SOCRATES was born in Athens in 469 B.C. and believed he
had a divine mission to test the truth of what he and his
fellow citizens believed. This mission earned him the love of many young pupils, but it also earned him the death penalty in 399 B.C. When Plato (428-348 B.C.), his most brilliant pupil, wrote dialogues in which Socrates challenged the ideas of his countrymen, he mixed his own far more developed ideas in with Socrates's original thoughts. The dialogues of Plato became so central to Western civilization that it has been said, "All philosophy is a footnote to Plato."