The author of the dialogue Phaedo is Plato, a classical Greek philosopher. Plato was born in Athens in 428 or 427 BC and was a student of Socrates. He founded the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Plato wrote many dialogues, including Phaedo, which is one of his most famous works. In this dialogue, Plato discusses the immortality of the soul and the nature of death.