Plato – 4th-century BCE Greek philosopher, student of Socrates and author of The Republic and The Symposium, founder of the Academy in Athens. His dialogues laid the foundations of Western philosophy, from the theory of Forms to political thought, shaping religion, science, and culture.
🏛 Plato’s Academy in Athens is considered Europe’s first university. 📜 His works take the form of dialogues, often with Socrates as the main voice. ✨ His theory of Forms shaped Christian theology and Neoplatonism. 🚢 Tradition says he traveled to Egypt and Southern Italy to study local wisdom. 👑 In The Republic, he proposed the philosopher-king as the ideal ruler. 🎭 He saw art as dangerous for the soul, calling it “a shadow of shadows.” 🌌 His “Allegory of the Cave” remains philosophy’s most famous parable. 📖 Medieval universities studied his texts alongside the Bible. 😂 Fun fact: his real name was Aristocles; the nickname “Plato” (“broad”) referred either to his shoulders or, as jokes go, to the breadth of his mind.