Plato: The Life of PlatoPlato was born around 427 BC, in Athens, Greece, into a wealthy and politically involved family. Plato's parents spared no expense in educating him; it was taught in the best schools. He was taught by Socrates and defended Socrates at his trial. Plato traveled to Italy and may even have visited Egypt before founding the Academy. Plato also visited Sicily and instructed 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 is said to have attended the best schools the area had to offer; his parents were wealthy and there was no limit to what they could afford. Plato was taught by the best teachers available and was a very skilled student. Like the majority of boys in ancient Greece, Plato learned to wrestle and fight and he excelled at both activities. Poems were also an activity enjoyed by Plato; he wrote them quite often, unfortunately none of them survived because when Plato began to study under Socrates, he burned all the poems he had written to devote himself to philosophy. The first time we know that Plato meets Socrates is when Plato is twenty years old; However, due to Plato's parents' involvement in government, their family friends, and Plato's schooling, Plato likely met Socrates at a young age. There are several rumors that during the Peloponnesian War, Plato not only fought but won a few medals. Although Plato was certainly capable of performing these acts of bravery, we cannot know for sure because there is no proof. 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 article ...... surprised that Plato did not like democracy and advocated utopia, but Plato had seen democracy at work in Athens and thought that it It was a miserable idea.BibliographyBaggani, Julian and Jeremy Stangroom, eds. Great Thinkers AZ. London: Continuum, 2004. Guthrie, WKC A History of Greek Philosophy, Vol. IV; Plato: Man and his dialogues, earlier period. London: Cambridge University Press, 1989. Proffitt, Brian. Plato within your reach. Hoboken: Wiley Publishing, 2004. Exploring the Cultures of the Ancient World; Essays on Ancient Greece. Ed. Bernard F. Suzanne. 1996. February 2, 2007. http://eawc.evansville.edu/eassays/suzanne.htmPlato and his dialogues, a short biography of Plato. Ed. Bernard F. Suzanne. 2001. February 2, 2007. http://plato-dialogues.org/life.htmPlato. Ed. JJ O'Connor. 2005. February 2, 2007. http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/biographies/plato.html