Ancient Greece: philosophy, math, & science

Some of history's greatest philosophers were Ancient Greeks including Plato, Aristotle, and Socrates. Today, philosophy students still study the writings and teachings of Greek philosophers. Much of western philosophy is based on the ideas of the Ancient Greeks.

Most Greeks believed that their gods were responsible for all natural events. But a few thinkers disagreed. About 150 years before the Golden Age of Athens, some people thought about new ways to understand the world. 

He wanted people to consider the true meanings of qualities such as justice and courage. He asked people questions that made them think about their beliefs. Sometimes he exposed people who did not know as much as they thought, and many got angry at him.

He was Socrates' student and wrote many of his teachings down. he founded a school in Athens called the Academy, where he taught another renowned philosopher called Aristotle.

He believed that reason should guide the pursuit of knowledge. He later founded his own school called the Lyceum.

The Greeks made many advancements in the areas of science and technology. They excelled in the field of mathematics and we still use many of their theories and ideas today. You've probably used the Pythagorean theorem (discovered by the Greek mathematician Pythagoras) to find the sides of a right triangle in geometry. Other areas of Greek technology included medicine (the Hippocratic Oath), astronomy, urban planning, and plumbing.

Philosophers in ancient Greece had different ideas about the universe. They didn't do experiments, but were careful observers and good thinkers. Democritus, who lived in the 400s BC, thought that everything was made of tiny particles he called atoms. More than 2,000 years later, modern science showed he was correct.