| 427 BCE | Plato is born in Athens, Greece, to an aristocratic family. His father, Ariston, is a descendent of the early kings of Athens, and his mother, Perictione, is related to the famous Athenian statesman Solon. |
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| c. 407-406 BCE | Plato becomes a student of the philosopher Socrates, who significantly influences his philosophical views. |
| 399 BCE | Socrates is sentenced to death by the Athenian government on charges of impiety and corrupting the youth. Plato is deeply affected by Socrates’ execution and begins to write his philosophical dialogues featuring Socrates as the central character. |
| c. 387 BCE | Plato founds the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. The Academy becomes a center for philosophical, scientific, and mathematical research and teaching. |
| c. 367 BCE | Plato travels to Syracuse, in modern-day Italy, to become the tutor of the young ruler Dionysius II. However, his attempts to instill his philosophical ideas in the ruler are unsuccessful. |
| c. 360 BCE | Plato writes the “Timaeus” and “Critias,” dialogues that contain the story of the lost city of Atlantis. |
| c. 348-347 BCE | Plato writes the “Laws,” his last major work and one of the earliest treatises on political philosophy. |
| 347 BCE | Plato dies in Athens at around the age of 80. His nephew, Speusippus, becomes the head of the Academy and continues Plato’s philosophical legacy. |