During Plato’s time, sexual equality in Athens, as well as equality in general, was an unthinkable concept. Men were thought to be superior in most tasks and were treated appropriately by society. “Full citizenship in Greece was normally confined to adult male landowners,” which excluded a large portion of society that consisted of women, plebs, (common people), slaves and those men who were free but d

Plato’s aspiration in achieving a perfect society was idealized by many. Marx’s conception of this perfect society was that “as soon as labour is distributed, each man has a particular, exclusive sphere of activity, which is forced upon him ….” Both Plato and Marx ideas were rooted in the same desire, “ for the truth is that you can have a well-governed society only if you can discover for your future rulers a better way of life.” Plato’s foundation for the better way of life was that society was “ruled by a philosopher-king who always strives to achieve the Good….” One must realize that for a society to prosper and flourish emphasis is needed on what is taught to the upcoming generations, with the aspect of culture that they wish to achieve, for soon they will become the rulers of the land.

Education of all members of Athenian society according to their natural abilities as well as the equality of those members is required for Plato’s ideal society to prosper. Education in Athenian society was not affordable for everyone. Most of the population worked as laborers and had no time to expand their horizons. In fact only the aristocratic, elite families were able to send their children to school or hire private tutors to teach their children the fine arts of music, rhetoric, philosophy and gymnastics, which was considered very important by the Greeks. Plato states that everyone possesses natural abilities that should be refined by education. Plato realized that everyone should be educated in his or her field of experti

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