Bust of Plato (428 BC-347 BC), ancient Greek philosopher. He is considered one of the most influential philosophers in history, known for his contributions to philosophy, ethics, politics and science. Plato was a student of Socrates, founded the Academy in Athens - the first institution of higher learning in the Western world, and taught Aristotle. Plato helped to establish the first coherent model of the motion of heavenly bodies and wrote about the circulatory system in his work Timaeus.