Plato

Introduction & Top Questions
Life
Dating, editing, translation
Dialogue form
Happiness and virtue
Dialectic
The theory of forms
- Linguistic and philosophical background
- Forms as perfect exemplars
- Forms as genera and species
Works individually described
- Early dialogues
- Middle dialogues
- Late dialogues
- Varia

Quotes References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images & Videos

Map of the Greco-Roman world highlighting the birthplaces of notable ancient mathematicians, marked with the pi symbol and labeled with their names. Cities such as Athens, Alexandria, Syracuse, and Miletus are shown around the Mediterranean, with modern country boundaries outlined. An inset provides detail for the region of Greece and western Anatolia.

View Yannis Simonides performing Socrates Now, a theatrical adaptation of Plato's Apology of Socrates, with remarks on Martin Luther King, Jr., and Nelson Mandela

Examine what is known about the ancient Athenian philosopher Socrates from Plato's dialogues and other sources

At a Glance

Plato summary

Quizzes

Marble bust of Alexander the Great, in the British Museum, London, England. Hellenistic Greek, 2nd-1st century BC. Said to be from Alexandria, Egypt. Height: 37 cm.

Ancient Greece

Portrait of Plato (ca. 428- ca. 348 BC), Ancient Greek philosopher.

An Odyssey of Grecian Literature

Agathon (centre) greeting guests in "Plato's Symposium" oil on canvas by Anselm Feuerbach, 1869; in the Staatliche Kunsthalle, Karlsruhe, Germany.

Philosophy 101

Related Questions

How are Plato’s early dialogues different from his middle and late dialogues?
How did Marsilio Ficino help give the word platonic its modern meaning?
How did Plato describe the relationship between political justice and individual justice?
How did Plato’s Laws differ from the ideal government described in the Republic?
How did Plato’s Symposium contribute to the idea of Platonic love?
How did Plato’s approach to learning differ from Aristotle’s?
How did the Peloponnesian War shape Plato’s political thinking?
How did the rule of the Thirty Tyrants influence Plato’s views of government?
How does Plato criticize rhetoric and political propaganda in Gorgias?
How does Plato define justice in the Republic?
How does Plato describe the three parts of the soul?
How does Plato’s Meno discuss whether virtue can be taught?
How does Plato’s Symposium describe love and beauty?
How does Plato’s allegory of the cave explain the difference between opinion and knowledge?
How does the recollection theory of learning appear in Plato’s Meno?
How long did Aristotle study at Plato’s Academy?
What did Plato think could cause democracy to turn into tyranny?
What do the shadows in Plato’s allegory of the cave represent?
What happens in Plato’s Apology?
When and where was Plato born?
When did Plato die?
Which members of Plato’s family appear in his dialogues?
Which question about courage is explored in Plato’s Laches?
Which question about piety is explored in Plato’s Euthyphro?
Which social classes make up Plato’s ideal state?
Which subjects were studied at Plato’s Academy?
Which works are considered Plato’s most important dialogues?
Who were Plato’s parents?
Why did Plato become distrustful of Athenian democracy?
Why did Plato limit private property for rulers and guardians in the Republic?
Why did Plato think philosophers should rule the ideal state?
Why does Plato examine justice in an ideal state in the Republic?
What did Plato do?
What is Plato known for?
When was Plato alive?
What was Plato’s family like?
What is Judith Jarvis Thomson known for?
What is the doctrine of double effect?
What is the trolley problem?
What did Judith Jarvis Thomson’s work on the trolley problem involve?
Who was Democritus?
What is Democritus known for?

Philosophy & Religion Philosophers

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External Websites

ABC listen - The Philosopher's Zone - A Plato for modern times
World History Encyclopedia - Life of Plato of Athens
Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy - Plato (427ï¿½347 BC)
Great Thinkers - Plato
Humanities LibreTexts - Plato
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy - Biography of Plato
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy - Biograpfy of Plato

Britannica Websites

Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

Plato - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
Plato - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

Plato

Greek philosopher

Written by

Constance C. Meinwald

Professor of Philosophy, University of Illinois, Chicago. Author of Plato's Parmenides and others.

Constance C. Meinwald

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

Britannica Editors

History

Plato (born 428/427 bce, Athens, Greece—died 348/347, Athens) was an ancient Greek philosopher, student of Socrates (c. 470–399 bce), teacher of Aristotle (384–322 bce), and founder of the Academy. He is best known as the author of philosophical works of unparalleled influence and is one of the major figures of Classical antiquity. Building on the demonstration by Socrates that those regarded as experts in ethical matters did not have the understanding necessary for a good...

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