Plato’s Influence
The influence of Plato stretched over the years, throughout all of history. Most of his work survived through the Academy, which he founded when he returned from his undocumented world travels to Sicily, Italy, Cyrene and Egypt. The reason he traveled for so long was after the death of Socrates, his most influential teacher to whom most of Plato’s early Dialogues are the memorial to. After Socrates was forced to commit suicide after his trial, Plato and several other students among Socrates’ entourage left the city of Athens. Many took refuge instead temporarily within Megara. Afterwards, then began Plato’s travels, although none can actually be proven except for his trip to Sicily, where he met and made friends of Dion, the brother-in-law of the ruler of Syracuse, Dionysius I.
After he returned to Athens, Plato was around forty years old, and he had decided to dedicate his life entirely to philosophy and teaching. He founded the academy, and taught there for his entire life, leaving only twice, and briefly, until Plato died in approximately 348 BC. While alive, he was the most celebrated of educators in his field, and in others. After Plato’s death, several others took up Plato’s ideals and used them in their own philosophies and teachings, including the highly influential philosopher that studied under Plato, Aristotle.
Philo of Alexandria was influenced by the teachings and philosophies of Plato to such an extent that he used many of Plato’s ideals for setting the basic framework for the Jewish religion’s framework. Some of the earliest Christian writers and idealists also used the teachings and arguments of Plato to defend and build the basic explanations for the Christian religious practices. St. Augustine of Hippo was the most influential and best known of Christian Platonists. Plato’s ideals and teachings even influenced the writers and philosophers Avicenna and Averroes, spreading Plato’s influence into Islam as well.