The Prometheus Trust, an English publisher of Platonic literature, will be hosting a course for beginners to the Platonic tradition via Zoom call, starting September 19. See link for details.

https://prometheustrust.co.uk/html/essentials_course.html

If you don't want to be bad-tempered, then don't feed the habit, throw nothing before it on which it can feed and grow. First of all, keep calm, and count the days in which you haven't lost your temper - 'I used to lose my temper every day, and after that, every other day then every third day, then every fourth' - and if you continue in that way for thirty days, offer a sacrifice to God. For the habit is first weakened, and then completely destroyed. ... How is this to be achieved, then? Make it your wish finally to be contented with yourself, make it your wish to appear beautiful in the sight of God; you must aspire to become pure in accord with what is pure in yourself and in accord with God. 'Then whenever an impression of that kind assails you, ' says Plato, 'go and offer an expiatory sacrifice; go as a suppliant to the temples of the gods who avert evil; it is indeed sufficient merely to withdraw to the company of wise and virtuous men,' and to examine your life by comparison with theirs, whether you choose your model from among the living or from among the dead.

Epictetus, Discourses 2.18

The purpose that lies before you is to return to your homeland, to relieve your family from fear, to fulfil your duties as a citizen, to marry, to have children, to hold public office. For you haven't come into the world to pick out the prettiest places, but to return and live in the place where you were born, and which you've been enrolled as a citizen. ... Your purpose, man, was to render yourself capable of using the impressions that present themselves to you in conformity with nature, and not to fail to attain what you desire, and not to fall into what you want to avoid, and never to suffer failure or misfortune, but to be free and immune to hindrance or constraint, and as one who conforms to the governing order of Zeus, obeying it and finding satisfaction in it, and never finding fault with anyone, and never accusing anyone, being able to recite these verses with your whole heart, 'guide me, Zeus, and thou, O Destiny.'

Epictetus, Discourses 2.23

I am of the opinion that the gods neither seek sexual relations which are not allowed, nor that they put one another in chains did I ever hold to be correct, and I will never believe it, nor that one is master over the others. The god, if he is truly god, requires nothing. The rest is the wretched words of singers.

Euripides, Herakles

Below is a historically informed reading list to begin your journey. The order matters. This list is based on what we know some historical Platonists used as a curriculum.

The first two are short and straightforward and will transform your life if you engage seriously with them. I recommend reading them frequently and meditating on them daily.

This curriculum will take you through a plan of moral purification and gradually introduce you to deeper philosophical matters.

While not part of the "standard" historical Platonic curriculum, as far as I know, I do also recommend reading Book VII of Plato's Republic, which contains the famous cave allegory. Additionally, Sallust's On the Gods and the World is a good introduction to the Platonic path.

1. The Pythagorean Golden Verses
2. The Handbook of Epictetus
3. Select dialogues of Plato:
1. Alcibiades I
2. Gorgias
3. Phaedo
4. Cratylus
5. Theaetetus
6. Sophist
7. Statesman
8. Phaedrus
9. Symposium
10. Philebus
11. Timaeus
12. Parmenides

Moving on from here, there are ancient commentaries available on many of these texts, as well as numerous other Stoic and Platonic texts, such as those by Epictetus, Seneca, Plotinus and Proclus.

All texts mentioned here are easily accessible online for free.

Do not speak of flight, since I do not think you will persuade me.
For it is not in my blood to do battle by fleeing,
Nor to cower; my nerve is still steady,
And I am unwilling to mount my chariot, but even as I am
I will go to meet them; Pallas Athena will not allow me to retreat.

Homer, Iliad Book 5 252-256

Apologies for the lack of content recently.

"Don't let that which is contrary to nature in another be an evil for you, for you were born to share not in the humiliations or misfortunes of others, but in their good fortune. If anyone suffers misfortune, remember that he suffers it through his own fault, since God created all human beings to enjoy happiness, to enjoy peace of mind." - Epictetus, Discourses 3.24

"Every good tends to unify what participates it; and all unification is a good; and the Good is identical with the One.

For if it belongs to the Good to conserve all that exists (and it is for no other reason that all things desire it); and if likewise that which conserves and holds together the being of each several thing is unity (since by unity each is maintained in being, but by dispersion displaced from existence): then the Good, wherever it is present, makes the participant one, and holds its being together in virtue of this unification.

And secondly, if it belongs to unity to bring and keep each thing together, by its presence it makes each thing complete. In this way, then, the state of unification is good for all things.

But again, if unification is in itself good, and all good tends to create unity, then the Good unqualified and the One unqualified merge in a single principle, a principle which makes things one and in doing so makes them good. Hence it is that things which in some fashion have fallen away from their good are at the same stroke deprived of participation of unity; and in like manner things which have lost their portion in unity, being infected with division, are deprived of their good.

Goodness, then, is unification, and unification goodness; the Good is one, and the One is primal good."

Proclus, Elements of Theology, Proposition 13

"For something which uses its body and its irrational emotions as instruments has an essence altogether and wholly separated from them, and persisting after their destruction – and its perfection obviously persists as well, since it is coordinate with its essence."
Simplicius, Commentary on Epictetus' Handbook

Your body should be the instrument of your rational soul. Your rational soul should never be the instrument of your body.

There is only one way to happiness, and let this rule be ready both in the morning and during the day and by night: the rule is not to look towards things which are out of the power of our will, to think that nothing is our own, to give up all things to the Divinity, to Fortune; to make them the superintendents of these things, whom Zeus also has made so; for a man to observe that only which is his own, that which cannot be hindered; and when we read, to refer our reading to this only, and our writing and our listening.

Epictetus, Discourses Book 4

You will therefore say that in the nature of Zeus there is the soul of a king, as well as a king's reason, in virtue of this power displayed by the cause, while paying tribute for other fine qualities in the other divinities, in conformity with the names by which they like to be addressed. ... Do not think that we have engaged in an idle discussion here, Protarchus, for it comes as a support for the thinkers of old who held the view that reason is forever the ruler over the universe.

Plato, Philebus 30d

The Epitaph of Seikilos, the only complete piece of Ancient Greek music we have.

Then are you surprised if they pity you, and are you vexed? But they are not vexed if you pity them. Why? Because they are convinced that they have that which is good, and you are not convinced. For this reason you are not satisfied with your own, but you desire that which they have: but they are satisfied with their own, and do not desire what you have: since if you were really convinced, that with respect to what is good, it is you who are the possessor of it and that they have missed it, you would not even have thought of what they say about you.

Epictetus, Discourses 4.6

May we all live to see the dawning of a new Golden Age in our lifetimes, a new era in which peace, truth, justice and Dharma become instantiated in the world. It is only through the manifestation of such a spiritual civilization that we will witness the end of suffering and the beginning of true joy for all sentient beings. Evam Bhavatu. May it be so.

For it’s a difficult thing, Callicles, and one that merits much praise, to live your whole life justly when you’ve found yourself having ample freedom to do what’s unjust.

Plato, Gorgias 526a

In addition to prayer and offerings to the Gods and your ancestors, here are some beneficial practices to lead a truly philosophical life. Remember, "philosophy" literally means "love of wisdom," and so to lead a philosophical life is to live a wise, blessed life according to true spiritual principles. These practices are a mixture of Stoic, Pythagorean, and Platonic wisdom.

1. Every morning, remind yourself that your body will die one day, and that you don't know when that day will come. This will help you to keep things in their proper perspective and prevent you from overvaluing trivialities or getting swept away by events.
2. Every morning, tell yourself that you may encounter rude, stupid, unlikable, or evil people, and that all sorts of unfortunate things could occur. If you do meet such people or these unfortunate things do happen, you will not be surprised and you will be better prepared to deal with them serenely and reasonably. And to each of those possibilities, tell yourself that you cannot control others, that they behave badly out of ignorance, that you can control your own attitudes and beliefs, and that, no matter what happens - death of loved ones, loss of money, whatever -, the only way you can lose your virtue and piety is if you fail to maintain them. And virtue and piety are the most important possessions you will ever own.
3. Every evening before you go to sleep, ask yourself the following questions:
1. Did I do anything today that I shouldn't have done?
2. Was there anything that I should have done, but didn't do?
3. Which of my vices did I resist today?
4. In what ways did I improve myself today?
For each point, acknowledge the truth fully: do not make excuses, do not blame others, do not rationalize, do not worry about what others did wrong. If you did something wrong, commit to not doing it again. If you did something good, commit to continue doing it. If you injured someone in any way, commit to making it up to them as soon as you can.
4. Study true philosophy and, more importantly, practice it. Remember that your mission is to imitate the Divine to the best of your ability. The more you order yourself in imitation of the order of divine reality, the closer you will be to achieving that goal.
5. Contemplate the true nature of reality. Look deeply into yourself and understand your true essence. Contemplate the Gods. As Plotinus wrote, "Just shut your eyes, and change your way of looking, and wake up."

Plato’s famous allegory of the cave is at once a picture of the structure of reality and a roadmap.

In it, people are chained in the cave since childhood and forced to watch as shadows play on the wall in front of them. They know nothing else. The shadows are caused by objects behind the prisoners that pass before a fire. Some way behind the fire lies the mouth of the cave which leads out into the sunlight.

First, you must free yourself from your chains and turn around to see the objects and the fire.

Second, you must realize that there is more beyond the fire and continue on towards the mouth of the cave.

Third, you must ascend into the sunlight. It will take time for your eyes to adjust.

Fourth, once you have some understanding of the reality you now perceive, you must descend back into the cave, bringing your new understanding with you. You must live in the world, but unchained.

Fifth, you must return to the light outside the cave, but this time, with stronger eyes, you can see the Sun itself.

Sixth, you must return to the prisoners and help them escape.

And so one must become a man first, and then a god. The civic virtues make a man good, while the sciences leading up to divine virtue make him a god. Small matters precede in orderly sequence great matters for those who make the ascent.

Hierocles of Alexandria, Commentary on the Pythagorean Golden Verses, Proem

Only he knows how to pay honour [to divinities] who does not confuse the worth of those being honoured and who renders above all himself as a sacrifice, crafting his own soul into a divine sculpture and making his own intellect a temple for the reception of the divine light.

Hierocles of Alexandria, Commentary on the Pythagorean Golden Verses

Piety is defined as doing what is appropriate regarding the Gods. And what it is appropriate to do with regard to the Gods is honor them.

But to properly honor them you must understand that the Gods exist according to rank and that you must honor them in their proper rank ("Only he knows how to pay honor who does not confuse the worth of those being honored").

And second you must realize that the greatest sacrifice you can make is of yourself - to make yourself sacred in honor of the Gods is the highest piety.