As a phil major you ask the impossible, but as the first philosopher I read Plato is a secure candidate.
The Republic and The Symposium are some of the most important and rich texts for study even today. Think of the Cave metaphor (the first written notion of a 'red pill' scenario - the image of the battered and bloodied philosopher struggling towards the light is especially effecting, and his inability to communicate his knowledge of the light of the outside world a true and relatable tragedy)
The Republic and The Symposium are some of the most important and rich texts for study even today. Think of the Cave metaphor (the first written notion of a 'red pill' scenario - the image of the battered and bloodied philosopher struggling towards the light is especially effecting, and his inability to communicate his knowledge of the light of the outside world a true and relatable tragedy)