1433-1499
Philosopher And Translator

Platonic Academy. As the son of the physician of Cosimo de Medici, Marsilio Ficino was also intended for a medical career, and he received an excellent education at Florence and Bologna. He was distracted from medicine by developing a strong interest in Plato, and in 1456, Cosimo provided him support to learn Greek. Previously the city of Florence had hosted a meeting of leaders of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches in hopes of bringing about church reunion, and it stimulated Greek studies in the city. After the fall of Constantinople (1453) many Greek scholars fled to Florence, and Cosimo was eager to enhance his city's reputation as the center of Greek learning in Italy. By 1462 Ficino had become fluent enough in Greek that Cosimo commissioned him to translate all of Plato's works into Latin, working from a complete manuscript of the ancient scholar's writings...