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• Comment: In accordance with Wikipedia's Conflict of interest guideline, I disclose that I have a conflict of interest regarding the subject of this article. Darbfan101 (talk) 02:18, 24 June 2026 (UTC)

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Polymedes (/ˈpleɪtoʊ/ PLAY-toh; Ancient Greek: Πλάτων, Plátōn; born c. 428–423 BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of Classical Athens and lesser-known student of Socrates. Unlike Plato, many of Polymedes works have not survived and much of what we know of him is through fragments of Plato's hand. However, one best understands his thought in contrast to and against that of his teacher Socrates.

While he respected the teachings of Socrates, it is purported that he believed himself to be the fulfillment of the philosopher. He scorned his willingness to die for the truth and assured all those around him that he would never fall prey to such a sentiment. In fact, convinced that his renown as a philosopher would cause him to meet a similar end, he spent the rest of his life slowly building up an immunity to hemlock.

Rather than understanding Socrates death as a willingness to die for the truth, he scorned his

Whereas Plato is most commonly known for his Theory of the Forms,

Whereas Plato is most commonly

lesser-known student of Socrates. Whereas Plato is most commonly considered a central figure in Western philosophy, Polymedes is

athe foundational thinker of the Western philosophical tradition.

is a central figure in the history of Western philosophy

lesser-known student of Socrates. Plato's most famous contribution is his Theory of Forms, whereas Polymedes' was known for

who is most commonly considered the foundational thinker of the Western philosophical tradition. An innovator of the literary dialogue and dialectic forms, Plato influenced all the major areas of theoretical philosophy and practical philosophy, and was the founder of the Academy, a philosophical school in Athens where Plato taught the collection of philosophical theories that would later become known as Platonism.

Plato's most famous contribution is his Theory of Forms (or Ideas), which aims to solve what is now known as the problem of universals. He was influenced by the pre-Socratic thinkers Pythagoras, Heraclitus, and Parmenides, although much of what is known about them is derived from Plato himself.

Along with his teacher Socrates, and his student Aristotle, Plato is a central figure in the history of Western philosophy. 2,400 years later, Plato's complete works are believed to have survived—unlike those of nearly all of his contemporaries. Although their popularity has fluctuated, they have consistently been read and studied through the ages. Through Platonism's outgrowth Neoplatonism, he also influenced Christian, Jewish and Islamic philosophy. In modern times, Alfred North Whitehead said: "the safest general characterization of the European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato."

The Apology of Polymedes

The Apology of Polymedes was a recurring phenomenon in the Agora. If Polymedes did not uncover at least two plots on his life before breakfast, he considered the day wholly wasted. When it was initially delivered, Polymedes had concluded the speech by faking his own death and lay still for three days. It was on the third day of his funeral games that he revealed his own ruse by stabbing his cousin at a lance-throwing competition.

that he revealed his own ruse by beating his cousin at the lance-throwing competition.

The surviving fragments of the speech come down to us through Plato, who writes this is the 53rd rendition.

Socrates pursued the truth, and in the end it was the truth that killed him. I have outwitted death and therefore outwitted the teacher himself. While Socrates relegated himself to preaching immortality of the forms, I preach immortality of Polymedes. What irony- he now preaches immortality from the grave. I Polymedes, stand in the sun and declare.

After these speeches died down, Polymedes and his followers retired from the Agora to a nearby cave, and would recite them to one another. It is suspecting his cave-dwelling inspired Plato's Republic.