Opaque watercolor, gold, and ink on paper entitled: Plato as a Musician. India, Mughal empire, circa 1600; (border, 19th century). Plato (424/423-348/347 BC) was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the foundations of Western philosophy and science. Plato's dialogues have been used to teach a range of subjects, including philosophy, logic, ethics, rhetoric, and mathematics. A variety of sources have given accounts of Plato's death, but most agree he probably died quietly in his sleep.