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The Relationship Between the Greek Symposium & Poetry
The Ancient Greek symposium is often considered an important part of Greek culture, a place where the elite drank, feasted and indulged in sometimes decadent activities. Although such practices were present in symposia, the writing and performance...
Definition
Plato
Plato (l. 424/423 to 348/347 BCE) is the pre-eminent Greek philosopher, known for his Dialogues and for founding his Academy in Athens, traditionally considered the first university in the Western world. Plato was a student of Socrates and...
Article
Plato: The Name and The Poet
Plato (l. c. 424/423 to 348/347 BCE), the Greek philosopher whose works have significantly shaped Western thought and religion, is said to have initially been a poet and playwright and, even if the primary source of this claim (the often...
Definition
Symposium
The symposium (or symposion) was an important part of ancient Greek culture from the 7th century BCE and was a party held in a private home where Greek males gathered to drink, eat and sing together. Various topics were also discussed such...
Article
Life of Plato of Athens
Plato of Athens (424 or 423 to 347 BCE) was an ancient Greek philosopher whose work is considered so important that he may be called the inventor of philosophy as we understand the term today. Some people would want to reserve that honor...
Article
Plato's Greater, Better World in The Last Days of Socrates
The Last Days of Socrates is a modern-day title for the collection of four Socratic dialogues by the Greek philosopher Plato – the Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, and Phaedo – telling the story of the trial, imprisonment, and death of Socrates...
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Plato's Euthyphro: An Overlooked Comedy
Plato's Euthyphro is a Socratic dialogue on the concept of piety whose meaning and purpose continue to be debated. In reading the work only as a serious inquiry into the definition of an abstract concept, however, one is apt to miss the comical...
Article
Plato's Lie In The Soul
Plato's Lie in the Soul (or the True Lie) is a concept appearing in Republic, Book II, 382a-382d, defined as "being deceived in that which is the truest and highest part of or about the truest and highest matters" or, in other words, being...
Article
Marcus Aurelius: Plato's Philosopher King
Plato's concept of the Philosopher-King (one who governs according to philosophical precepts and higher truths) is thought to be best exemplified through the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (r. 161-180 CE), the last of the Five Good...
Definition
Confucianism
Confucianism is a philosophy developed in 6th-century BCE China, which is considered by some a secular-humanist belief system, by some a religion, and by others a social code. The broad range of subjects touched on by Confucianism lends itself...