When was The Republic written by Plato?
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The Republic (, Politeia; Latin: Res Publica) is a Socratic dialogue, written by Plato around 380 BC, concerning justice (), the order and character of the just city-state, and the just man. It is Plato's best-known work, and has proven to be one of the world's most influential works of philosophy and political theory, both intellectually and historically.
Republic (Plato)
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Several Oxyrhynchus Papyri fragments were found to contain parts of the Republic, and from other works such as Phaedo, or the dialogue Gorgias, written around 200-300 CE. Fragments of a different version of Plato's Republic were discovered in 1945, part of the Nag Hammadi library, written ca. 350 CE. These findings highlight the influence of Plato during those times in Egypt.
Republic (Plato)
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Many of the scholars in the Platonic Academy sought to clarify and explain Plato's ideas. Already in the 3rd century BC, we hear of a commentary to Plato's "Timaeus" being written by Crantor of Soli; and in the 1st century AD a commentary on Plato's "Republic" was written by Onasander. By the 2nd century the Middle Platonists were producing paraphrases and summaries of Plato's thought. Thus we have Albinus, who wrote an introduction to Plato's works, and Alcinous and Apuleius who both wrote manuals of Platonism. From the physician Galen we have fragments of a commentary on the "Timaeus". Already though the influence of Aristotle was being felt on the popular Platonism of the day, and we have the figure of Atticus (c. 175) who opposed the eclecticism which had invaded the school and contested the theories of Aristotle as an aberration from Plato.
Commentaries on Plato
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Plato's "The Republic" (c. 424–c. 348 BCE) is credited with having popularized the concept of compulsory education in Western intellectual thought. Plato's rationale was straightforward. The ideal city would require ideal individuals, and ideal individuals would require an ideal education. 
The popularization of Plato's ideas began with the wider Renaissance and the translation of Plato's works by Marsilio Ficino (1433–1499), culminating in the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, known for his own work on education (including Emile, or On Education), said, 'To get a good idea of public education, read Plato’s Republic. It is not a political treatise, as those who merely judge books by their title think, but it is the finest, most beautiful work on education ever written.'
Compulsory education
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The "Republic" is generally placed in the "middle period" of Plato's dialogues—that is, it is believed to be written after the "early period" dialogues but before the "late period" dialogues. However, the distinction of this group from the early dialogues is not as clear as the distinction of the late dialogues from all the others. Nonetheless, Ritter, Arnim, and Baron—with their separate methodologies—all agreed that the "Republic" was well distinguished, along with "Parmenides", "Phaedrus" and "Theaetetus".
Republic (Plato)
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Many think that "Clitophon" is a fragment or draft written by Plato. Grube believes "Clitophon" to have been a draft of Plato as a reflection of his dissatisfaction with his earlier methods, a tone seen in the middle period of Plato's works, but was abandoned as is attested to in its lack of revision. Bury believed that, if indeed it was written by Plato, "Clitophon" would be a fragmentary preface of "Republic", a stance held by Shorey and Grote. However, Slings makes note that no ancient author ever indicated that "Clitophon" was incomplete or unfinished. In "Parallel Lives", Plutarch, fully aware of "Clitophon", mentions that Plato's life ended before finishing his work (32.2), namely "Critias", not "Clitophon"; this indicates that "Clitophon" was finished in the opinion of ancient authors.
Clitophon (dialogue)
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The English title of Plato's dialogue is derived from Cicero's "De re publica", written some three centuries later. Cicero's dialogue imitates Plato's style and treats many of the same topics, and Cicero's main character Scipio Africanus expresses his esteem for Plato and Socrates.
Republic (Plato)
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Zeno of Citium, the founder of Stoicism, wrote his own imitation of Plato's "Republic", c. 300 BC. "Zeno's Republic" advocates a form of anarchism in which all of the citizens are philosophers, and advocates a more radical form of sexual communism than that proposed by Plato.
Republic (Plato)
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Thomas More, when writing his "Utopia", invented the technique of using the portrayal of a "utopia" as the carrier of his thoughts about the ideal society. In Thomas More's Utopia, the island Utopia is also similar to Plato's "Republic" in some aspects, among them common property and the lack of privacy.
Cultural influence of Plato's Republic
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In 2001, a survey of over 1,000 academics and students voted the "Republic" the greatest philosophical text ever written. Julian Baggini argued that although the work "was wrong on almost every point, the questions it raises and the methods it uses are essential to the western tradition of philosophy. Without it we might not have philosophy as we know it."
Republic (Plato)