Biography of Plato

Plato was born in 427 B.C. in Athens. Plato's birth name was "Aristocles", but he later received the nickname "Platon", which mean broad. He was given this nickname because he had a broad build. Plato was the youngest son of his parents, Ariston and Perictione. Both of Plato's parents came from famous and wealthy Athenian families. Ariston died when Plato was a young man. Short after the death of Ariston, Perictione married a man named Pyrilampes. Palto was mostly brought up in Pyrilampes' house, where he had a mentor named Cratylus.

His family had a history in politics, and Plato was destined to a life in keeping with this history. He studied at a gymnasium owned by Dionysios, and at the palaistra of Ariston of Argos. When he was young he studied music and poetry. According to Aristotle, Plato developed the foundations of his metaphysics and epistemology by studying the doctrines of Cratylus, and the work of Pythagoras and Parmenides. When Plato met Socrates, however, he had met his definitive teacher. As Socrates' disciple, Plato adopted his philosophy and style of debate, and directed his studies toward the question of virtue and the formation of a noble character.
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Besides being absolutely brilliant, Plato served in the military. He served from 409-404 B.C. After the Peloponnesian war ended in 404 B.C., Plato was more interested in being politically successful rather than militarily successful. Plato was then invited by Charmides (his uncle) to join the oligarchic tyranny, which was called "Thirty Tyrants".

As a young boy, Plato had an encounter with Socrates, and ever since then he had become a great follower of Socrates. this is important in Plato's life because while he was one of the Thirty Tyrants, Socrates was sentenced to death for impiety and corruption of the youth. this devastated Plato. Plato was so desperate to keep Socrates alive, that he offered to pay bail for Socrates, but his money wasn't accepted.

In about 387 B.C., Plato founded a school in Athens, which he called "Academy". This is where we get the word "academics" from today. The students of the Academy were introduced to physical science, astronomy,mathematics, and philosophy. most of Plato's life was dedicated to teaching at and running the Academy. The Academy, where Aristotle learned and later taught, was so successful that it continued functioning many years after Plato's death.

Plato died in 347 B.C. (at the age of 80). He was buried in the ground at the Academy. By this point, Aristotle had been involved with the Academy for about 20 years, as both a student and teacher. Yet he still did not succeed at the head of the Academy. Instead Aristotle's nephew, Speusippus, succeeded at the head of the academy.

Nardo, Don. Lost Civilizations:The Ancient Greeks. San Diego Ca: Lucent Books, 2001.

Nardo, Don. Living in Ancient Greece. Farmington Hills MI: Green Haven Press, 2004

Essential Ideas of Meno

When Plato was a young man, he had a mentor named Socrates. Plato gained much knowledge from the teachings of Socrates. Socrates taught Plato how to think, and what kind of questions he should think about. When Socrates died,Plato began to write down the conversations that he had with people; he later wrote down his own thoughts and ideas. Not only did Plato become incredibly intelligent from the teachings of Socrates, he became the mentor of Aristotle. (Nardo,55)

Socrates was a great Athenian philosopher. He was born in the fifth century B.C., the golden age of Greece. Socrates didn't write down any of his own works. Other people, such as Plato, wrote down conversations that they heard him have with people.Socrates was put to death in 399 B.C. because he didn't believe in the Greek gods.(Kreeft)

Plato is the author of Meno. Plato is one of the greatest philosophers of all time. He was born in 429 B.C., this was around the time that Pericles died and Alexander the Great was born. Plato was born into a wealthy and aristocratic family in Athens.

The conversation of Meno was written in about 380 B.C.E. Meno took place around 402 B.C.E. The whole conversation of Meno began with Meno asking Socrates if virtue could be taught. Meno thinks of many possible definitions of virtue, but each one is ripped to shreds by the brilliant mind of Socrates.

"Important and recurring Platonic themes are introduced in the Meno, including the form of the Socratic dialogue itself. Socrates attempts to dissect an ethical term by questioning a person who claims to know the term's meaning, and eventually concludes that neither he nor the "expert" really know what the term means. Other important themes raised here in an early form include that of amanuensis (the idea that the soul is eternal, knows everything, and only has to "recollect" in order to learn) and that of virtue as a kind of wisdom." (source)

Meno is ended in such a way that is unsatisfying to the reader. All of the characters that Socrates it speaking to are completely perplexed. We now call this a state of Socratic aporia. By the end of Meno you still aren't sure what virtue is. Socrates never actually defines virtue; this is the reason for the implied Socratic aporia.

Kreeft, Peter. What Would Socrates Do?: The History of Moral Thought and Ethics (CD 2, Lecture 3-Being Good and Being Wise:Can Virtue Be Taught). New York, NY: Barnes and Noble, 2004.

Nardo, Don. Lost Civilizations:The Ancient Greeks. San Diego Ca: Lucent Books, 2001.

Advances in Ancient Greek Archiecture

The Greeks were known for their extravagant architectural design. Not only were the Greeks' designs beautiful and extremely detailed, they are the inspiration of many buildings, today. The most common materials used in Greek architecture were wood, unbaked brick, limestone, bronze, and marble. These building materials were used in the construction of religious, civic, domestic, funerary, and recreational buildings.(Nardo,28)

Most of the knowledge we have of Greek architecture, comes from 550-500 B.C., which is also known as the late archaic period. During this period, temples were built in numbers. There were three different types of architecture created during this time: Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian.

An example of a Doric style building is the Parthenon in Athens. The Parthenon is a temple, dedicated to the Greek goddess Athena. In 447 B.C., when the Athenian empire was at the height of its power, construction of the Parthenon began. The Parthenon was finally completed in 432 B.C. The Parthenon is a symbol of great power of Pericles,the Athenian politician.(Nardo,10)

The Erechtheum, an Ionic temple built in the middle classical period of Greece, sat upon the Acropolis of Athens. The construction time of the Erechtheum was about 16 years (421-405 B.C.). In this enormous temple, there were sanctuaries dedicated to Athena, Poseidon, and Erechtheus.

The Corinthian style of building, was used on temples and on the Roman capital. One temple it was used in was the temple of Zeus. This was not the only temple Corinthian order was used in, but perhaps the most notable. Corinthian order came into full bloom in the fourth century B.C. Corinthian order was the least used of all other orders used in Greece.

These are some examples of the advances in ancient Greek architecture.


Nardo, Don. Lost Civilizations:The Ancient Greeks. San Diego Ca: Lucent Books, 2001.

Nardo, Don. Living in Ancient Greece. Farmington Hills MI: Green Haven Press, 2004