One of the masterpieces of ancient Greek literature. The symposium at Agathon's house and discussions about love. The dominant figure of Socrates. Through the words of Diotima, he expresses his views on love, which echo Platonic theory. The supreme bliss of witnessing absolute beauty.

Plato was born in 427 BC, a descendant of a prominent Athenian family. He received a significant education and was acquainted with the Greek philosophical movements. However, what decisively shaped his ethical and spiritual being was Socrates, with his life, philosophy, and death. The great philosopher was the reason young Plato turned to philosophy, and the Socratic conception formed the basis for the development of the later Platonic theory of Ideas.

Plato profoundly interpreted Socrates as a man and teacher, capturing his personality in many of his works. He traveled to Egypt, Cyrene, and Great Greece, where he attempted, unsuccessfully, to implement his political principles in the organization of the Greek cities of Sicily.

In 387 BC, he founded the Academy in Athens, a renowned center of philosophy and the Muses, which lasted almost ten centuries, until the times of Justinian. Plato dedicated himself to teaching and writing until his death (348 BC). His works, all of which survive, were classified by Thrasyllus into nine tetralogies. Almost all belong to the genre of dialogue, in which Plato emerged not only as a leading philosopher but also as a true poet.

His teaching arises from the doctrines of Greek thought, Orphism, Pythagorean and Ionian philosophy, and of course the Socratic discourse, and ultimately takes shape as Plato's personal creation in a colossal philosophical system. His philosophy - ethical, ontological, political - is the foundation of global Idealism and perhaps influenced more than any other the thought of all eras.