The Greeks Who Made Us Who We are: Eighteen Ancient Philosophers, Scientists, Poets and Others

Description

The Hellenic contributions to Western Civilization are acknowledged by all, but the details of this endowment are often poorly understood and under-appreciated. This volume is intended as a remedy for these shortcomings. In particular, it seeks to disclose two distinctive features of Western culture uniquely attributable to the ancient Greeks: a human-centered worldview that elevated humans to the threshold of divinity and a philosophical temperament which for the first time in history proffered unbridled operation of the human mind as a kind of cultural imperative. These features are demonstrated by a detailed examination of 18 seminal thinkers who left lasting impressions in such fields as ethics, medicine, religion, politics, poetry and art. Collectively, the efforts of these individuals helped establish a unique cultural pedigree unlike any other in world history. They invested the West with that restless, intrepid habit of mind that remains the hallmark of Western civilisation to this day. Cover Acknowledgments Table of Contents Preface 1. Homer (Mid to Late 8th Century B.C.) Founder of Western Humanism 2. Solon (630 B.C.–560 B.C.) Poet, Lawgiver, Statesman 3. Thales (Early 6th Century B.C.) Father of Western Science 4. Sappho (612–580 B.C.) Poet on Fire 5. Pythagoras (Mid-500s–496 B.C.) Mystic Mathematician 6. Parmenides (Born c. 515 B.C.) Father of Metaphysics and Logic 7. Themistocles (524–459 B.C.)Savior of the Western World 8. Phidias (490–430 B.C.) Lord of Western Aesthetics 9. Gorgias (483–376 B.C.)Master of the Word 10. Socrates (469–399 B.C.)Iconoclast and Moral Revolutionary 11. Thucydides (460–399 B.C.)True Father of History 12. Plato (427–347 B.C.)Fountainhead of Western Philosophy 13. Aristotle (384–322 B.C.)Polymathic Genius 14. Alexander the Great (356–323 B.C.) Disseminator of Greek Culture 15. Epicurus (341–270 B.C.)Physicist and Ethician 16. Zeno (335–263 B.C.) Stoic Sage 17. Galen (A.D. 129–199)Physician, Scientist, Philosopher 18. Plotinus (A.D. 205–270)Mystic Philosopher Index