<P> A variety of ancient higher - learning institutions were developed in many cultures to provide institutional frameworks for scholarly activities . These ancient centres were sponsored and overseen by courts; by religious institutions, which sponsored cathedral schools, monastic schools, and madrasas; by scientific institutions, such as museums, hospitals, and observatories; and by individual scholars . They are to be distinguished from the Western - style university, an autonomous organization of scholars that originated in medieval Europe and has been adopted in other regions in modern times (see list of oldest universities in continuous operation). </P> <P> The Platonic Academy (sometimes referred to as the University of Athens), founded ca . 387 BC in Athens, Greece, by the philosopher Plato, lasted 916 years (until AD 529) with interruptions . It was emulated during the Renaissance by the Florentine Platonic Academy, whose members saw themselves as following Plato's tradition . </P> <P> Around 335 BC, Plato's successor Aristotle founded the Peripatetic school, the students of which met at the Lyceum gymnasium in Athens . The school ceased in 86 BC during the famine, siege and sacking of Athens by Sulla . </P>

Who set up the first university in ancient athens