Plato ( /ˈpleɪtoʊ/; Greek: Πλάτων, Plátōn, "broad";[2] 424/423 BC[a] – 348/347 BC) was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the foundations of Western philosophy and science.[3]