Contemplate this: What if the very ground beneath our feet held echoes of philosophical giants? This is Akadimia Platonos. It is literally Plato’s Academy in Greek. We are standing in a neighborhood three kilometers west-northwest of Athens’ downtown. This area derives its name from Plato’s Academy. He founded it here in 387 BC. Imagine Plato himself strolling these grounds. He would be deep in thought. He might be discussing the nature of reality with his students.
Akadimia Platonos operated until it was destroyed by the Roman dictator Sulla in 86 BC. Excavations here began in 1929. They continue even today. The area saw housing developments in the early 20th century. Athens began to grow then. An industrial zone was also established. The area became mostly urbanized after World War II and the Greek Civil War.
Today Akadimia Platonos is densely populated. People mainly live in five to seven-story buildings here. Major streets border this area. They include Lenorman Avenue to the east and Palamidou Street to the south. Athinon Avenue is to the west. The two main squares are Akadimia Platonos and Metaxa. The population here is about 15000. Several residential streets are named after places in the Peloponnese. Some are named after famous people and myths.
Akadimia Platonos has schools. It also has lyceums and gymnasia. You will find churches, banks, shops and plateies here too. The nearest Athens Metro station is to the east. It is the Metaxourgeio metro station.
Plato’s Academy was the first institution of higher learning in the West. Subjects like biology and geography were taught here. Astronomy, mathematics and history were also investigated. Aristotle studied here for twenty years. He was here from 367 to 347 BC. He later founded his own school called the Lyceum.
The Akademia was located outside the city walls of ancient Athens. It was located in a grove of olive trees. The grove was dedicated to the goddess Athena. The site was called Academia after its original owner. Academus was an Attic hero in Greek mythology. He saved Athens from attack by Sparta. He revealed where Helen of Troy was hidden.
The road to Akademia was lined with gravestones of Athenians. Funeral games took place in the area. A Dionysiac procession went from Athens to the Hekademeia and back. Plato inherited the property at age thirty. Informal gatherings took place here. They included Theaetetus of Sunium and Archytas of Tarentum. Leodamas of Thasos and Neoclides also attended. Speusippus joined the group around 390 BC. Eudoxus of Cnidos arrived in the mid-380s BC. Eudemus recognized a formal Academy then.
The Academy was open to the public. The main participants were upper-class men. It did not charge fees for membership during Plato’s time. There was a distinction between senior and junior members. Two women studied with Plato. They were Axiothea of Phlius and Lasthenia of Mantinea.
Diogenes Laertius divided the history of the Academy into three. They were the Old, Middle and New Academies. Plato headed the Old Academy. Arcesilaus headed the Middle Academy. Lacydes headed the New Academy.
Above the entrance to the Academy was inscribed a phrase. It said “Let no-one ignorant of geometry enter here.” Simplicius reported that Plato instructed members. He wanted them to discover the simplest explanation of the irregular motion of heavenly bodies.
Sulla laid siege to Athens in 86 BC. He conquered the city and caused much destruction. He laid waste to the Academy.
A revived academy was established in the early fifth century AD. It was founded by neoplatonists. The last scholarch of the Neoplatonic Academy was Damascius.
The site was rediscovered in the twentieth century. The archaeological site is located on either side of Cratylus street. Important monuments are here. They include the Sacred House Geometric Era and the Gymnasium. The Proto-Helladic Vaulted House and the Peristyle Building are also here. The Peristyle Building belonged to Plato’s Academy.
As we leave Akadimia Platonos consider this. We walk in the footsteps of giants. Their ideas shaped the world. This humble park was once a center of thought. It was a beacon of learning. It continues to inspire us today.