Plato of Athens: A Life in Philosophy

by Robin Waterfield

The first ever biography of the founder of Western philosophy

Considered by many to be the most important philosopher ever, Plato was born into a well-to-do family in wartime Athens at the end of the fifth century BCE. In his teens, he honed his intellect by attending lectures from the many thinkers who passed through Athens and toyed with the idea of writing poetry. He finally decided to go into politics, but became disillusioned, especially after the Athenians condemned his teacher, Socrates, to death. Instead, Plato turned to writing and teaching. He began teaching in his twenties and later founded the Academy, the world's first higher-educational research and teaching establishment. Eventually, he returned to practical politics and spent a considerable amount of time and energy trying to create a constitution for Syracuse in Sicily that would reflect and perpetuate some of his political ideals. The attempts failed, and Plato's disappointment can be traced in some of his later political works.

In his lifetime and after, Plato was considered almost divine. Though a measure of his importance, this led to the invention of many tall tales about him-both by those who adored him and his detractors. In this first ever full-length portrait of Plato, Robin Waterfield steers a judicious course among these stories, debunking some while accepting the kernels of truth in others. He explains why Plato chose to write dialogues rather than treatises and gives an overview of the subject matter of all of Plato's books. Clearly and engagingly written throughout, Plato of Athens is the perfect introduction to the man and his work.

Genres: Philosophy, Biography, History, Nonfiction, Greece, Ancient History, Audiobook

296 pages, Paperback

Published July 1, 2025

About the author

Robin Anthony Herschel Waterfield is a British classical scholar, translator, editor, and writer of children's fiction.

Reviews

[Massimo Pigliucci · Rating 5 out of 5]

Robin Waterfield has long been one of the leadings translators and interpreters of ancient Greco-Roman thought, and this latest book proves the point once more. Astonishingly, there was no modern biography of Plato before Waterfield's, so this is a much needed contribution indeed. The author has translated Plato, so he has a deep knowledge of the language and the philosophy, as well as of course of the time and place in which Plato lived. Waterfield is careful, whenever possible, to distinguish dubious anecdotes from historical likelihoods, is reasonably but not excessively critical of the ancient sources, and provides us with explanations for why he reaches certainly conclusions rather than others about various aspects of Plato's life and philosophy. This is a must read not just for those interested in Greco-Roman thought, or in philosophy, but for every thinking person. As Waterfield writes near the end of the book: “Plato opened up infinite possibilities for the future of philosophy ... for any of us who think and who care about what we are and what we may become, as individuals and as the human species. ... He founded the Academy, a school that perpetuated philosophy for almost a thousand years. Plato’s life was truly a life in the service of philosophy, and that is why his life should still matter to us. The big questions do not go away.”

[Larry (LPosse1) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Robin Waterfield is an epic scholar whose work has had a meaningful impact on my intellectual life—his translation of Meditations by Marcus Aurelius was especially powerful for me. So I was eager to dive into Plato of Athens, and in many ways, it delivers.

This is a weighty, meticulously researched book that offers a comprehensive look at Plato’s life, thought, and historical context. Waterfield excels in weaving together the life of Plato with the substance of his dialogues, adding his own reflections that help bring the ancient philosopher to life. I especially appreciated the sections on the formation of Plato’s Academy—a center of learning so influential that it endured for nearly a thousand years. That kind of legacy is awe-inspiring, and Waterfield captures its significance well.

Another highlight for me was the exploration of Plato’s relationship with Aristotle. The suggestion of a possible rift between the two adds an intriguing human element to the story of these towering intellectual figures. It reminded me that behind the dense philosophy are real people, with complex relationships and differing visions of the world.

That said, some parts of the book veered deep into academic rabbit holes. At times, I found myself rereading paragraphs multiple times just to grasp the thread of the argument. This isn’t a criticism of the scholarship—it’s top-notch—but more a note that this book demands patience and slow, careful reading. It’s not one to rush through.

Overall, Plato of Athens is a valuable resource for those deeply interested in classical philosophy and the life of Plato, though it may be a bit dense for the casual reader. A thoughtful and reverent portrait of one of the greatest thinkers in history.
3.5 Stars

[Andrew Dockrill · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an introduction to robin Waterfield he certainly did a commendable job in trying to tell Plato's life story in chronological order while also embracing the fact that we know little about him and what is left like much of what is left to us in history is replaced by our western tradition of the man.

He did a fairly good job in painting a picture of what his upbringing would have been like being what essentially would today be our 1% as he was wealthy all of his life, owning multiple estates and contributing to Athenian festivals as one of the wealthy in the city. It was also nice to get a plausible picture of the emergence of Socrates who Plato was drawn to very quickly as both an intellectual and someone who enjoyed the arts in general. Some of this book is naturally caught up in the unfortunate guessing game of hypotheticals but it is difficult to avoid that trap. I did enjoy being introduced to the academy that Plato had built just outside the city and served as an institution for the sharpest minds of Athens and those abroad, and how he still managed to have a successful school despite having to deal with competitor schools of philosophy that focused on philosophy that would be aimed for students who sought a political life.

While I think I will definitely need to give the book a second read to properly appreciate Waterfields explanation of Plato's philosophy, writing, and the influence Socrates had on him, I do feel that I have a better grasp on one of the greatest philosophers of the west and an abbreviated glimpse into the 4th century of Athens just enough to explain how the socio-political circumstances impacted plato. Waterfield does a fairly good job in breaking down Plato's writings and trying to explain the order in which he wrote them and trying to make his philosophy as approachable as possible. This book is absolutely intended for those who are at least familiar with Plato and his writings, if your not then you will likely find yourself lost and bogged down when Waterfields jumps down his rabbit holes in trying to discern which of Plato's writings are likely genuine as opposed to those that were likely copy cats and not all of his arguments are entirely convincing. All in all a good read though.

[Erik Rostad · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was exactly what I was looking for. I learned about Plato's life, was introduced to each of his major dialogues, and saw how his ideas intersected with his life. I read this after reading a few of Plato's dialogues and look forward to returning to the dialogues with a better frame of reference. I highly recommend this book.

[Carmen · Rating 5 out of 5]

About twenty plus years ago I read Waterfield's translation of Republic and it changed the course of my life. I was a cocky undergrad, drunk with my own sophism and rhetorical skills. The opening section of Socrates confrontation by Thrasymachus of the most basic question of all(Sorry, i dont agree with Camus on this one), why bother being good when it just makes you suspected by the people around you, makes you a target of the corrupt, and isnt it better to just seem to be good than be good?, hit me like a bullet between the eyes. The resulting conversation that makes up Republic had me literally reading every single page and thinking deeply over the questions posed and responses. A true philosophical drama, like a Greek tragedy, where who says what is as important as what they say, and the opinions they give about what we are and what is the best way to live are taken seriously.

I was forever grateful to Waterfield because he did such an admirable job of setting up each section, giving background information that would have been known to Plato's readers, and providing useful commentary and exegesis. It was a bit like having my own private Virgil walking me through the descent to the underworld of the mind that is Republic. The me that emerged at the end of the book had radically changed his ideas about what constituted the good life and how to go about achieving it.

Here he outdoes himself. The product of a lifetime of translating and thinking deeply about Plato and his project we get the Life: what did it mean to be a philosopher in Athens in the Classical Age(if you think our age's grasp of Law is sketchy, try living in classical athens where the laws can change monthly with often lethal effect), and what was his life actually like(stating his philosophic and political viewpoints that make him the target of assassinations by his political enemies). He provides insight into the world and the people who surrounded Plato. The rich and the poor, the genuine seekers after knowledge and wisdom, and the opportunists and machiavellian political schemers.

And what truly emerges is that this is a Philosophic Life. One that set the model for generations to come. A person who lived in the academy, thinking, writing, teaching and debating, but also in the real world, trying to get the tyrant of Syracuse to adopt a philosophic lifestyle, and setting up constitutions in the various city states.

The discussions of Plato's texts are insightful, and display a wealth of knowledge about ancient sources and debates, but in true Platonic style do not offer easy answers to the meanings of the texts. What he does do is offer a way on how to read Plato. For example, Plato completely fabricates the myth of Atlantis, and in doing so is borrowing an ancient stylistic technique for setting up his story: it happens in a true time and based on ancient legend. Waterfield shows how Xenophon and other writers of the period do the same thing. Plato does this not just in the Timaeus and Critias where atlantis is discussed but in other dialogues as well: putting people in discussion who couldnt possible have been in the same place and same time, and which his readers would have known.

One of the most intriguing aspects of the book was his grouping of platonic dialogues into trilogies and tetralogies. Each dialogue are mini dramas in the larger cycle whrere an idea is examind and reexamined. Here he is imitating Greek Tragedy and Comedy, where the plays often come as trilogies with a frequent addition of a satyr play as the fourth piece.

Grateful and thankful I was able to read this.

[Michael Beck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good little biography of the great philosopher and his works. I appreciated how the author went through the dialogues, giving his thoughts on which ones were likely not written by Plato. Also, the history of Plato with Syracuse was helpful for the context of many of Plato's letters and writings.

[B. Rule · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would be great for an undergraduate-level introduction to Plato. Waterfield has a very straightforward approach. He briskly disposes of the spurious anecdotal accretions that have grown up around Plato to give an even-handed, slightly dull account of what we know of his life. In the course of the biography, you get capsule summaries of many dialogues. These summaries aren't particularly deep, but they are helpfully contextualized to give some sense of Plato's intellectual growth over time. I also enjoyed Waterfield's focus on Plato's travels to Syracuse and how his interactions with Dionysius II and Dion likely affected his political thought.

Waterfield isn't very interested in a lot of the arcana surrounding Plato, so you get cursory dismissals of "hidden doctrines" or esoteric readings of the texts. In his telling, Plato is a more earnest figure, exhorting us to a life of virtue and contemplative discussion but largely uncommitted to doctrinal philosophical positions beyond an appreciation for the intellective over the material and expertise over amateurism. It's hard to get a sense of Plato's wit or irony from this text, although glimpses of it occasionally intrude.

I appreciate the difficulty in extracting a kernel of biographical certainty from a figure sprouting so much florid mythologization as Plato, so Waterfield's project should be commended for its tight focus. However, it doesn't make for the most exciting reading experience. The primary value for me personally was in Waterfield's informed speculations on a chronological bibliography, as well as some of the political context of different periods of Plato's life. I was also convinced by his arguments on why Plato's birth year was likely later than traditionally supposed.

I would not recommend relying on this for philosophical analysis of Plato's project, nor for understanding his reception in later generations (which gets only the briefest summary here). This text has its value but frankly I'm not sure a biographical approach yields substantial fruit for this particular subject. It's a solid if stolid contribution to the endless ocean of Platonic scholia, but readers already familiar with those waters might wish for deeper dives.

[Gijs Limonard · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,5 stars; excellent biography, as well as this is humanly possible; the author helpfully places the man and his philosophy in a proper historical context including the influences of the pre-socratics; highly recommended reading/listening.

[Maan Kawas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such agreat book by Mr. Waterfield!! I highly recommend!!!

[Illiterate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Waterfield evaluates sources, draws on contexts, & outlines the philosophy. Highlight: chap 5 on The Academy.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

We know very little definitively about Plato. His writing was clearly considered important because it was preserved. Also, chemo sucks. That part is not in this book.

[Hinch]

This is a really incredible book that manages to tell an engaging and lucid account of a life of which we know very little concretely. I listened to the audiobook version narrated by Tristam Summers, whose narration is excellent (though I am dubious about some of his pronunciations of names).

Waterfield is very careful in telling us where sources are dubious or in disagreement, and gives sufficient context that we can picture Plato’s life, and thought, in its milieu without it ever feeling like a needless tangent.

He also takes care to dispel common myths about Plato, whilst simultaneously providing us with all of the most intriguing and interesting ones that have sprung up through history - Plato the son of Apollo, Plato who died of shame unable to answer a riddle, Plato to whom the bees gave the honey of wisdom in his youth…

Plato was not a detached thinker content to theorise on abstract subjects. Rather, he attempted to not only continue Socrates’s task of bringing philosophy down from the heavens to the earth (from detached to ethical concerns) but also put his political thought into practice - even at risk to his life - in Syracuse.

Obviously, Waterfield absolutely adores the object of his study, so perhaps some of the more glowing statements should be tempered by the reader’s understanding of that.

In general I have a new and improved appreciation of Plato, his life, and his thought. Highly recommend.

[Troy S · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic biography, especially considering the dearth of verifiable information about Plato. Most other Plato biographies provide more of an intellectual history, but Waterfield's interests are tuned to the historical Plato here. Providing great a background on Socrates' trial and it's probable effect on his students, including tons of fascinating information about Alcibiades, the 30 tyrants, Plato's expedition to Syracuse (Plato spent a short time as a slave, due to a petty and vindictive tyrant. Fascinating!), and other known but scarcely consolidated episodes in Platonic history, Plato of Athens gives life to this period in history, painting a very dynamic portrait of the figures in Plato's life and in the dialogues. Having all of this in one place is incredibly valuable for any student of classics or ancient philosophy, or to anyone looking to get in on the more arcane aspects of Plato's canon.

[Daksh Jindal · Rating 3 out of 5]

So much depth about the times of Plato in this book. I will have to re read this to completely understand those times and his life. A wonderful book specifically with the fact that how little information we have of his times.

[mono]

The 30 tyrants as a cause for Socrates death is most insightful. I'm doubtful that Plato would simply use Socrates as a puppet for his own ideas. My impression from the dialogs is that Plato tried to respect the source as much as is possible in making a work of imitative or derivative art based off a real world person.

[Sibongile Matema · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alfred North Whitehead is reputed to have called all Western philosophy a series of 'footnotes to Plato'. While this characterization might overplay Plato's role, his role in the discipline was important.
By presenting his works in the form of dialogues, Plato from the outset was engaging his readers in dialogue. This process of thinking through ideas, of questioning them and not necessarily coming to a conclusive answer, is one of Plato's main contributions. Another aspect is that he wrote on a wide variety of topics.
Waterfield sheds light on Plato's works, adding biographical details. He presents Plato as a man who, whether it was in conversation with friends, in the academy or whether he was giving advice or formulating the ideal structure of government, was concerned mainly with helping each person to live a life of virtue, to hold it in high regard - to be a philosopher.

[Roman Zadorozhnii · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was interesting and informative to learn about the life and ideas of a man who constantly hides behind different masks in his dialogues

“Plato opened up infinite possibilities for the future of philosophy - not just for academic philosophers but for any of us who think and who care about what we are and what we may become, as individuals and as the human species. For anyone who strives to value knowledge over belief and to practice critical thinking rather than blind acceptance, who knows that there is more to the world than meets the eye, who thinks that virtue is not just a stuffy Victorian value and is prepared not just to sweep that insight under the rug but let it alter their world forever, however difficult and unpopular that may be—for all these people, Plato's life is a paradigm and his instruction deeply rewarding.”

[Ruya · Rating 5 out of 5]

While “Plato of Athens” touches shortly upon the subject of Atlantis, it is important to note that the book does not extensively delve into this topic. The frustratingly limited coverage of Atlantis in this study may leave some readers wishing for a more profound investigation and explanation of its significance. Given the enduring fascination surrounding Atlantis for more than 2 millenia, its inclusion in the book could have provided further insight and exploration into Plato’s enigmatic dialogue, the “Timaeus” and “Critias.”

[Thomasso · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had high expectations of this book and (thus?) was a little disappointed. I am not unfamiliar with Plato's work and some of the secondary literature, and did not learn so much from the book. Some of it was illuminating though: the idea that Plato's oeuvre was work in progress; and his emphasis on philosophers going back into the cave; the contacts that Plato had with the leadership in Syracuse.

[Cody Spjut · Rating 4 out of 5]

Robin Waterfield's Plato of Athens serves as a complete biography of Plato's life, including key events, his beliefs, works, and legacy. I especially appreciate Waterfield's ability to piece together what few sources we have about Plato's life to form a coherent and plausible biography. Since our sources are scarce and accounts about Plato vary widely at times, Waterfield is careful to point out where contradictions lie, flagging stories which seem the least plausible and noting which sources are unreliable.

I'm thankful that someone like Waterfield took on this project--only a scholar deeply acquainted with Plato's philosophy could do his biography justice. There are many misconceptions about Plato which persist not only among philosophers and classicist, but also in the mind of the general public (who likely encountered his works in high school or gen-ed courses). Waterfield does a great job at dispelling such misconceptions and, I think rightly, demonstrates that Plato was motivated by a deep desire to improve humankind.

Some scholars believe that Plato was a dogmatist with consistent, unchanging theories. The reality (which Waterfield reinforces) is that Plato almost certainly did not take his views to be authoritative and it's clear that he was willing to be challenged while refining his views over time. For instance, anyone who has read the Republic is familiar with Plato's disdain for democracy and his concept of the "philosopher-king" as the ideal ruler (full of yourself, much?). However, when considering these concepts in the context of Plato's life, it becomes quite clear why he would hold such views. Democracy in Athens led to many wars and political gaffes which resulted in suffering and tyranny, and Plato saw the aftermath of this throughout his adolescence and young adulthood. He lost relatives and his dearest mentor as a direct result of the Athenian democracy. One can hardly fault him for losing faith in the "many"--their actions demonstrated that, given (mostly) free reign, people will make decisions that ultimately hinder their wellbeing.

Plato's concept of the philosopher-king was motivated by his desire to set society on the right path through rational decision making. As Plato aged, began teaching, and became briefly involved in Sicilian politics, he came to see the philosopher-king as overly idealized and impractical. In his next political work, the Statesman, he changed his stance, concluding that ruling should be placed in the hands of wise political experts (though he later saw this as unrealistic as well). In what is likely his final text, the Laws, he concluded that a nation can only flourish when all citizens (including rulers) are strictly governed by laws which are designed to prevent inequity, promote good character, and limit suffering.

Although Plato abandoned the idea of philosopher-kings, he continued to insist that philosophy is essential for human flourishing. In the ideal society of the Laws, philosophers are largely the ones who determine what laws should be added to the constitution or amended, although they do not rule or have the sole power to change laws. Plato's tendency to place philosophy on a pedestal admittedly comes across as egocentric or perhaps short-sighted, and this is a feature of his works that I have often struggled to take seriously. Plato of Athens provides a significant amount of contextual evidence to clarify why Plato admired philosophy so deeply. For starters, "philosopher" was not a job title or status symbol as it is now. To Plato, a philosopher is no more than an individual who endlessly pursues wisdom (the etymological meaning of the term is quite literal), he or she cannot help but do so. One can only attain wisdom through critical thinking, especially by facing intellectual challenges and possessing a willingness to be wrong. The Athenians of his day undervalued such pursuits, just as Americans (and arguably all modern societies) do today. I can't help but look at the state of political and social discourse today and sympathize with Plato's objective.

Whether or not his particular ideas are any good, Waterfield goes to great length to show that Plato should be commended for his efforts. He founded the Academy, which directly produced many other great thinkers (most of whom explicitly disagreed with Plato, even during his lifetime) who later went on to found additional schools, influence world politics, and contributed to cutting-edge science and mathematics. Most impressive of all, Plato was clever enough to write dialogues instead of treatises, which endure to this day as an effective teaching tool. As Waterfield puts it, "By writing philosophy as conversation, he expressed the notion that searching for truth is an ongoing quest...Philosophy, as Plato practiced it, trains the mind and endows one with problem-solving skills; it teaches one to think clearly, and without clear thinking, we are less likely to be successful in any of our endeavors...Reading the dialogues stimulates one to think for oneself about philosophical issues."

In sum, Plato of Athens greatly improved my understanding and interpretation of Plato's works. Although it covers topics that many philosophy or classics scholars already know, Waterfield succeeds by bringing everything together in one neat package to portray the life, motivations, and legacy of a commonly misunderstood figure.

[Plato · Rating 5 out of 5]

The writing is so good. This has to be the best introduction to Plato. And it gives a nice overview of the intellectual scene in the Golden Age of Athens.

[Maksim Karliuk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book I have read this year so far.

[History Today]

Plato was so devoted to the memory of his teacher Socrates, who in his view had been unjustly executed by his fellow Athenians, that he spent much of his life writing and disseminating his thoughts through Socrates’ voice rather than his own. Just as Christianity might have looked very different had it not been for St Paul’s writings and teachings, the nature of Greek (and subsequent Western) philosophy would have looked very different had it not been for Plato’s advocacy of what he presented, at least initially, as the thoughts and methods of his teacher. From Plato’s extensive writings, along with those of Xenophon and a few other contemporary and later sources, we can construct a reasonably full biography of Socrates, culminating with his trial and execution. We also get a strong sense of Socrates’ personality, as a challenging and ironic interlocutor and a tough, courageous soldier. But what of Plato himself? Did Socrates’ most adept pupil also live a life worth recording and describing?

The idea of subjecting Plato to biographical treatment seems unpromising. Evidence for his life is scarce or uncertain. He passed most of his later years ‘in the groves of Academe’ – the Academy that he founded as a school of philosophy. As Robin Waterfield tells us in this well-researched and attractively written book, ‘the last dedicated biography in English of any length was published in 1839’. There are grounds for renewing the attempt, especially if one argues (as Waterfield does) that at least some of the 13 letters attributed to Plato that have survived are from the philosopher’s own hand.

Plato’s long Seventh Letter in particular has been considered spurious, but there is a growing consensus that it is a genuine and crucial document of Plato’s experiences. In it, Plato describes how he attempted to put his political theories into practice by travelling to Sicily to educate Dionysius II, the tyrant of Syracuse, about how a just and harmonious city-state should be run. The attempt was a failure, with Plato suffering the disillusionment of learning that his ideas could not compensate for the capricious nature of a tyrant. The episode, however, in addition to testimonies about Plato’s earlier foray to Sicily (during which he was allegedly captured and ransomed by pirates), supports Plato’s assertion that he was for many years intent on a career of political action rather than philosophical investigation.

That proposition underpins a biography of Plato that was published in 1919 by the eminent Prussian philologist Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff (which, surprisingly, is not mentioned in this book). Wilamowitz’s imaginative depiction of Plato and his world raised scholarly eyebrows at the time; but the Oxford Hellenist E.R. Dodds noted that ‘the enduring importance of Wilamowitz’s “biographical novel” or “Plato for housemaids” (as the stuffier sort of critics called it) is that it has compelled subsequent writers to think of Plato as a man and not as a self-generating system of metaphysics’. The latter impression tends to make an appearance from time to time in Waterfield’s account. While he discusses the Sicilian adventures, he is more comfortable talking about the corpus of philosophical dialogues (28 of which he considers genuine) than about Plato as a person. While we learn about Plato’s close friendship with the mathematician-inventor Archytas of Tarentum, it’s a shame that no mention is made of his most sensational invention – a mechanical bird that flew using steam power – presumably because Plato nowhere mentions it himself.

Read the rest of the review at HistoryToday.com

Armand D’Angour is Professor of Classics at Jesus College, Oxford.

[willow c · Rating 4 out of 5]

(this was done for a school assignment)

A very basic Summary:
A rudimentary timeline of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato’s life. It includes general information on him (at least, all that is available currently), and “educated guesses” on what certain dates would actually be in relation to later and earlier events. The book recounts Plato’s most famous works, and some of the meaning behind them. Waterfield discusses the time period, and the disagreements between cities and states that Plato was able to avoid, being a man after knowledge rather than glory.


I would rate this book about a 4.0. I adored the writing and how Waterfield structured it, even with the lack of substantial information on Plato himself. The chronological order each point is put in works beautifully with the anecdotes about Plato’s life, along with his works and morals. It shows how he developed as a person, but also as a philosopher. I was not aware before that Plato rarely, if ever referenced himself in his works. It was always him speaking through other people, such as his beloved teacher Socrates. Being able to see where modern ideas came from is interesting, but even better is to know the person behind them, and what influenced their writings and morals. That, I think, is illustrated very well through Plato’s work, such as The Republic, which Waterfield discusses in depth.
With the lack of proper information on Plato, such as the exact year of his birth, it’d be difficult to put together a proper chronological timeline of his life. Waterfield, at least in my opinion, does a very good job with the information that is available. He compares different dates and extrapolates a general one that would make the most sense in relation to other events. There aren't any opinionated takes in the book, simply a chronological biography of Plato’s life and works. A very good one at that. It helps that the evidence presented isn’t held down by opinions, but lifted up by what I suppose you could say are “educated guesses”. Each piece in the timeline fits not only time wise, but it also fits logically, with descriptions of Plato’s morals and ideals. The pieces are made at specific points in Plato’s life, where he was a specific type of person. That shows in both where they are mentioned in the book, but also the way they are described.
I do not normally read biographies (I do not think I had ever picked one up until this book). However, the scholarly but not confusing writing style was captivating, and getting to learn more about Ancient Greece (one of, if not my favourite historical time period) was lovely. I very much enjoyed this book, and I plan to read it again!

“Love is a kind of desire, which is to say that it is always love of something. This something that love desires is something that it lacks - that it wants to have, or (if it already has it) to continue to have, so if love loves beauty, then love lacks beauty and wants to possess beauty. But in fact what people always love is goodness, not beauty exactly - which is to say that they long to be happy and fulfilled because only a good person is happy and fulfilled. This is the universal human condition. The love that has to do with beauty, then, is only a fraction of what love is. If love in general is for goodness, then the love that is concerned with beauty must actually be love of goodness and happiness.” (Waterfield, 160) I adore this sentiment. Perhaps it is wistful to believe that love is seen so commonly. But the love of goodness and pursuit of it along with happiness is a nice one. It’s hopeful in a way that can ease one’s mind, and could encourage them to be a better person. Again, wistful thinking. I found it to be an intriguing and overall nice thing to think about.

[Rashaad Arouet · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I picked up Robin Waterfield’s Plato of Athens by chance at a bookstore, the young woman behind the counter looked at me curiously, her head tilted, as she asked me whether I was a classics student. I was rather confused by this question considering the other five books I bought with it could hardly be categorized as “classics”. In any case, I turned to her with a smile and said that I was a student of everything, a response she seemed least to expect, and greatly to have enjoyed.

I mention this simply because I do not think, if I have interpreted the young woman’s intention correctly, that one need be a classics student to enjoy this interesting book.

Indeed, the fact that this is the first full length biography on the most famous and influential philosopher of all time, might give weight to the reason it is associated with the readings of a classics student. But it is my hope that this notion be dispelled from the casual reader’s mind because this book, written with clarity by the hand of a worthy scholar, is not necessarily for the scholar or the moth-eaten student alone, but is quite accessible to the everyday reader.

What Mr. Waterfield has tried to do with this book is present Plato the man as he undergoes his development into Plato the philosopher. For that purpose, he starts off his account with the cultural environment of Athens nearing the end of the Peloponnesian War, and then walks with us slowly as Plato develops intellectually in the environment changing around him, eventually leaving Athens to test out his ideas in Syracuse, and then returning when that fails to live out his life in the intellectually rigorous and stimulating confines of his Academy.

It is easy to think, and I think quite common to believe, that Plato was a superhuman genius whose ideas came to him in a moment of inspiration (perhaps divined by Apollo?) and thereafter never changed, going on to influence the Western world down to the present day. I believe part of this mythology is what dissuades a wider audience from thinking Plato capable of being engaged. What Mr. Waterfield does so brilliantly in this book is present a different picture. Instead of allowing philosophy and its initiates the comforts of dwelling undisturbed up among the lofty clouds, the author attempts to pull its most famous practitioner down to earth, and begins an interrogation of him and his life, revealing Plato to be a man ever-searching, ever-seeking and learning from his experiences – or, put simply, he reveals Plato to be a man, plain and simple.

And it is this last point that I think the most important about Mr. Waterfield’s book. Regardless of whether one has read, or seeks to read in the future, Plato’s dialogues, what this biography shows – rightly or wrongly – is the best of Plato, I think: Plato as a man learning and developing through engagement and experience. Since we all perform these activities in some shape or form in our own lives, it no longer seems necessary for a reader of Plato to be dressed in philosophic garb or on track to complete a classics major to feel welcome and able to engage with this luminary.

Does this mean that after reading this, everyone will suddenly take up philosophy and start reading Plato’s dialogues? Perhaps not. But I think much benefit is to be gained from removing the “mythic” sheen of exclusivity that has long been held around Plato, and, by extension, philosophy in general.

If you thought Plato too far off for you, give this book a read. It doesn’t disappoint.

[Ryan Boissonneault · Rating 4 out of 5]

The risk of writing a biography with thin source material is that you spend most of the time debating the legitimacy of sources and stories rather than presenting a seamless narrative of the individual's life. The result is a lot of detail and pedantic discussion that the reader may or may not find all that interesting.

This on top of the fact that Plato intentionally removed himself from his dialogues, placing the emphasis instead on active reader engagement with the philosophical ideas themselves. We could rightfully ask: If biographical details were unimportant to Plato, then why should they be important to us? Especially considering that Plato’s reputed travels to Egypt and elsewhere—the most exciting part of his biography—probably didn’t even happen.

This is all to say, don’t expect the most riveting biography you’ve ever read. But if you have an interest in philosophy, and ancient philosophy or Plato in particular, you’ll probably enjoy learning everything there is to know about the life of philosophy’s most famous practitioner. And Waterfield’s book will give you more than sufficient background to jump directly into Plato’s dialogues themselves.

The most interesting parts of the book cover the development of Plato’s dialogues and ideas. For example, Waterfield notes that the story of the Oracle proclaiming Socrates to be the wisest man in Athens—which Plato says launched Socrates on his Socratic mission of questioning others—is almost certainly false, because Socrates could have only been considered wise by the Oracle in the first place because he had already been engaging people in Socratic questioning. Plato is simply dramatizing the context by which he wants posterity to remember the wisdom and teachings of Socrates.

Another key takeaway is that Plato’s philosophy was anti-dogmatic in character (this was important for the subsequent development of Western philosophy). It’s telling that Plato’s most prominent followers, including his successor as head of the Academy, Speusippus, ultimately disagreed with Plato’s core doctrines. This fact signifies that the point of the Academy was not the unchanging proliferation of Plato’s ideas, but rather critical engagement and progress in philosophical research questions. In our current environment of shallow and closed-minded thinking, there are few lessons that could be more well-received.

[Alex Kalinske · Rating 3 out of 5]

Concerning the man, his life and work, rather than his thought, ‘Plato of Athens’ develops a persuasive chronology within the philosopher’s corpus, which spread in the later years coextending through his ostensive political engagements evince particular driving motivations implicit within his penultimate masterworks, namely the Republic and Laws. A book of scholarship in this respect, and provisionally in these first historical conjectures to be merely taken at its authoritative face, Waterfield’s enquiry into the life of the philosopher is less an introduction to the spirituous world the man of genius constructs by pen, dwells within, and hence confers to the West—and for which he is revered and beloved—than an abstinent and vitiated state of a false reprieve for readers at once critical of yet engrossed within the significance of each among the Dialogues and what they may together represent. Written thus not to introduce the genius of Plato, but to suspend his wandering readers from returning ever-to his thought, ‘Plato of Athens’ begs a simple criticism: it is either for those repugnant enough to delude themselves from the spell of Plato or Platonists who would rather stay unfettered amidst the brilliance of the clouds; for intellectual vagabonds or the exiles of gilded citadels; either the marauders of opinion or the guardians of mankind. To each it solicits an arid despondency: academics from their progenitors, philosophers from philosophy; neither to be given to the consolation the one is deprived of and the other coveting. Like anarchists in close quarters or utopians adrift at sea—be it neither with genuine want for more—whosoever reads ‘Plato of Athens’ may gain no greater information. Yet for want of knowledge of a sort one may read it: not under the inveterate draw of a pure love of knowing, but for the sake of a fastidious knowledge of a likeness of the man of whom there is always more worth reading.

[Andyaudiobooker F · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting read- though a complicated one. The author admits that there is not a lot of *verified* authentic material pertaining to all of Plato's writings (much less a fully accurate biography), therefore we do not have a clear, accurate picture of all of Plato's contributions to philosophy and philosophical discussion. As such, this book is more of an attempt to put together the many fragments- puzzle pieces if you will- of Plato's life, aided by information of known historical events and reliable third-party accounts.

Personally, the willingness of an author to confess how much knowledge he doesn't have, and yet *still* manage to put together a useful detailing of Plato's life, is a refreshing sample of integrity and effort in modern-day writing.

[Ryan Schaller · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're not familiar with Waterfield's name, his translations of Classical Greek texts have been published by both Oxford World Classics and Penguin. He clearly has a deep familiarity with Plato's work. I thought Waterfield did a wonderful job of giving just enough info about the dialogues to understand their potential relevance to Plato's life and thought without giving the full deep dive you'd expect in a philosophy text.

Enjoyable and quick read that also deepened my understanding of Plato's work. Makes me want to spent more time with the dialogues themselves.

[Russel Henderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Waterfield managed to assemble a decent biography out of a life in fragment, attempting to separate fact, fiction, and innuendo to paint a portrait of the man. The challenge is the lack of source material, which leaves his biographer to devote pages to ordering his dialogues, an effort that has scholarly interest but limited popular appeal. It's about as good as can be expected under the circumstances.