600 BC to 200 BC
Miletus, a town in Ionia, was the home of Thales, the first recognised philosopher. The Milesians were followers of the Olympian religion, and were not influenced by Dionysus/Orpheus. Beliefs began to be influenced by named individuals or groups of philosophers searching for “truth”. The next few centuries represented the golden age of philosophy, not equalled for another 2,000 years
600 BC to 371 BC Sparta – a unique and legendary city of mythical importance
530 BC The Pythagoreans
480 – 440BC The Mystics – Heraclitus, Parmenides and Empedocles
460 BC Anaxagoras
Athens’ first recognised philosopher. Believed that everything is infinitely divisible, and contains all primal elements. Some substances contain “mind” also, which is the source of all motion. ( ie not “chance” or “necessity” as per Empedocles)
First to explain moonlight as reflected, and proposed the correct explanation of eclipses. Recognised stars as the same as the sun, but too distant for us to feel their heat.
420 BC The Atomists – Led by Democritus
410 BC The Sophists – Led by Protagoras, reaching a pinnacle in Socrates
400 BC Plato and Aristotle – leading to the dominance of the teleological “why” used by the establishment in an attempt to control peoples minds.
340 BC Aristotle – a pupil of Plato, became a teacher of Alexander. He was the last great philosopher for 2,000 years, and the last to be concerned with the ideal state as opposed to individual choices. Deductive logic, starting from self-evident principles, dominated the Middle Ages.
335 BC Archimedes born. He and Aristarchus believed that the stars were fixed, and all planets revolved around the sun. As a consequence they were accused of impiety and Archimedes was murdered by the Romans in 212 BC. Their ideas about the stars and planets were not revived until Copernicus.
330 BC Alexander conquers vast area of “barbarians”. The end of the mainland Greek city states. Barbarian influences are felt such as astrology.
212 BC The Romans murder Archimedes, a symbol of their attempted destruction of independent thought in ancient Greece and the western world.