Plato (c.427-347 BC) stands with Socrates and Aristotle as one of the shapers of the whole intellectual tradition of the West. He founded the Academy in Athens, the first permanent institution devoted to philosophical research and teaching, and theprototype of all Western universities. Plato wrote over twenty philosophical dialogues, appearing in none himself. (Most have Socrates as chief speaker.)
Christopher Rowe is a Professor of Greek in the University of Durham, and from 1999-2004 held a Leverhulme Personal Research Professorship. His books include Plato, The Cambridge History of Grek and Roman Thought, and New Perspectives on Plato, Modern and Ancient. He has also translated, and/or written commentaries on Plato's Phaedro, Statesman, and Symposium. His present project is a comprehensive treatment of Plato's strategies as a writer of philosophy.
