Itinerary
No previous knowledge is required for this philosophy experience. Our journey will begin with a 15 min visit at Plato’s Academy Digital Museum (free entrance), preparing ourselves for "meeting’’ Plato, his work and methods.
Then, we will walk about 300m through the archeological park of the Academy and take our position on the ruins of the ancient Gymnasium, the place where the youngsters used to train; same place all great philosophers preferred to gather, teaching the young people. We shall sit on the foundation stones of the ancient buildings, under shaded trees.
You will have the opportunity to participate in dialogues, as we discover the deeper meanings of the Allegory of the Cave while the instructor poses questions, as being another Socrates. You will this way practice the Socrates maieutic (midwife) art, as well as the platonic dialogue techniques through exchanging opinions, beliefs, experiences, and views on modern life example cases, as the ancient Greek philosophers did.
*sometimes the Plato's Digital Museum is closed due to technical or other reasons
Stop At:
• Digital Museum Plato, Alkmeonos 1, Athens 104 42 Greece
• Plato's Academy Park, West Monastiriou, Athens Greece
See Availability.
Plato's Academy Digital Museum, Alkmeonos 1, Athina 104 42, Greece
2 hours(approx.)
Returns to original departure point
Wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Service animals allowed
Near public transportation
Infants must sit on laps
Most travelers can participate
As this workshop takes place at a Historical site, involving Heritage and Cultural aspects, all participants are required to respect ethic, law and respectful conduct etiquette (soberness, cleanliness, photo/video shooting, dress-code, loudness etc) and be respectful and polite during the entire session. Our facilitator has the right to terminate your participation without any refund in case your behavior is disrespectful in regards to the place or the people.
This workshop is an outdoor experience therefore it requires good weather. In the case it is canceled due to poor weather, you will be notified at least 3 hours ahead, and will be offered the option to choose between a different date, a similar workshop, or a full refund.
Suitable for people without previous knowledge, in plain English language. There will be no difficult words or terminology.
There is a small chance that archaeological excavation is taking place at Plato's Academy Park during our visit. In that case we will see the ancient Gymnasium ruins from a short distance and settle at a different spot in the Park.
Suitable for adults and teenagers over 16years old. Underaged participants CANNOT book alone, at least one adult should book too, who is also responsible to supervise them.
Plato's Digital Museum operational hours/days change constantly, plus sometimes it is closed without any announcement.
Attending this workshop in public space means you consent to photo/video shooting which may occur within the course of this service, including the future publication of this material by us or the other participants. You may withdraw your consent at any time (before or after the workshop) by contacting us in writing. We shall not be held accountable for pictures and videos of you, taken by others during our services and for the use of such photo and video materials by those third parties.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund
This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate
Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Posted By : jamesmY7148CV
I recently lead a party of 3 teachers and 30 students aged 16-18 from the UK to Athens and we took part in two experiential workshops run by Hellas Revival (Plato and Democracy). The sessions were lively and fun, very interesting to the students and highly participatory. The level was pitched just right for our group's age and existing knowledge. Our students certainly learned a lot, really took part in the engaging activities, and we have had great feedback from them. Fluent English was spoken by the facilitators who ran the sessions really well, as a teacher I know how challenging it can sometimes be to engage young people but they made it look easy. To have a philosophical debate at the site of Plato's Academy, or take part in a simulation of Athenian democracy in the place where it took place in the ancient world, is so special. The surroundings were beautiful and steeped in history. We will certainly aim to include Hellas Revival workshops in future trips by our institution to Athens. Thanks Olga, Eva and Alex!
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Posted On : 2024-03-21
Posted By : Indra d
This is an unusual, engaging and fund cultural experience of connecting to ancient Athens through its philosophy and politics. We spent two hours with Alex, a philosophy grad student who also studies Ancient Greek and Latin languages, learning something about Plato and Socrates and the life of Athens. This is not a guided tour or a lecture. The idea is to get you doing some philosophical thinking while learning about Plato, his teacher Socrates and the Athenian world they lived in.
The Plato digital museum is a very small but excellently designed free museum which you visit as part of the experience.
All of this is very much off the beaten tourist track which adds another dimension to the experience - the ruins of the academy are in a small public park and have not been fully excavated. There were only a couple of Greek visitors there who said they had come to feel the atmosphere of Plato’s school.
If you have visited the acropolis as we did this offers a brilliant additional experience that offers something more intimate and participatory. Highly recommended for adults and kids equally.
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Posted On : 2023-08-03
Posted By : Pythagoras33
One of the best experiences. Like being real students of the Academy! We even had a friendly cat join who we named Pythagoras. Would highly recommend
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Posted On : 2023-07-08
Posted By : Noah_M
We had a fantastic time. The guide was knowledgeable and engaging. Being able to do philosophy in such an historic place is truly a fantastic experience.
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Posted On : 2023-03-24
Posted By : valentinilui
We visited Athens for 4days with my sister, her husband and my beloved nephew (17years old). We first took the Democracy workshop (wonderful!) and 2 days later we booked the Plato Philosophy one. We did so many different things in just a couple of hours! First, we read some ancient Greek, then we had to find answers in the small but quite interesting museum and then we went to the ancient ruins in Plato Academy Park. There we had to think and speak like ancient philosophers! In the end we had a mini debate with many laughs. Truly eye-opening experience, which kept us thinking and discussing for hours after.. I highly recommend it!
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Posted On : 2022-12-02
Posted By : annemP5439EF
The identification of the entrance! Couldn’t find it. There was no indication where it was despite driving around a fenced in dilapidated park. There was no one to great visitors so I didn’t get out of the car. I did not get the tour that I paid for. Very disappointed.
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Posted On : 2022-09-25
Posted By : Escape801231
Alex was amazing, it was the best day of my life.. I just really loved it and there was a lot of attention to details, truly thoughtful
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Posted On : 2022-09-02
Posted By : Y1590HTdaniely
An easy introductory philosophy workshop for everyone. I went with my family and our 2 teens, and they were involved from beginning to end. The debate at the end brought to life what we had been discussing previously, about the allegory of the cave and Plato himself. Very enjoyable for both teens and adults.
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Posted On : 2022-08-08
Posted By : Barbara L
Walking through the ancient ruins of the Academy and learning about one of the world’s greatest philosophers through discussion and interaction was truly amazing. With a simple historical overview in the beginning and through Plato’s interactive museum, the instructors helped us paint a better picture about Plato. It’s a very enjoyable experience for people traveling to Athens.
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Posted On : 2022-07-18
Posted By : MichaelL12030
Our guide was a gem. Young and passionate about philosophy. We had fun learning about the classical masters of philosophy.
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Posted On : 2022-07-15
