Plato was taught by a classical Greek philosopher.
Plato ( [ ˈpleɪtoʊ ] Greek : Πλάτων Plátōn , [ plá.tɔːn ] in Classical Attic ; 428/427 or 424/423 -- 348/347 BCE ) was a philosopher in Classical Greece and the founder of the Academy in Athens , the first institution of higher learning in the Western world . Socrates ( [ ˈsɒkrətiːz ] Σωκράτης [ - grcsɔːkrátɛːs ] , Sōkrátēs ; 470/469 -- 399 BC ) was a classical Greek ( Athenian ) philosopher credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy .