Charmides. Alcibiades. Hipparchus. Lovers. Theages. Minos. Epinomis

Plato, the great philosopher of Athens, was born in 427 BCE. In early manhood, he was an admirer of Socrates and later founded the famous school of philosophy in the grove Academus. Much else recorded of his life is uncertain; it is probable that he left Athens for a time after Socrates' execution. It is possible that he later went to Cyrene, Egypt, and Sicily; it is likely that he was wealthy; and it is obvious that he was critical of 'advanced' democracy. He lived to be 80 years old. Linguistic tests, including those of computer science, still attempt to establish the order of his extant philosophical dialogues. These are written in splendid prose and reveal Socrates' mind fused with Plato's thought.

In Laches, Charmides, and Lysis, Socrates and others discuss separate ethical conceptions. Protagoras, Ion, and Meno address whether righteousness can be taught. In Gorgias, Socrates is estranged from his city's thought, and his fate is impending.

The Apology (not a dialogue), Crito, Euthyphro, and the unforgettable Phaedo relate the trial and death of Socrates and propose the immortality of the soul. In the famous Symposium and Phaedrus, written when Socrates was still alive, we find discussions on the origin and meaning of love. Cratylus examines the nature of language.

The great masterpiece in ten books, the Republic, concerns righteousness and involves topics such as education, equality of the sexes, the structure of society, and the abolition of slavery. Of the six so-called dialectical dialogues, Euthydemus deals with philosophy; the metaphysical Parmenides addresses general concepts and absolute being; Theaetetus reasons about the theory of knowledge. Its sequels include Sophist, which deals with not-being; Politicus, which tackles good and bad statesmanship and governments; and Philebus, which explores what is good.

The Timaeus seeks the origin of the visible universe out of abstract geometrical elements. The unfinished Critias examines the tale of lost Atlantis. Also unfinished is Plato's last work, the twelve books of Laws (from which Socrates is absent), which offers a critical discussion of principles of law that Plato thought the Greeks might accept.

The Loeb Classical Library edition of Plato is in twelve volumes.