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Plato Quizzes, Trivia and Puzzles
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Plato Trivia

Plato Trivia Quizzes

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3 Plato quizzes and 20 Plato trivia questions.
1.
  Plato: A Real Wise Guy    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
A student of Socrates, a teacher of Aristotle, and one of the most brilliant philosophers of antiquity. If a subject is of any importance, chances are, Plato wrote about it.
Tough, 10 Qns, astorian, Feb 07 21
Tough
astorian
Feb 07 21
826 plays
2.
  The Disciples of Plato   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 5 Qns
These followers of Plato made substantial contributions to the sciences of mathematics and astronomy. Can you guess their names?
Very Difficult, 5 Qns, thejazzkickazz, Aug 05 16
Very Difficult
thejazzkickazz gold member
659 plays
3.
  Plato the Scientist?   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 5 Qns
We all know that Plato was a great philosopher but did you know he also greatly influenced Western scientific thought? This quiz delves a little into this thought...have fun!
Difficult, 5 Qns, thejazzkickazz, Apr 19 11
Difficult
thejazzkickazz gold member
566 plays

Plato Trivia Questions
1. In Plato's "The Republic", who does Socrates suggest should rule over society?

From Quiz Plato: A Real Wise Guy

Answer: an elite group of "philosopher-kings"

Socrates thought a democratic society was bound to collapse into anarchy and decadence, and that only leadership by a virtuous elite could prevent this.

2. Which student of Plato developed the system of concentric spheres that became the epicycles of the Ptolemaic astronomical system?

From Quiz The Disciples of Plato

Answer: Eudoxus

Eudoxus was born on the Cnidus Peninsula along the Ionian coast of Asia Minor. Working off of Plato's notion that the solar system was geocentric, he developed the system mentioned above. He was a great influence on both Ptolemy and Euclid.

3. Which work of Plato's was most influenced by the mystical-scientific ideas of the Pythagoreans?

From Quiz Plato the Scientist?

Answer: Timaeus

For this reason, some consider it his least 'Platonic'.

4. Aside from developing the system of concentric spheres upon which the epicyclic Ptolemaic arrangement of the solar system was based, what other remarkable achievement was made by this great follower of Plato - Eudoxus?

From Quiz The Disciples of Plato

Answer: He estimated the solar year to be 365 days and six hours long

Unfortunately, Eudoxus, as great a mathematician as he was, could not make the breakthrough that would have helped him to surmise that the solar system was heliocentric. Hence, the Ptolemaic geocentric tradition passed down via Plato.

5. The 'Platonic bodies' which Plato describes in his 'most scientific work' (mentioned in the previous question) can best be characterized as what?

From Quiz Plato the Scientist?

Answer: Regular Solids

The Platonic bodies are the five regular solids described by the Pythagoreans, all of which have equal sides and equal angles.

6. What is the primary subject of Socrates' dialogues with Theaetetus?

From Quiz Plato: A Real Wise Guy

Answer: the nature of human knowledge

Theaetetus, who was killed in the Peloponnesian War, had engaged in a memorable dialogue with Socrates as a youth.

7. Plato and his most esteemed student, Aristotle, both appear in the painting "The School of Athens" by which Renaissance master?

From Quiz Plato: A Real Wise Guy

Answer: Raphael

Many leading artists and intellectuals appear in the painting. Those who dealt with ideals and abstract subjects surround Plato, while those more concerned with practical matters surround Aristotle. Interestingly, Raphael placed himself in the painting alongside Aristotle.

8. Which Platonic disciple suggested that the Earth turns on its axis every 24 hours and that the solar system might be heliocentric?

From Quiz The Disciples of Plato

Answer: Heracleides

The Heracleidean position, that the solar system might be heliocentric, was eventually adopted by Aristarchus. Heracleides at least knew for certain that both Mercury and Venus revolved around the sun. Unfortunately, the views of the Platonic/Aristotilean positions won out over Aristarchan theory.

9. Which subject does Socrates discuss in "Euthyphro"?

From Quiz Plato: A Real Wise Guy

Answer: Piety, and our duties toward the gods

This dialogue leads to no clear conclusion. Socrates is interested not so much in giving answers as in shaking up our notions of the gods.

10. Another individual from the Platonic school, he initiated the study of conic sections -- the hyperbola, the parabola and the ellipse. Who was he?

From Quiz The Disciples of Plato

Answer: Menaechmus

Menaechmus, like Callipus, was a pupil of Eudoxus. He was the true innovator, developing his theory about the several conic sections, all of which could be cut from a cone. The work of Menaechmus was carried on and expanded by Apollonius of Perga several centuries later. Okay...I hope this was a mind-expanding quiz, despite its brevity. Thank you for playing along!

11. What is the subject of Plato's "The Symposium"?

From Quiz Plato: A Real Wise Guy

Answer: Love

A drunken rant by Alcibiades is one of the highlights of "The Symposium".

12. In "The Symposium", what Greek playwright suggests that all human beings are seeking their missing other halves?

From Quiz Plato: A Real Wise Guy

Answer: Aristophanes

The comic playwright Aristophanes concocts a myth in which early human beings were hermaphrodites who were split apart by the gods. So when people seek out husbands or wives, they're really looking for their missing halves, to become complete.

13. According to Plato's "Phaedo," what was Socrates' demeanor in his cell, as he awaited his pending execution?

From Quiz Plato: A Real Wise Guy

Answer: Pleasant, calm and resigned to his fate

Socrates passed time in his cell by writing poetry based on Aesop's fables.

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