Plato

Plato was an ancient Greek philosopher and student of Socrates who founded the Academy in Athens — one of the earliest institutions of higher learning in the Western world. His dialogues, many featuring Socrates as a character, remain among the most widely read works in the history of philosophy.

Plato's theory of Forms holds that the physical world is only a shadow of a higher reality of eternal, unchanging essences. His political philosophy, developed in the Republic, envisions a just state ruled by philosopher-kings who have glimpsed these Forms through rigorous philosophical education.