His mother’s family boasted a connection to the Athenian wise man Solon who was held be one of the Seven Sages of Greece. Both were killed in the fighting when the returning democratic faction overthrew the oligarchy.Īside from this historical certainty there are many other clues and legends about the prominence of his family. His mother’s brother Charmides and her cousin Critias were leading members of the Thirty Tyrants. Plato was born into one of the wealthiest and most powerful families in Athens. Despite their short rule, 5% of the Athenian population had been killed at their command. Within 8 months the regime was brought to an end when exiled supporters of democracy returned to overthrow them. This rule was comparable to Robespierre’s Reign of Terror after the French Revolution with executions and confiscation of wealth happening wholesale. He was 23 when the Spartans finally defeated the Athenians and dismantled her democracy instating a brutal oligarchy known as the Thirty Tyrants. Born five years after the zenith of Athens and three years after the outbreak of this plague, Plato’s early life and adolescence took place in the shadow of loss and war. This was the backdrop against which Plato entered this world. Sparta’s allies, Corinth and Thebes wanted Athens to be destroyed and all its citizens enslaved but Sparta demurred. In 404, the Spartans who had allied with the Persian Empire defeated the Athenians. This hollowing out of Athenian society saw the weakening of religious belief, the redistribution of wealth - given the death of many rich citizens - and ultimately a blow to the numbers and the morale of the Athenian army.īetween the plague and the war that was to rage on for another two and a half decades, Athens never reclaimed her former glory. Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War “the catastrophe was so overwhelming that men, not knowing what would happen next to them, became indifferent to every rule of religion or law.” As Thucydides - the legendary historian of the time - put it: This pestilence which killed indiscriminately of class or piety and infected those who would care for the ill, wreaked havoc on the fabric of Athenian society. This containment of the dense Athenian population was to have devastating consequences when plague broke out in the city the following year wiping out a quarter of the population - an estimated 75 – 100,000 people including Pericles himself.

Under the auspices of Pericles, the Athenians engaged their enemies at sea but kept themselves defended behind their walls. Though this war was to go well for Athens at first due to her dominant navy, it ultimately spelt doom for Athens. The Backdrop to Plato’s Lifeīut only a year after this crowning glory, the Peloponnesian War broke out between the Athenian Empire - still officially known as the Delian League - and the Peloponnesian League under the leadership of Sparta. Nevertheless there is much to be gained from the exercise - we certainly get a sense for the shape of Plato’s life and there are many legends and stories attached to his name that are interesting not only for their entertainment value but also for the insight they give us into the ancient psyche and the importance of Plato in it. The marriage of myth and fact is so complete with Plato’s life that to call this a historical biography of Plato would be misleading. In this episode, we are going to explore what we have of Plato’s biography. Much like his notorious teacher Socrates, Plato’s life is shrouded in mystery. Most of the biographical details we have about Plato come from at least 500 years after his death. Despite his writings being the most prodigious gift from Antiquity bar none - with all of his Dialogues (and then some) surviving the culling of the intellectual tradition in the Dark Ages - the life of the philosopher is much more legend than fact. The breadth of topics and subjects that Plato birthed is second to no other thinker.Īnd yet, despite the immense influence of the Ancient Athenian, his life is shrouded in mystery. Alfred North Whitehead once famously described the history of philosophy as being a series of footnotes to Plato.

Diogenes laertius life of plato