The area of the Academy (Academia), known from ancient sources, was located outside the city walls to the northwest, in Exo (Outer) Kerameikos. It was bounded by the hill of Hippios Kolonos and the banks of the river Kephissos. It was connected to the Dipylon, the main entrance to the city of Athens, by a road that passed through the Demosion Sema, i.e. the most important public cemetery in the city. Along this road, torch- races were held in memory of the deceased, starting from Dipylon and ending at the entrance of the Academy. Although the archaeological remains that survive are very few, as most of the area lies under the current urban fabric, the identification of the Academy was confirmed by the discovery of a horos (boundary stone), a stone landmark with an inscription that defined the site.

It was a suburb to the west of Athens, outside the city walls, where the Kephissos river flowed. Its name, according to the mythological narrative, is attributed to its first settler, the hero Akademos (Academus) or Hekademos, son of Kolonos, the eponymous hero of the hill in the area (hill of Hippios Kolonos). The myth recounts that Akademos helped the Dioscuri, Castor and Polydeuces, find their sister Helen that had been kidnapped by Theseus. In gratitude, the two brothers offered him the land of the Academy, and thus Akademos became its first settler. Etymologically, the prevailing interpretation suggests that the term is formed from the combination of the words ‘ekas’ and ‘demos’, meaning away from the crowd, away from the city. Other scholars propose an alternative origin, linking the name to the verb ‘akeomai’, meaning to heal. This implies a nuanced meaning of healing or recreation for the community (derived from ‘akeomai’ and ‘demos’).

As early as the 6th century BCE, the area hosted one of the three most important gymnasiums (places of physical and spiritual training) of the city. The area, surrounded by a peribolos, housed many shrines and altars, such as those of Academus, Eros, Athena, Prometheus, Hermes, Hephaestus and Zeus. In the sacred grove dedicated to the goddess Athena, there existed the “Moriae olives”, from which oil was produced and offered as a prize in the Panathenaic Games. In the 5th century BCE, Kimon carried out landscaping works, planting trees and constructing a water supply pipeline. Thus, the area was transformed into a lush idyllic landscape suitable for recreation and learning. The influence of the natural environment on the human mind and soul seems to have inspired Plato to establish his Academy in this place.

In 387 BCE, Plato founded his School of Philosophy in the public area of the Academy, where other schools were also operating. The great thinker seems to have continued the teaching methods of his mentor Socrates, emphasising on philosophical discussion, the Dialectic, and lacking a specific curriculum. A peristyle building, square in plan, excavated in the area, dates to this period and scholars have identified it either as the Palaestra of the Academy of classical times or as the Peripatos, part of Plato’s School. Another view suggests that it could be a temple dedicated to the Muses, founded by the philosopher. Plato, a leading intellectual figure of all times, taught as head of the Academy until 347 BCE, when he left for the court of Dionysius II the Younger, king of Syracuse, in the hope to implement his political ideals in practice.

Plato’s Academy continued to operate with eminent philosophers at its head. In 86 BCE, during Sulla’s invasion, the area was plundered. Literary sources speak of such severe destruction that Antiochus Ascalonites, head of the Platonic Academy in 79/8 BCE, decided to relocate the school in the area of the Lyceum, in the eastern suburbs of Athens. Shortly afterwards, it seems that Plato’s Academy continued to operate in its original location. In the 3rd century CE, the Academy flourished with the philosophical movement of Neoplatonism, which was founded on Plato’s basic ideas. In the year 529 CE, Emperor Justinian banned the teaching of philosophy in Athens and the Academy was permanently shut down.