Plato’s experiences in Sicily had confirmed that Athens was not unique in its less-than-scrupulous approach to public affairs. He bore witness to several of its brutal attacks on other city-states, which aggravated his already critical opinion of Athens because of Socrates’ trial and execution. During Plato’s lifetime Athens sank from a great empire to just one of the many Greek city-states jockeying for power. Amidst this turmoil, the philosopher decided to return home to Athens, where he devoted himself to his Academy until his death at the age of 81. The King, in an attempt to consolidate his power, began exiling and then assassinating several members of his court.

Things did not go as planned, however not only were Plato’s proposals and ideas viewed as too radical, but Sicily’s political situation was unstable to the point of being dangerous. Plato had written the Republic (also in Literature and Its Times) by this time, and it was thought that under his guidance the new Sicilian ruler might become the philosopher-king depicted in that dialogue. At the age of 60, Plato received an invitation to act as advisor to the government in Sicily. Plato spent the majority of his time happily absorbed by his writing and teaching of students (among whom would be Aristotle). He visited parts of Egypt, Sicily, and present-day Italy before returning to Athens at the age of 40 to found the philosophical school known as the Academy. A young man of 28 at the time, Plato was so disillusioned by the death of Socrates that he left Athens and began to travel. Plato studied with Socrates for just under a decade, until the teacher was tried and condemned to death (399 b.c.e.). These he promptly sent home and burned upon hearing a lecture by a man destined to become not only Plato’s, but the world’s teacher: Socrates. According to ancient tradition, Plato began his career as a writer anxious to become the next Sophocles, and started composing dramas that supposedly showed some promise.

His various interests included wrestling (he was a champion), politics (his aspirations included running for office), and writing. to an influential, politically active aristocratic family and received the fine education typical for a boy of his background in fifth-century Athens.

The Apology is a dramatization of the trial at which the philosopher Socrates was found guilty and condemned to death its title comes from the Greek word Apologia, which means “defense.”Įvents in History at the Time the Dialogue Takes PlaceĮvents in History at the Time the Dialogue Was Written

although the exact date it was written is uncertain, some sources argue that it was written shortly after the year in which it is set.

Plato socrates defense