Long Dead Greeks

Aristophanes (445-380 BC), Greek poet of the Old Comedy, born probably at Athens. His father had property in Aegina, and may originally have come from there; hence the doubt as to whether Aristophanes was a genuine Athenian citizen and Cleon's attempt to deprive him of his civic rights. Aristophanes had three sons, but nothing else is known of his private life.His comedies, four of which won the first prize, are of the greatest historical interest, containing caricatures of the leading men of the day. The first evil he attacks is the peloponnesian war, to which he ascribes the influence of demagogues ...

Demosthenes was an Athenian general in the Peloponnesian War. In 426 B.C. he defeated a joint Spartan and Ambraciot force at Olpae and annihilated the Ambraciot survivors at Aedomenes. These two victories destroyed the enemy's influence in north-west Greece. In 425 it was due largely to Demosthenes that the Spartans in Sphacteria were defeated and taken prisoner. Next year, however, he failed to take Megara, and his unsuccessful invasion of Boeotia was followed by the Athenian defeat at Delium (424). In 413 he was sent to reinforce Nicias at Syracuse, and during the disastrous retreat of their ...

Cleon (died 422 B.C.), Athenian demagogue. His father owned a prosperous tanning business, and he entered public life as an opponent of Pericles. On the latter's death, 429 B.C., Cleon became a popular favourite, and for about six years of the Peloponnesian War (428-422) was head of the war party. In 427 he advocated that the Mytilenaean prisoners, sent to Athens by Paches, should be put to death, and in 425 he won great glory by his capture of the Spartans on the island of Sphacteria. Much elated by his success, Cleon accepted the command of the Athenian army to oppose Brasidas in Macedonia and ...

Aristagoras was the regent of Miletus, an Ionian city in Asia Minor, about 500 B.C. He ruled in the absence of Histiaeus, tyrant of Miletus, who was forcibly detained at the court of Darius I of Persia. With Persian support, Aristagoras undertook to add the island of Naxos to his rule, but the attempt failed. Seeking to avoid punishment for his failure, he incited other Ionian cities in Asia Minor to revolt with him against Persia.He was unsuccessful in his bid for help from Sparta, but with the support of Athens and Eretria he attacked and burned Sardis in 499 B.C. He failed to take the citadel, ...

Pausanias (5th century BC), Spartan general, son of Cleombrotus and nephew of Leonidas. Some writers err in calling him king; he was merely regent for Leonidas's infant son, Pleistarchus. He commanded the victorious Greek army at Plataea, 479, and in 478 subdued most of Cyprus and captured Byzantium. But his violence, arrogance, and evident ambitions caused alarm among the allies, who quickly transferred to Athens the hegemony enjoyed hitherto by Sparta. Hence the Delian League.Pausanias was recalled to Sparta in 477 and censured for his private acts of oppression, but acquitted on the more serious ...

Diodorus Siculus was a Greek historian. Born Agyrium, Sicily (now Agina, Italy), before 100 B.C. Died after 21 B.C.Diodorus traveled widely through Asia, Africa, and Europe before he settled in Rome. There he gathered much of the material for his Bibliotheca historica ("Historical Library"), a general history in 40 books. The work consists of three major sections. The first, in 6 books, surveys non-Greek peoples and then narrates Greek history, mainly mythical, to the time of the Trojan War.The second, in 11 books, covers the period from the Trojan War to the death of Alexander the Great. The ...

Epaminondas was a Theban general.Epaminondas organized the defense of Thebes against Sparta. In 371 B.C. he won a decisive victory over the Spartans at Leuctra. In 370 B.C. he led the Theban army into Peloponnesus, where he liberated Messenia from Spartan control. Eight years later, at the battle of Mantinea, he again overwhelmed the Spartans, but was killed. A brilliant tactician and strategist, Epaminondas had a great influence on Greek military strategy.Epaminondas died Mantinea in Greece, 362 B.C.

Evagoras I, ruler of Salamis in Cyprus, 410-374 BC. Friendly to Athens, he welcomed Conon after Aegospotami in 405; he also obtained Persian help for Athens against Sparta, and was present at the Athenian victory of Cnidus (394). From 391, however, Evagoras and the Persians were virtually at war. Until 387 he was supported by Athens, but its support was withdrawn when he refused to recognise the Peace of Antalcidas. He then carried on successful hostilities alone until 376, when he was defeated at Citium and soon afterwards made peace. Evagoras remained ruler of Cyprus under Persian suzerainty ...

Hipparchus was a Greek who lived in the 100's B.C., was the first systematic astronomer we know about, and the inventer of trigonometry.He discovered the precession of the equinoxes, drew up a catalogue of more than a thousand stars, and estimated the distances of the Sun and Moon. He developed a method of pinpointing terrestrial positions by means of circles of latitude and longitude.Hipparchus's contributions to astronomy have come down to us through the writings of Ptolmey of Alexandria.

Born Ephesus, Asia Minor, about 540 B.C, Heraclitus was a Greek philosopher.Heraclitus resigned his aristocratic position in Greek society to study philosophy and to chide his fellowmen for their lack of intellectual curiosity. His interest in the shape and movement of life, rather than its mere substance, was an important contribution to the beginnings of Western philosophy. Heraclitus taught that all elements in the world are in a state of change, or flux, which is produced by an eternal conflict between opposites, such as light and dark or life and death.He held that some elements are being ...

Polybius was a Greek historian. Born Megalopolis, Greece, about 204 B.C. Died about 122 B.C.Polybius, a leader of the Achaean League, was taken to Rome as a political hostage in 167 B.C. He obtained the protection of the Scipionic family and served as a tutor, political adviser, and diplomat. Under their patronage he undertook a general history of the Mediterranean world. After an introduction in two books on events from 265 B.C. to 220 B.C., Polybius covered the events from 220 B.C. to 146 B.C. in detail. Of the 40 volumes of his history, the first 5 survive intact, and there are long, important ...

Thales was an ancient Greek philosopher. Born Miletus (now Turkey), late 7th century B.C. Died about 546 B.C.Thales, known as the Father of Greek Philosophy, was numbered among the Seven Wise Men of Greece. He founded the Milesian school of philosophy, which was concerned with discovering the basic substance from which the universe is made. Thales held that moisture is the basic element from which everything arises and into which everything returns. Thales' methodical investigation of the ultimate nature of reality marked the shift of Western thought from mythological accounts of the universe ...

In case you haven't read them: Anabasis Book I, Book II and Book IIIBOOK IV: Chapter IIt was now about the last watch, and enough of the night remained to 1 allow them to cross the valley under cover of darkness; when, at the word of command, they rose and set off on their march, reaching the mountains at daybreak. At this stage of the march Cheirisophus, at the head of his own division, with the whole of the light troops, led the van, while Xenophon followed behind with the heavy infantry of the rearguard, but without any light troops, since there seemed to be no danger of pursuit or attack from ...

Empedocles was an ancient Greek philosopher. Born in Acragas, Sicily in around 490 B.C. Empedocles was the first philosopher to develop a pluralistic theory of the universe. He taught that the universe was composed of the four eternal elements of earth, air, fire, and water. He said that these elements were constantly being combined or separated in different proportions by two material forces, love and strife. These forces operated in cycles and were the cause of the creation and destruction of all objects in the universe.Empedocles wrote in verse and greatly influenced later philosophers. He ...

Born in Abdera, Greece in about 460 B.C. Democritus was a Greek philosopher. Democritus developed an atomic theory to explain the nature of the universe. He held that all things, including the mind and the soul, are composed of infinitesimal bits of matter that cannot be divided into anything smaller. He named the bits of matter atoma, a Greek word meaning indivisible. Democritus believed that countless atoms of various sizes and shapes are in continuous motion in a void, or empty space. The atoms combine in different ways to form such things as plants, men, the earth, and the heavens. These may ...