6 – They Excelled in Philosophy & Invention
The philosophy of the ancient Greeks was hugely influential in the formation of Western Civilization and its ideologies. The Classical Period in particular (some historians say this era took place from 510 BC to 323 BC) benefited from different thought processes and ideas from different parts of the ancient world. Ancient Greece became what it was thanks to the exchange of knowledge with other advanced civilizations of the age including the Egyptians, Persians, Hittites and Mesopotamians.
Although Greek philosophy can be traced back to at least 1500 BC, it really came to the fore during the Classical Period. Socrates was one of the first great thinkers of his age and is often deemed to be figurehead for Western Civilization. He was remarkably advanced and was several centuries ahead of his time. Socrates did not believe that God was omnipotent and is perhaps best known for the Socratic Method of thinking which involved one person asking questions and, through the answers, both the person answering the questions and the questioner himself would come to a logical answer.
Plato is another well-regarded philosopher of the age and was a student of Socrates. His Socratic Dialogues promoted free thinking and the exchange of ideas on various subjects including religion, logic and mathematics. Plato travelled extensively and learned a great deal from his trips to Egypt, Italy and Cyrene. He was on the road for 12 years and returned to form the Academy of Athens.
His pupil Aristotle is often considered to be the first scientist in the West. He attended the Academy of Athens in approximately 367 BC and studied there for up to 20 years. Aristotle apparently taught Alexander the Great and when the great conqueror took Athens, he allowed Aristotle to start a new school. The legendary Greek thinker studied a wide range of topics including biology, philosophy, geology and astronomy.
There are a number of ‘modern’ inventions that have their origins in ancient Greece including the water mill, odometer, alarm clock, geometry, medicine and a lot more. Of course, not everyone was enamored with the deep thinkers of Greece. For example, Socrates angered several influential people with his radical ideas and was accused of polluting the minds of young Athenians. He was also a non-believer of the Athenian Gods, a ‘crime’ that was punishable by death. In 399 BC, Socrates was condemned, sentenced to die and was forced to drink hemlock.