Born to a prominent aristocratic Athenian family, Plato (428-348 B.C.E.) grew up during the 27 Peloponnesian war between Athens and Sparta that ended, in 404 B.C.E., with the surrender of Athens and the overthrow of the world's first democracy. Instead of taking up the political life for which his family had prepared him, Plato became a disciple of Socrates and went on to become one of the greatest and most influential philosophers of all time. Among his many achievements, he founded what would become the avatar of today's university, the Academy, a center for the advancement of wisdom and training ground for philosophers. The Academy lasted nearly a thousand years. Under Plato's direction, it also spawned a slew of scientific and mathematical innovations, linking fifth century B. C. Pythagorean mathematics with Egyptian geometry and arithmetic done in Alexandria.
Unlike his beloved mentor Socrates, who wrote nothing, Plato was prolific. He produced more than two dozen dialogues that cover nearly every topic. Their impact upon western though has been so great that the twentieth century philosopher Alfred North Whitehead called the entire history of western philosophy "a series of footnotes to Plato."
