A life sketch of Plato and his works

If Thales was the first of all the great Greek philosophers, Plato must remain the best known of all the Greeks. The original name of this Athenian aristocrat was Aristiclis, but in his school days he received the nickname "Platon" (meaning "broad") because of his broad shoulders.

Plato was born in Athens, Greece to one of the oldest and most distinguished families in the city. He lived with his mother, Perictione, and his father, Ariston (Until Ariston died.)

Born in an aristocratic and rich family, Plato’s childhood was indulged within luxury. But his life changed when he came across Socrates. Socrates, a Greek philosopher who lived from 470-399 BC. He devoted all his time with young citizens discussing philosophy and questioning their confidence in the truth of popular opinions. As a young man, Plato grew up wanting to be a politician. However, after Socrates' execution in 399 BC had a profound effect on Plato, and was perhaps the final event that convinced him to leave Athenian politics forever.To all accounts it appears that he left Athens for Megara, then went to visit Theodorus in Cyrene, moved on to study with the Pythagoreans in Italy, and finally to Egypt. During this period he studied the philosophy of his contemporaries, geometry, geology, astronomy and religion.

After 399 BC Plato began to write extensively. It is still up for debate whether he was writing before Socrates' death, and the order in which he wrote his major texts is also ...