Ancient Greek Thinkers, Truth-Seekers

Had Much To Say

By USHistory.org, adapted by Newsela staff on 01.31.17
Word Count 641
Level 820L

"The School of Athens," by Raphael painted for Pope Julius III in 1509. In the center Plato speaks with Aristotle. Image from:
Godong/UIG via Getty Images

Socrates was one of the most knowledgeable philosophers in ancient Greece. The
people there, however, eventually got fed up with the old "wise" man.

Socrates found himself on trial for his teachings. He was accused of being a bad
influence on the youth of Athens, Greece. A jury found Socrates guilty and
sentenced him to death.

Socrates might have asked one question too many

At the age of 70, Socrates chose to drink poison to end his life. How did it happen
that the Greeks to put to death such a great philosopher?

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Throughout his entire life, Socrates liked to ask questions. He questioned
everything from Greek government to religion to the gods themselves. His goal
was to find the truth, which he thought could be reached through reason and
knowledge. Socrates was a teacher, but he did not have a classroom, books, or
even a school. Instead, Socrates gave lectures to the public. Anyone who was
interested in what he had to say was invited to listen.

Socrates practiced a special style of teaching that is now known as the Socratic
method. Essentially, Socrates taught by asking questions. He started with simple
questions, then worked his way toward deeper questions. In this way, he
challenged people's ideas and beliefs. Using reason and logical thinking, Socrates
found answers to many questions that led to a greater understanding of the
world.

Socrates often questioned why things were the way they were in Greek society.
He questioned its leaders. For this reason, many people thought his ideas were
dangerous and a bad influence. In the end, his ideas led to his death.

Plato's perfect "Republic"

One of Socrates' students was Plato, who also achieved greatness as a

philosopher. Unlike Socrates, Plato chose to write his ideas down. In one of his
most famous works, "The Republic," Plato described his vision of the perfect
society.

Plato's republic was not very democratic. Plato was very disturbed at the way the
people had agreed to put to death his brilliant teacher. He believed that
uneducated people should not get to make important decisions for everyone.

Instead, Plato imagined a society where people were divided into different groups.
Each group contributed what it could. In Plato's perfect society, farmers grew the
food for the republic while soldiers defended it. A small group of educated
philosophers ruled the republic. Not surprisingly, Plato lived at a time when Greek
democracy was in decline.

Like Socrates, Plato was also a teacher. One of his students was a man named
Aristotle, who also became a famous philosopher. Aristotle wrote about and
studied many subjects, including science, literature and art. He believed the best
way to learn was to observe the world and gather information. He made important
discoveries in many areas.

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A golden age of thought

Ancient Greece not only produced three great philosophers. It also gave the world
many other important thinkers. In the world of science, Hippocrates applied logic
to the field of medicine and studied hundreds of patients. His work helped to
improve the understanding of diseases and death.

Greek thinkers applied logic to math as well. Pythagoras discovered multiplication

tables. Euclid revolutionized the field of geometry, the area of math that deals
with points, lines and shapes.

In the area of social studies, Herodotus is often called the first modern historian.
Another historian, Thucydides, tried to be as objective as possible in recording
history. In other words, he relied on facts rather than personal feelings and
opinions.

Encouraging thinking

Many of these achievements and discoveries seem obvious by today's standards.

But 2,500 years ago, they were revolutionary. At the time, most people were
mainly concerned with feeding and protecting their families and little else. Greek
democracy encouraged people to come up with countless new ideas that changed
the world.

To the ancient Greeks, thinking was serious business.

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