Ancient Greek Famous People

Plato:

One of the most Greek Famous People was Plato (c.429-327 BC) who is said to have been one of the most brilliant students of Socrates and later carried on his work. It was Plato who gathered the ideas of Socrates into one book and also he who founded the world’s first university. He wrote down his teachings and even today studied all over the world.

He was a philosopher as well as a mathematician. His work has heavily on western philosophy and even founded an institution of higher learning in ancient Greece. His works are even studies in logic, ethics and rhetoric.

Socrates:

He was a classical Greek philosopher born in the year 496 BC. Socrates is considered as one of the founders of Western philosophy. The famous concepts of Socratic irony and the Socrates Method are named after him. Socrates is well known for his contributions to the field of ethics but he was also made valuable contributions to epistemology and logic. Socrates mentored Plato who taught Aristotle.

Aristotle(382-322 BC) :

He discovered many things in science and biology. He wrote books about physics, poetry, zoology, biology, politics, governments, and more. His father was the personal physician of the King of Macedonia. When Aristotle turned 17, he went to Athens to study with Plato. His views have greatly influenced the renaissance thinkers and his theories on physical sciences have impacted modern studies. He is also considered to be the greatest of philosophers with Aristotelianism having great effects on philosophical and even religious thinkers.

Aristides:

Aristides the son of Lysimachus was a supporter of Cleisthenes and a political opponent of Themistocles. He was noted for his sense of justice and often referred to as Aristides the Just.

Euripides:

Euripides was the youngest of the three principal fifth-century tragic poets. His work, which was quite popular in his own time, exerted great influence on Roman drama. Euripides represented the new moral, social, and political movements that were taking place in Athens towards the end of the 5th century BC.

Herodotus

Herodotus is known as the ‘Father of History. He was the first to systematically collect evidence and test its accuracy before presenting it in a constructive manner. His works on Greco-Persian wars give us a vivid description of the era helping historians reconstruct the events. His methods have shaped modern ways of researching and writing History.

Archimedes:

Born in 287 BC, in Sicily, Archimedes of Syracuse was a Greek mathematician, physicist, and engineer. He was also an inventor and an astronomer. One of his most important discoveries is the method to determine the volume of an irregularly shaped object. His work became the foundation of hydrostatic static and lever. His work has also helped in designing innovative machines like siege engines and screw pumps.

He is one of the greatest mathematicians and found ways to calculate the area of the arc of a parable. His works have been interpreted by Eutpcius and that helped it to survive till the renaissance which helped in many innovations.

Pericles

Pericles was the leader which took Athens in what can be called their Golden Age. They reached a great level of prosperity with the help of their powerful navy which they used to colonise lands and collect tribute.

He was also a great patron of art and literature which encouraged the Athenians to produce a great number of works of drama, epics, and statues which survive even today as ancient Greek is known for.

Pythagoras

Pythagoras is another mathematician whose works are still working today. His greatest legacy is in the fields of geometry and mathematics in which the Pythagorean theory still remains relevant and his theories even inspired scientists like Galileo and Copernicus in their inventions. His works were even important in philosophy eighteen was even earlier than Socrates.

Oedipus:

Oedipus was the child of Laius and Jocasta, the ruling couple of Thebes. Aristotle rates Sophocles’ tragedy, ‘Oedipus the King’ as the greatest ever composed. In fact, the citizens of Thebes in Sophocles’ Oedipus the King revere him as the most intelligent of men and as a good ruler, even referring to him as a father.

Alexander the great:

Alexander the Great was born in 356 B.C. in Pella, Macedonia, the son of Philip of Macedon, who was an excellent general and organizer. He was called ‘the Great’ because he conquered more lands than anyone before him and became the overall ruler of Greece. He is credited with building the largest empire in history which stretched from the Mediterranean to the African lands of Egypt, across central Asia up to the southwestern borders of the Indian subcontinent.

Apart from being a legendary general, he was also profoundly interested in philosophy, music, and art which pushed him to patronize many talented artists and musicians. He carried with him many learned men who had written histories and anecdotes of his experiences.

Hippocrates

Even today the modern doctors have to take the Hippocrates oath, referring to his ancient documents setting a doctor’s ethical principles and is known as the father of modern medicine. The directions compiled in the 60 books known as the Hippocratic corpus are still relevant and modern manufacturing of medicine are still heavily influenced by his works.

His ways of examining the patients before treatments even are form a part of medical studies. His contributions in the study of epidemics and classification of diseases into four categories are very important.

These are some of the important men (Greek Famous Leaders) who were a part of the Greek history due to their massive contributions. Their names have been engraved in golden letters and are always remembered with appreciation and respect.

Solon

Cleisthenes can be said to be the founding father of Athenian democracy. He was a lawmaker and credited for developing the democratic constitution which gave political power to the common Athenian citizens and on the other reduced the power of noblemen.

He was also the architect of leading Athens into their age of prosperity in the classical and known for his contributions in economic and political field to Athens.

Cleisthenes

Cleisthenes is a huge name and is said to be the father of Athenian democracy. Although Solon had reformed the constitution to give more power to the masses that were removed by the next archon. His changes became the definite document in the coming of the Athenian democracy and broke the monopoly of the aristocrats.

Leonidas I

Leonidas was the legendary spartan king who led the Spartan forces in the well-known battle of Thermopylae in which according to Herodotus 300 spartan soldiers stopped almost Persian soldiers for three days in the narrow pass which became decisive as well as a huge rallying point for the Greeks against the Persians.

Homer:

He was the son of Epikaste and Telemachus. Born around 8th – 9th century B.C. he was said to be a court singer and a storyteller. When we think of the blind poet Homer with relation to Ancient Greece, the first thing that comes to our mind is his beautiful epic poems Iliad and Odyssey. This legendary work has stayed relative even till today. Modern theatres still perform shows which still draw great interest.