ABSTRACT
One of the valuable products of the Hellenic mind, which has been offered freely to the world at large, is Hellenic philosophy, especially Platonic philosophy. With its roots in the Pythagorean tradition, its Socratic flavor, and its powerful influence, Platonic philosophy occupies a central place in the history of Hellenic philosophy and, by extension, the history of "European philosophy", which has been characterized as "footnotes to Plato". This chapter argues that the thesis was the Christian version of Platonism, as opposed to the Hellenic version, which influenced "European philosophy" to the extent that one can speak of "philosophy" in Christian Europe without a serious equivocation. It maintains that there were fundamental differences between these two versions of Platonism, the Hellenic and the Christian. For the perceptive student of Hellenic philosophy, Plato, his teacher Socrates, and his pupil Aristotle constitute a triad of genuine philosophic wisdom, which is unique in the annals of Mediterranean culture.
