Plato
Plato (428/427 or 424/423 BCE – 348/347 BCE), born Aristokles, was an ancient Greek philosopher, widely considered the most pivotal figure in the development of philosophy, especially the Western tradition. He was a student of Sokrates and the teacher of Aristotle.
Biography
- Kassandra: "You're on the right path. What's your name?"
- Aristokles: "Aristokles. Although, I've never liked that name much."
- Kassandra: "It does sound like countless others I've heard around Athens. Why not choose another?"
- Aristokles: "I can do that? Hmm... my brother always had a problem saying my name, so he called me Plato instead. Perhaps I'll use that."
- —Plato meeting Kassandra, 420s BCE.[src]-[m]
During the Peloponnesian War, a young Aristokles made the acquaintance of the Spartan misthios Kassandra. After she gathered supporters to help Sokrates out of jail Aristokles introduced himself. After revealing that he did not like his name, Kassandra suggested he choose a new one. Aristokles settled on 'Plato', a name his brother called him in their youth. He also told Kassandra of his passion for debate and how he hoped to be student of Sokrates one day.[1]
Plato eventually went on to become an influential author and philosopher. Circa 388 BCE, he founded a school of philosophy that later came to known as the Platonic Academy. The school attracted numerous mathematicians and geometers such as Archytas, a Pythagorean philosopher, and Eudoxos of Knidos, a geometer and astronomer. He was later succeeded by his nephew Speusippos.[2]
In his work The Republic, Plato made his famous Allegory of the Cave, in which prisoners were chained inside a cave and forced to look at a cave wall. They were not able to see the world outside, but only the reflections on the wall that the outside world made. The prisoners are able to free themselves when they see that the intangible, represented by the reflections, is real.[3]
Legacy
In 1497, during the Bonfire of the Vanities, the Preacher, one of Girolamo Savonarola's nine lieutenants, stated that Savonarola condemned the teachings of both Plato and Aristotle, remarking that the only good thing they owed them was bringing forward many arguments which they could use against the heretics and that they and other philosophers were in Hell.[4]
In 1868, Evie Frye quoted Plato while talking to her brother Jacob although Jacob mistakenly believed that she was quoting their father, Ethan Frye.[5]
Gallery
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A young Plato observing the philosophers' debate -
Plato meeting Kassandra -
Plato speaking to Kassandra -
Closeup of a young Plato
Appearances
- Assassin's Creed II (mentioned only)
- Assassin's Creed: Syndicate (mentioned only)
- Assassin's Creed: Origins (mentioned only)
- Assassin's Creed: Odyssey (first appearance)
References