As is common knowledge, Plato made three trips to Sicily in the latter part of his life. The first of these trips came when Dionysus I was the ruler of Sicily. But the true Sicilian adventure began when Plato revisited the place when Dionysus II ascended the throne. Dionysus II’s uncle, Dion of Syracuse, persuaded Plato to come and make the youthful tyrant into a philosophical ruler. Although Plato wasn’t that inclined to accept the offer, he agreed to go.
Introduction:
Plato was a renowned Greek philosopher and was an integral part of the famous trio of philosophers consisting of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. The three well-known philosophers together set up the philosophical foundation of the contemporary Western culture.Born in one of the wealthiest and most politically active family in Athens, Plato is described as a bright and modest young man in all the historic sources speaking about him. Coming from a rich family, it can be said that Plato must have been trained in the fields of gymnastics,
It is widely believed that, in his later life, Plato must have undertaken some journeys to Italy, Egypt, Cyrene and Sicily. Speculated to have returned to the city of Athens at the age of 40, Plato founded on of the earliest known schools in the Western Civilization. The school was founded on a small plot of land and was called the Academy. It is believed that the school was named such because of the plot of land being owned by an Athenian named Academus.
Famous Latin prose writer, Apuleius states that Speusippus admired Plato’s wit and modesty to a great extent. He says that Plato’s youth was infused with love for a lot of hard work and a fondness for studies. Diogenes notifies us that it was Plato himself, who later characterized the facility of learning, human memory, human sagacity, the speed of apprehension, the youthful human spirit and the magnificent soul as gifts of nature to mankind.
The exact relationship that Plato shared with Aristotle is still an area of speculation among all major scholars inn the world. In his work, Apology of Socrates, Plato mentions that he was probably the most devoted disciple of Socrates. In the same dialogue, Socrates is supposed to have stated that Plato was one of those few youths close enough to him to be corrupted, only if he was guilty of corrupting the youth present around him.
Page 1 of 2