Plato

Plato was a philosopher during the 5th century BCE. He was a student of Socrates and later taught Aristotle. He founded the Academy, an academic program which many consider to be the first Western university. Plato wrote many philosophical texts—at least 25. He dedicated his life to learning and teaching and is hailed as one of the founders of Western philosophy.

Plato’s most famous work is the Republic, which details a wise society run by a philosopher. He is also famous for his dialogues (early, middle, and late), which showcase his metaphysical theory of forms—something else he is well known for. Plato also founded the Academy, an academic program that many consider to be the first Western university, where he stressed the importance of science and mathematics. Because of this, he became known as the “maker of mathematicians.”

Plato is one of history's most influential philosophers. His contributions range across numerous philosophical subfields, including (but not limited to) ethics, cosmology, and metaphysics. Though he was not a scientist in the modern sense, Plato also examined the natural world and the philosophical implications it held.

Plato was born in 428/427 BCE to a noble family and died in 348/347 BCE. He lived primarily in Athens, Greece. Plato’s birth occurred near the end of the Golden Age of Athens, and he grew up during the Peloponnesian War. He reached adulthood around the time of Sparta’s final defeat of Athens. After traveling, Plato spent the remainder of his life teaching at the Academy until his death in 348/347 BCE.

Plato did not have children, and it is assumed based on textual evidence that he never married. He did have a number of siblings, however: three brothers, Glaucon, Antiphon, and Adeimantus of Collytus, and one sister, Potone. His father, Ariston of Athens, died when he was young, and his mother, Perictione, remarried with her uncle Pyrilampes.