The International Community (Koinon) of Academies stands as a modern echo of Plato’s ancient Academy, where wisdom once walked beneath the shade of the olive trees. Rooted in the sacred soil of Plato’s Academy (Akademia Platonos), on land entrusted for the union of minds and cultures, the Koinon seeks to rekindle a timeless dialogue among the world’s great modern Academies.
The Koinon is a nonprofit association created in accordance with Article 78 of Greek Law 5120/2024, based on the will of Aristophron, who donated approximately 50,000 square meters of land at the archaeological site of Plato’s Academy in Athens. His goal was to create an international organization to promote cooperation among Academies worldwide and collaboration with distinguished scientists, artists, and institutions. With plans to construct a new bioclimatic facility alongside the New Museum of the City of Athens, the Koinon will operate from its present offices at the Academy of Athens.
The Koinon is governed by a Board of Directors and includes full (regular), honorary and meritorious members. Accredited Academies join as honorary members and participate in the Committee of Honorary Members, which functions as its plenary body. The Koinon aims to promote the principles of Plato’s Academy through international symposia, scientific and cultural events, global awards, and joint activities with academic institutions worldwide. It is a gathering place for scholars, artists, and thinkers—honoring the pursuit of truth, the beauty of knowledge, and the harmony of global collaboration. The Koinon will serve as a lasting hub for elite events of human minds and souls in the Anthropocene.
- The Park of Akademia and Plato’s Akademia
The area named Akademia (Ἑκαδήμεια) took its name from the legendary Greek hero Academus. This area was located in the most beautiful suburb of ancient Athens with a sacred olive grove dedicated to several gods, including the goddess Athena. The lot was bounded by the famous river Kifissos, which flowed in the northwestern outskirts of the city. Plato acquired an orchard adjacent to the Akademia Park, where he established his “Akademia” in 387 BCE.
Plato’s Academy is considered the first institution of higher learning, where philosophy, astronomy, mathematics, and other disciplines were explored. However, rather than a formal educational institution, it functioned more as a society of thinkers. Plato died in 347 BCE and was buried in the Akademia - likely within his orchard, the precise location of which still remains undiscovered. The site was destroyed by the Roman general Lucius Sulla in 86 BCE and in its place a Neo-Platonic Academy was later established and operated until Emperor Justinian permanently closed the Academy in 529 CE.
Systematic efforts to locate Plato’s Academy began after the establishment of the Modern Greek state in the 19th century. Guided by ancient texts, archaeologists focused on the area near the Hill of Hippeios Colonus, around 1.5 kilometers northwest of Athens’ Dipylon Gate. Major excavations were carried out much later, between 1929 and 1939, by architect and philanthropist Panagiotis Aristophron, under the auspices of the Academy of Athens and the supervision of its member, archaeologist Konstantinos Kourouniotis. In 1966, a boundary stone was found in situ bearing the inscription “ΟΡΟΣ ΤΕΣ ΗΕΚΑΔΕΜΕΙΑΣ” (ca. 500 BCE), confirming the park’s historical location and name.
Today, the ruins of the ancient Akademia remain in its original site, now a densely populated Athens’ neighborhood still called Akademia Platonos (Plato’s Academy). Declared an archaeological site in 1939 and an archaeological park in 1979, the area is protected by Greek cultural heritage laws. The tall trees and shaded walkways continue to reflect the spirit of Plato’s time.- The Academy of Athens and the Legacy of Panagiotis Aristophron
The neoclassical building of the Academy of Athens was designed in 1859 by the renowned Danish architect Theophil Hansen and was fully financed by the philanthropist Baron Simon Sinas. The Academy of Athens, founded by constitutional decree on March 18, 1926, is Greece’s National Academy for the Sciences, Humanities and Fine Arts, in honor of Plato’s original Academy. Panagiotis Aristophron, a renowned architect and philanthropist, deeply inspired by Plato’s vision, purchased an estate in the Akademia area with the aim of uncovering and restoring the ancient Academy. He led and sponsored the first systematic excavation in the area, which was conducted between 1929 and 1939, under the supervision of archaeologist and academician Konstantinos Kourouniotis. Excavations revealed a large gymnasium complex, including a rectangular court and portions of a square peristyle.
Unfortunately, due to the onset of World War II, Aristophron left Greece in 1939 for Alexandria, where he passed away in 1944, before his work could be completed. Excavations resumed between 1956 and 1963, led by archaeologist Phoebus Stavropoulos with the financial support of the Academy of Athens. These excavations uncovered the so-called “House of Hekademos” and the Sacred House. Further archaeological work continued between 1990 and 2002 under the Greek Ministry of Culture, sponsored by the Academy of Athens.
In his 1937 will, Aristophron bequeathed approximately 50,000 square meters of land in and around the archaeological park to the Academy of Athens. As stated in his will, his expressed intent was to establish an International Community (Koinon) of Academies - a collaborative venue for global academies, universities, and research institutions, reviving the spirit of Plato’s Academy on its original grounds.- Construction of the Facilities for the Koinon at the New Museum of the City of Athens
In June 2022, the Greek Ministry of Culture, the Academy of Athens, and the Municipality of Athens signed a cooperation agreement to continue excavations at Akademia Platonos. The plan includes the construction of the New Museum of the City of Athens and establishing offices and conference facilities for the International Community (Koinon) of Academies on a 26,000 square meter plot owned by the Academy, as per Aristophron’s will. This initiative envisions an environmentally sustainable, bioclimatic complex that serves both as a museum and a hub for the Koinon’s global activities. Following the amendment of the Academy’s Organizational Charter in November 2024 via Greek Law 5120/2024, the Senate of the Academy of Athens unanimously approved the establishment of the International Community (Koinon) of Academies as a nonprofit association.
- Objectives & Purpose
The International Community (Koinon) of Academies was not created to duplicate existing networks (such as IAP, ISC, ALLEA, etc.), because it does not function as a parallel structure to any of them. The Academy of Athens created the Koinon as a tribute to Plato’s Academy, at the very place where Plato developed his interdisciplinary philosophy. On this very site, remains of Plato’s Academy still exist today, with ruins and remnants of the grove where Plato developed his interdisciplinary dialogues. Plato would not accept people who were ignorant of geometry in his Academy (!), and he was referring to environmental protection thousands of years ago.
The idea resembles an earlier initiative that revitalized the Olympic Games in 1896, which is now considered the most outstanding quadrennial athletic event worldwide. The Koinon could play the role of serving as its spiritual complement among its interdisciplinary activities. Τhe added value of the Koinon, in comparison to other existing networks, is that it will also offer a stationary focal point in Athens, with offices and conference facilities located at the very place of Plato’s Academy! The facilities will be at the disposal and can be used by all Honorary Members to fulfil the decisions taken by the Plenary session of Honorary Members, which will take place every four years. They would serve the purpose described in the Statutes of the Koinon, hosting future multidisciplinary gatherings, meetings and events, where Honorary Members are expected to play a vital role in a highly historic and beautiful setting.
The need for creating the Koinon is that it will fulfil the existing gap of the link between the original Academy’s ideas by Plato and its evolution in time and space. It will fill in also the gap of a real global involvement of spirit at the highest level which is not completely tackled in the quadrennial Olympic Games. The Koinon’s target is mainly the interdisciplinarity between science, humanities and art under the umbrella of the evolving field of artificial intelligence. And last but not least is the fulfilment of the will of the great benefactor Aristofron who bequeathed a large piece of land to the Koinon at the very place where Plato’s Academy existed. At the highest spiritual level, the academic ideas will create a historic focal point so much needed in our times where spirit is being threatened by other global needs or bad strategies which in turn are seriously threatening our civilization and the survival of humankind in our planet.38 Academies have presently accepted the invitation to become Honorary Members, and they will meet in Athens at the Academy of Athens premises in February 2025. The date of the Inaugural Ceremony of the Koinon has been selected to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the Academy of Athens.
