Plato - Short Biography

Plato

Plato was born on or around May 21, 427 in Athens. His real name was Aristocles. Plato (meaning broad) was his wrestling name. He was the child of Ariston and Perictione, both of Athenian aristocratic ancestry. He lived his whole life in Athens, although he traveled to various places such as Sicily and southern Italy on several occasions. Little is known of his early years, but he was given the finest education Athens had to offer. He devoted his considerable talents to politics and the writing of tragedy and other forms of poetry. During Plato’s youth he met Socrates’s, a famous philosopher, and soon became his pupil. The compelling power which Socrates's methods and arguments had over the minds of the youth of Athens gripped Plato as firmly as it did so many others, and he became a close associate of Socrates.

Socrates’s was an extremely outspoken man. He believed that everyone in power should be both moral and extremely intelligent, and when someone didn’t meet his qualifications, Socrates’s would publicly insult them. This ultimately led to his demise after he was unfairly put to death in court. Plato was deeply affected by this and as a result never took a role in politics even though he was greatly encouraged to do so. Even after Socrates’s death, Plato continued to use many of Socrates’s thoughts and ideas.

Education was always extremely important