Plato's Dialogues, The Tragedy of Athens, and The Complex Domain
This article is reprinted from the Winter 2003 issue of FIDELIO Magazine. Plato's dialogues encompass an historical sweep of time, from Athens at its height in 450 B.C. to its defeat in the Peloponnesian War, to the death of Socrates in 399 B.C. and beyond. That more than half-century witnessed the self-destruction of Athens, as its imperial ambitions brought it into conflict with its neighboring city-states, especially Sparta, thus precipitating the Peloponnesian war in 432. A series of disasterous decisions led to Athens' ultimate defeat in 404.