Plato: The Life of PlatoPlato was born around 427 BC, in Athens, Greece, to a wealthy and politically involved family. Plato's parents spared no expense in educating him; he was taught in the best schools. He was taught by Socrates and defended Socrates when he was on trial. Plato traveled in Italy and may also have visited Egypt before founding the Academy. Plato also visited Sicily and educated a young king there before returning to the Academy to teach for twenty years before his death in 347 BC at the age of eighty. Growing up Plato would have attended the best schools the area had to offer; his parents were wealthy and there were no limits to what they could afford. Plato had the best teachers available and was a very proficient student. Like most boys in ancient Greece, Plato was taught to wrestle and fight, and in both activities Plato excelled. Poetry was also an activity Plato enjoyed; he wrote them quite often, unfortunately none of them have survived because when Plato began studying under Socrates he burned all the poems he had written to dedicate himself to philosophy. The first time we know of Plato meeting Socrates is when Plato is twenty; however, due to Plato's parents' involvement with government, their family friends, and Plato's school education, Plato most likely met Socrates at a young age. There are several rumors that during the Peloponnesian War Plato not only fought but won some medals. Although Plato was certainly capable of performing these acts of courage, however, one cannot know for sure as no proof exists. After the Peloponnesian War Sparta established a government called the Thirty Tyrants, when the Thirty Tyrants were overthrown Socrates was accused of several acts of treason. During Socrat...... middle of paper...... surprised that Plato disliked democracy and pushed for utopia, but Plato had seen democracy at work in Athens and thought it was a miserable idea . Bibliography Baggani, Julian and Jeremy Stangroom, eds. Great thinkers AZ. London: Continuum, 2004.Guthrie, WKC A History of Greek Philosophy, vol. IV; Plato: The man and his dialogues, previous period. London: Cambridge University Press, 1989. Proffitt, Brian. Plato at your fingertips. Hoboken: Wiley Publishing, 2004. Exploring the Cultures of the Ancient World; Essays on Ancient Greece. Ed. Bernard F. Susanne. 1996. February 2, 2007. http://eawc.evansville.edu/eassays/suzanne.htmPlato and His Dialogues, A Short Biography of Plato. Ed. Bernard F. Susanne. 2001. February 2, 2007. http://plato-dialogues.org/life.htmPlato. Ed. JJ O'Connor. 2005. 2 February 2007. http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/biographies/plato.html