factbase-ancient-history/cultural-movements/greek-philosophy.md

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# Greek Philosophy

## Overview
Greek philosophy (~600 BCE – ~500 CE) laid the foundations of Western intellectual tradition, encompassing metaphysics, ethics, logic, political theory, and natural science. @t[~600 BCE..~500 CE]

## Key Facts
- Period: ~600 BCE (Thales) – ~529 CE (closure of Plato's Academy by Justinian) @t[~600 BCE..529 CE]
- Region: Greek world (Ionia, Athens, Alexandria, Rome)
- Major schools: Pre-Socratics, Pythagoreanism, Platonism, Aristotelianism, Cynicism, Stoicism, Epicureanism, Skepticism, Neoplatonism

## Major Figures
- Thales of Miletus (~624–546 BCE): First philosopher, proposed water as the fundamental substance @t[~624 BCE..~546 BCE] [^1]
- Pythagoras (~570–495 BCE): Founded Pythagoreanism; blended mathematics, mysticism, and ethics; taught metempsychosis (transmigration of souls); influenced Plato @t[~570 BCE..~495 BCE] [^3]
- Heraclitus (~535–475 BCE): "Everything flows" (*panta rhei*); argued that fire is the fundamental substance and that opposites are unified @t[~535 BCE..~475 BCE]
- Parmenides (~515–450 BCE): Founded the Eleatic school; argued that reality is singular, eternal, and unchanging; "being" cannot arise from or pass into "non-being" @t[~515 BCE..~450 BCE] [^1]
- Democritus (~460–370 BCE): With his teacher Leucippus, developed atomic theory; proposed all matter consists of indivisible atoms (*atomos*) moving through void; anticipated modern materialism @t[~460 BCE..~370 BCE] [^1]
- Pyrrho of Elis (~360–270 BCE): Founded Pyrrhonism (radical skepticism); advocated suspension of judgment (*epoché*) to achieve tranquility (*ataraxia*) @t[~360 BCE..~270 BCE] [^3]
- Diogenes of Sinope (~412–323 BCE): Leading Cynic philosopher; rejected social conventions and material wealth in favor of virtue and self-sufficiency @t[~412 BCE..~323 BCE] [^3]
- Socrates (~470–399 BCE): Socratic method, executed for impiety @t[~470 BCE..399 BCE]
- Plato (~428–348 BCE): Theory of Forms, founded the Academy @t[~428 BCE..~348 BCE]
- Aristotle (384–322 BCE): Logic, natural science, ethics, politics; founded the Lyceum @t[384 BCE..322 BCE]
- Epicurus (341–270 BCE): Atomism (derived from Democritus), pleasure as the highest good; founded "The Garden" school in Athens @t[341 BCE..270 BCE]
- Zeno of Citium (~334–262 BCE): Founded Stoicism @t[~334 BCE..~262 BCE] [^2]
- Plotinus (204/5–270 CE): Founded Neoplatonism; posited emanation from "the One" as the source of all reality; his *Enneads* (edited by Porphyry) remain the primary source for his thought @t[~204 CE..270 CE] [^3]

## Legacy
- Shaped Western philosophy, science, and political thought
- Transmitted to the Islamic world and medieval Europe
- Aristotle's works dominated European thought for ~2,000 years
- Neoplatonism profoundly influenced early Christian theology and the Renaissance

---
[^1]: Kirk, G.S. et al. *The Presocratic Philosophers* (Cambridge, 1983)
[^2]: Long, A.A. *Hellenistic Philosophy* (University of California Press, 1986)
[^3]: Zalta, E.N. (ed.) *Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy* (Stanford University, ongoing) — entries on Pythagoras, Pyrrho, Plotinus
---

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