While wars waged around them, some ancient Greeks chose not to become Kings or Warriors. Instead, they elected to use their minds to advance Greek culture, making discoveries, and writing works that are still relevant today.
In the world of literature and theatre, Greek poets and playwrights created significant works. One, Aeschylus, is considered “the father of tragedy,” named as such because that genre mainly began with his plays. Aeschylus also changed the way plays were constructed. He wrote scripts with more characters, which allowed for more complex conflict among them. Sadly, although records indicate he wrote approximately 90 plays, only seven have survived. Even among those, some question the authorship, as to whether Aeschylus wrote them or another playwright.
Other celebrated playwrights of the time included Sophocles and Euripides. Both also wrote in the tragedy genre. Records suggest Sophocles wrote at least 120 plays, but like Aeschylus, only seven survive. His style included even more well-developed characters. Euripides likely wrote 92 plays. Like his colleagues, just some survive and among those the authorship is debated. Euripides enjoyed slightly more popularity during his time, and he also used his status to advance other theatrical innovations. For example, he started representing mythical heroes as more ordinary people. This allowed him to explore the inner life and motives of his characters. It also allowed for more romance and comedy, which expanded play genres and made the theatre more complex.
In the related world of poetry, many poets wrote great works during ancient Greece. Perhaps most famous among these was, Pindar. He was considered “by far the greatest, in virtue of his inspired magnificence, the beauty of his thoughts and figures, the rich exuberance of his language and matter, and his rolling flood of eloquence.” Today, his poetry may seem peculiar to modern readers, but it was characteristic of the time.
In the world of art, artists were creating great works. Perhaps most renowned among these was Phidias. He was a painter, sculptor, and architect who advanced Classical Greek designs. Legend tells of a great statue of Zeus at Olympia that he made. It is known as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. He also made his marks at the Athenian Acropolis, with sculptures of the goddess Athena. Unfortunately, many of his great works were lost or destroyed. They have been best studied through replicas and the excavation of his workshop, which contained moulds for his bronze statues.
Greek mathematicians also had a long history of success. An early mark on the tradition was made by Euclid of Alexandria. He is considered the founder or father of geometry. He wrote a textbook, Elements, which was still used until the 20th century.
Archimedes was not only a mathematician, but he was also an astronomer, physicist, engineer, and inventor. Some consider him the greatest mathematician of all time. He provided many geometrical theorems, regarding the surface area, the area of a circle, and the volume of a sphere. He also offered an accurate approximation of Pi. He started applying math to phenomena in the physical world. His understanding of math allowed him to design inventions such as tools and machines.
Greek philosophy had a long history dating back to Thales of Miletus (who died in 546 BC). He may have, in fact, been the first philosopher and many regard him as the first to use a scientific philosophy. This meant he stepped away from the tradition of using mythology to explain the world and instead examined objects and phenomena through theories and hypotheses. Through this, he could recognize water was a vital substance that possibly played a role in much of nature.
The philosopher Leucippus continued to advance the study of nature during the 5th century BC. He was the first to believe everything might be composed of some invisible elements—a concept we know today as atoms. Most people are most familiar with the Greek Philosophers Aristotle, Socrates, and Plato. All three wrote on many topics and collectively their studies of philosophy significantly affected modern philosophical thought. Plato specifically founded the Academy in Athens, which was the first institution in the Western world for higher learning.
Hippocrates advanced the field of medicine in ancient Greece. His work earned him the title “father of medicine.” He founded the Hippocratic School of Medicine, establishing it as a discipline and a profession. He increased medical knowledge and prescribed proper practices for the physicians of ancient Greece. So much of what he did helped to build the medical field as it is today. For example, today’s doctors agree to a Hippocratic Oath, which he is credited with writing.
Finally, it is through the work of the Greek Historian, Herodotus, that so much of ancient Grecian history remains known today. He was a contemporary of other great minds such as Euripides and Socrates. He is considered “the father of history.” He pioneered new ways of recording history. He would systematically investigate events and then write them into a historiographic narrative. He wrote The Histories to document the origins of the Greco-Persian Wars. The work had a mostly biographical tone by recounting the lives of significant figures. He also recorded the circumstances of specific battles.