Plato's Academy was a school founded by the philosopher Plato in Athens around 387 BCE, on land associated with the legendary hero Academus. Rather than teaching a fixed doctrine, Plato and his associates posed problems for students to study and debate, a model that became a template for institutions of higher learning across the ancient Mediterranean world. The word academy, still used for schools and learned societies today, descends directly from its name. The original school was destroyed when Lucius Cornelius Sulla besieged Athens in 86 BCE; a later Neoplatonic revival on a different site was closed by the Byzantine emperor Justinian in 529 CE.
Facts
Founded Year CountryGreece (ancient Athens) 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
Sources
1. Wikipedia
Wikimedia FoundationAcademy (Plato), origin of the nameQuote, Academy (Plato), origin of the name
The archaic name for the site was Hekademia, which by classical times evolved into Akademia and was explained, at least as early as the beginning of the 6th century BC, by linking it to an Athenian hero, a legendary Akademos.
1. Wikipedia
Wikimedia FoundationAcademy (Plato), lead section, foundingQuote, Academy (Plato), lead section, founding
The Academy (Ancient Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια, romanized: Akadēmia) was founded by Plato in ca. 387 BC in Athens.
1. Wikipedia
Wikimedia FoundationAcademy (Plato), teaching methodQuote, Academy (Plato), teaching method
During Plato's time, the school did not have any particular doctrine to teach; rather, Plato (and probably other associates of his) posed problems to be studied and solved by the others.
1. Wikipedia
Wikimedia FoundationAcademy (Plato), destruction and closureQuote, Academy (Plato), destruction and closure
The emperor Justinian closed the school in 529 A.D.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does the word "academy" come from?
From Plato's Academy, the school Plato founded in Athens around 387 BCE on ground associated with the hero Academus.
The word academy descends directly from Plato's Academy, the school Plato founded in Athens around 387 BCE. The site took its name from Akademos (Academus), a legendary Athenian hero to whom the grove of olive trees on the site was sacred. The name outlived the original school by two thousand years and now names schools, universities and learned societies with no direct link to the ancient site.
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