The Platonic Academy of Athens: The World’s First University | Platonic Academy - Greek Reporter

Τhe Platonic Academy, or simply, ”The Academy”, was a famous school in ancient Athens founded by Plato in 428/427 BC and located a couple of miles outside the ancient city named Akademeia, after the legendary hero, Akademos by Nick Kampouris - GreekReporter.com

“The School of Athens,” by Raphael. Vatican Museums.
Photo: Public domain

Plato is the one figure who must receive the credit for giving birth to this unique institution. He inherited the land on which the Academy was eventually built, and began holding informal gatherings there to discuss philosophical issues with some of his friends.

The gatherings included thinkers such as Theaetetus of Sunium, Archytas of Tarentum, Leodamas of Thasos, and Neoclides...

The Platonic Academy is considered the world’s first university

The Platonic Academy was not an educational institution as we know it in modern times, but because it had the characteristics of a school and covered a wide variety of topics such as philosophy, astronomy, mathematics, politics, physics and more, it is considered to be the first university in the entire world...

One of them, Aristotle, came to be one of the world’s most influential philosophers of all time.

The teaching methods used by Plato, including both lectures and seminars, focused on his instructions, in addition to dialogue between teachers and students.

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Source: Greek Reporter