Timaeus

Translated by Benjamin Jowett

Read Listen

"Timaeus" by Plato is a philosophical dialogue written around 360 BC. Through lengthy monologues, the work explores the nature of the physical universe and humanity's place within it. A divine craftsman—the demiurge—brings order from chaos, shaping the cosmos according to eternal, perfect forms. The dialogue examines why the world exists as a living, intelligent whole and how the elements were organized from primordial disorder. It also references the legendary tale of Atlantis, setting the stage for deeper cosmological speculation.

Summary written by Project Gutenberg, by machine.