Bits and Beyond...

PLATO

Plato (427-347 B.C.) was the son of wealthy and influential Athenian parents.  The original name of this aristocrat was Aristocles, but in his school days he was nicknamed Platon because of his broad shoulders.  He was a student of Socrates.  After the death of Socrates, he went to Italy and studied under the students of Pythagoras.  Here, he also spent several years as an adviser to the ruling family of Syracuse.  In 387 B.C., he returned to Athens and established his school of philosophy, the Academy, where Aristotle was one of his most notable students.  Most of his written works are in the form of dialogues.  These works include The Crito, The Phaedo, The Phaedrus, The Symposium, and The Republic.