Plato

Plato was, as well as Socrates and all the other great names, was an essential part of Greek history and philosophy. He was the writer of basically all of Socrates' pieces including Meno, and The Apology. With these pieces, came the fame of Plato, in the years after his death.
Plato was born in 428 B.C. and eventually died in 348 B.C. He was a poet, mathematician, philisophical writer, as well as being the founder of the Academy of Athens. (Source) Plato was a student of Socrates, and was greatly influenced by him, and learned much about the society of Athens by studying the death of his teacher. Plato had undeniable ability to think and to write, as can be seen in his works. (Williams 41) Much of this ability is because of the influence he had under the teaching of the greatest philosopher the world has ever seen, Socrates. Plato's works are still used to teach a wide range of subjects in today's schools.
One of Plato's works, The Apology, is studied by many people today. It is the oldest work of Plato to date. Only two copies of this work survive, the one f Plato, and another by Xenophon. The Apology explains the speech of Socrates at his trial. He basically says that Athens are still wrong, and that he is deliberately trying to be found guilty and be condemned to death. "Now, although the word "apology" is the direct descendant into English of the Greek word apología, the meaning has changed. Socrates was not apologizing or making excuses. He wasn't sorry. The Greek word apología simply and precisely meant a defense, or a defense speech. This meaning has been preserved in English in some related words: An "apologist" is still someone who argues a defense of someone or something, and "apologetics" is still a discipline or system of argued defense of something, usually a doctrine, cause, or institution. Socrates' speech thus might be translated The Defense of Socrates without the possible confusion over the modern meaning; but after long usage, it is hard to imagine calling the Apology anything else." (Ross) This quote explains that Plato was at the trial, and he understod that Socrates was not trying to say that he was sorry. The Apolgy was a defense for the freedom of Socrates.
Because Plato was a student of Socrates, his thoughts and ideas were instilled in the minds of all the great philosophers to come out of Greece. Plato was the teacher of Aristotle, who was the teacher of Alexander the Great who was the best ruler and conqueror the world has ever seen. Because Alexander conquered so much territory, his ideas were also spread. This spread of ideas all started with Socrates, to Plato, to Aristotle, to Alexander the Great, and into the rest of the world. (Nails 213)
Plato was one of the greatest philosophers we have ever seen. He was influenced by the best, and he also taught the best. The key to greatness in this life, is to learn from the best, and play with the best, then to teach the best. This way you can collect all information from those who have found it successful and use it to beat the best and learn from them.
Williams, Bernard Arthur Owen. Plato. Routledge. 1999.
Nails, Debra. The People of Plato: A Prosopography of Plato and other Socratics. Hackett Publishing. 2002. New York.