Plato Report
The message of Plato, the ancient thinker and disciple of Socrates, summarized in this article.
Plato Report
In 427 BC, a boy Aristocles was born in Athens in a noble family. His father was a descendant of the emperor, and his mother was related to Solon, a famous statesman. Due to his high position in society, the young man received an excellent education. He was distinguished by diligence and hard work, for which he was named Plato at school. This nickname, meaning "wide," became his companion for life.
In 408 BC, his father brought Plato to a man whose meeting with him turned his whole life upside down. This man was Socrates. He told the young man that on the eve he had a dream about a white swan, personifying his new talented student. Plato was so inspired by the ideas of Socrates that he decided to devote his life to philosophy. For 8 years, the young man did not leave the teacher. In 399 BC, Socrates died, and Plato leaves Athens for the island of Megar.
In 396 BC, the philosopher decides to leave Greece due to the fact that the Spartans completely defeated the troops of Athens. And he was an opponent of Sparta and its political system. Plato decided to visit Egypt, which was famous for its magnificent architecture and engineering structures. He wanted to comprehend the ancient knowledge of the Egyptian priests. Therefore, for 3 years the philosopher lived in Heliopolis. From priesthood, Plato heard the legends of Atlantis and was eager to learn new knowledge, wandering around the world. He visited Babylon, Palestine, India and Persia. After 13 years, the philosopher returns to Egypt to receive the highest spiritual initiation. At the age of 49, the sage went through difficult trials, and received the Higher Esoteric Teaching from the Egyptian priests.
School opening by Plato
In 378 BC, the philosopher met the Pythagorean philosopher and the Italian ruler Archit. In a conversation with him, Plato fired up the idea of an "ideal state." In 366 BC, the sage proposed that Dionysius, king of Sicily, rebuild the existing state system and create an ideal state. But the conversation ended in failure - the ruler sold Plato into slavery. And no one knows how the life of a philosopher would have been if not for his comrade-in-arms and friend Annitserid, who bought Plato out of slavery.
He came to Athens in 361 BC and opened the famous philosophical school called the Academy. His students were the famous Lycurgus, Demosthenes, Aristotle.
For the past 14 years, Plato’s life has been calm and measured. He died in 347 BC at the age of 80.
Interesting facts about Plato:
- He loved to travel and managed to visit Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Phenicia, Egypt, India.
- Plato was an Olympic champion: he won 2 times in competitions in pankration, ancient martial arts, which combines wrestling and strikes.
- After the opening of his Academy, Plato invented a water clock. Leaking water from the upper tank compresses the air at the bottom with a fuse. When a certain pressure acts on the fuse, it leans back and pushes the compressed air into the flutist figure. The air passing through the flute causes a sharp sound and, thus, awakens students to classes.
- In his youth, he was engaged in composing dramatic plays and poems.
- The philosopher died at a wedding feast on his birthday.
We hope that the report about Plato helped you find out a lot of useful information about this ancient thinker. And you can leave your story about Plato through the comment form below.
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