The Secret Teachings of All Ages

Euclid Euclid of Megara (c. 435–365 B.C.) was a philosopher and student of Socrates; he is often confused with the famous mathematician Euclid of Alexandria, who lived later. was a devoted admirer of Socrates. The Athenians had passed a law decreeing death to any citizen of Megara found in the city of Athens. Undeterred, Euclid disguised himself in women's clothing and traveled at night to study with Socrates. After the cruel death of their teacher, the disciples of Socrates fled to Megara, fearing they would suffer a similar fate. There, they were received with great honor by Euclid.

The Megarian school accepted the Socratic doctrine that virtue is wisdom, adding to it the Eleatic concept A school of philosophy that argued reality is a single, unchanging substance and that the changing world we see is an illusion. that goodness is absolute unity and all change is merely an illusion of the senses. Euclid maintained that "good" has no opposite, and therefore, evil does not truly exist. When asked about the nature of the gods, he declared himself ignorant of their disposition, except to say that they hated overly inquisitive people.

The Megarians are occasionally included among the dialectic philosophers Philosophers who specialized in the art of logical argument and debate.. Euclid (who died around 374 B.C.) was succeeded in his school by Eubulides, whose disciples included Alexinus and Apollonius Cronus. Euphantus, who lived to a great age and wrote many tragedies, was among the foremost followers of Eubulides. Diodorus is usually included in the Megarian school, having attended Eubulides' lectures. According to legend, Diodorus died of grief because he could not instantly answer certain questions asked of him by Stilpo, who was at one time the master of the Megarian school. Diodorus held that nothing...

A classical engraving of a statue representing Plato. The philosopher is shown as a bearded figure standing in long, draped robes. He stands on a small pedestal with the inscription "PLATON."

Plato's real name was Aristocles. When his father brought him to study with Socrates, the great Skeptic declared that on the previous night he had dreamed of a white swan; he interpreted this as an omen that his new disciple was destined to become one of the world's enlightened. There is also a tradition that the immortal Plato was once sold as a slave by the King of Sicily.