Place

Syracuse

Sicily · Modern Italy

The most powerful Greek city in the western Mediterranean. Plato traveled here three times, hoping to shape a philosopher-king, and failing each time.

Thinkers Connected to Syracuse

Empedocles

c. 494 BCE – c. 434 BCE

Four roots: earth, water, air, fire. Two forces: love draws together, strife tears apart. He jumped into a volcano to prove he was a god.

Plato

c. 428 BCE – c. 348 BCE

He saw a world behind the world. The Forms are real; what we see are shadows.

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