The Sophists

• Sophists- a group of philosophers who traveled from polis to polis.

• Taught math, science, and history.

• Did not believe the gods influenced human actions.

• Accepted money for their teachings.

• Other Greek philosophers did not approve of this practice.

Who was Socrates?

• Sculptor by training.• Did not have written

records of his beliefs. • Harsh critic of the Sophists.• Taught his students the

Socratic Method. • Drank poison to carry out

his own suicide.

Plato

• Student of Socrates• Founded the school in Athens

known as the Academy. • Plato recorded his ideas in

writings.• Wrote The Republic.• Organized society into three

groups. • Believed that an ideal society

must have a just and reasonable government.

• Believed woman should have the same opportunities for education and jobs men have.

Aristotle

• Taught at Plato’s Academy.• Wrote more than 200 works.• Taught his students the

“golden mean”.• Golden mean- live

moderately. • Wrote Politics. • Ideas influenced Europeans

and Americans thought about government.

• Influenced the United States Constitution.

Greeks and History

• Herodotus- “the father of history”

• Thucydides- wrote The History of the Peloponnesian War. Acted like a modern reporter.

First Scientists

• Thales- studied astronomy and mathematics.

• Pythagoras- invented the Pythagorean Theorem still used in geometry today.

• Hippocrates- physician in ancient Greece. Created the Hippocratic Oath.

• Hippocratic Oath- protects patience privacy. Still used today.