Plato & Socrates

Did Plato and Socrates live at the same time?

Yes. Plato and Socrates lived at the same time for about 29 years, from about 428 BCE to 399 BCE.^[1][2][3][4]

Plato · Socrates · Born in 428 BCE · Born in 470 BCE

Plato

c. 428 BCE–c. 348 BCE

Philosophy & Thought

Founder of the Academy in Athens

Socrates

c. 470 BCE–399 BCE

Philosophy & Thought

Founder of Western moral philosophy

How Plato and Socrates Are Connected

• According to an ancient tradition, the young Plato wrote poems and tragedies, then burned them when he met Socrates and turned to philosophy.^[1]
• Plato never speaks in his own voice in his dialogues, and every one of them except the Laws features his teacher Socrates.^[1]
• Socrates never wrote down his teachings. Everything known about him comes from others, mainly his pupils Plato and Xenophon and the comic playwright Aristophanes.^[3]

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