The Academy of Plato
Let’s think about the influence of the ancient Greeks on our lives and culture. Our universities and other academic institutions are based on the Academy of Plato. His real name was Aristokles, but they called him Plato, which means “broad” in Greek, because of his broad shoulders. Plato’s writings, almost all of which survive, are very broad in their scope, encompassing most of the subjects humans have thought about.
Plato founded his Academy in 387 BC in a
grove which was part of the land that belonged to Akademos on the edge
of Athens. Devoted to research and instruction in philosophy and the
sciences, Plato presided over his Academy until his death. After
his death, the Academy continued to flourished for over 900 years.
In 529 AD, the Christian Emperor Justinian
attacked it as a pagan institution and shut it down.
Plato, Aristotle, and many other Greeks established the grooves of our
intellectual habits. Those who browse through the meadows of knowledge
will find most of the acreage originally planted in ancient Greece.
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