was not reinstituted
in Athens, Plato most likely would have been killed for his
dissent.
The Execution of Socrates
in 399 BC by Hemlock poisoning caused Plato to give up his political
ambitions. Instead, he traveled to Egypt and Italy. In Italy,
he learned of the mathematical theories of Pythagoras.
In 387 B.C., Plato founded a school of
philosophy and science, which he called The Academy, for the purpose of
educating the youth of Athens for future political leadership.
Accomplishments:
Established his Own School of Philosophy.
Wrote The Following Philosophical Works, often dealing with art, science,
and ethics:
- Alcibiades
- Alcibiades
- Apology
- Axiochus
- Charmides
- Clitophon
- Cratylus
- Critias
- Crito
- Definitions
- Demodocus
- Epigrams
- Epinomis
- Eryxias
- Euthydemus
- Euthyphro
- Gorgias
- Halcyon
- Hipparchus
- Hippias Major (or Greater
Hippias)
- Hippias Minor (or Lesser
Hippias)
- Ion
- On Justice
- Laches
- Laws
- Letters
- Lysis
- Menexenus
- Meno
- Minos
- Parmenides
- Phaedo
- Phaedrus
- Philebus
- Protagoras
- Republic
- Rival Lovers
- Sisyphus
- Sophist
- Statesman
- Symposium
- Theaetetus
- Theages
- Timaeus
- On Virtue
Notable Quotes:
"We can easily forgive a child
who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid
of the light." - Plato (427-347 BC) |
