Ptolemy

Mathematician, Astronomer, Astrologer, Geographer, Poet (c100 – c170)

The greatest geographer of antiquity and one of the greatest astronomers who ever lived. Claudius Ptolemy was born in Egypt, where he remained active till the end of his life. His writings have had a profound influence on geography and mathematics. His book “Syntaxis Mathematica” has been described as the most important scientific writing ever written between the 2^nd and the 16^th century AD.

Ptolemy had founded observatories in several cities of Egypt where he studied the planets and the stars with specially designed astrologic tools. The astrolabe of Ptolemy as it came to be known was a genius astrological instrument which depicted the celestial sphere and was used to measure the longitude and latitude of the observed stars from anywhere on Earth and vice versa. In this way, Ptolemy could locate the position of any star in the night sky and also measure the distance between the sun and the moon. The Planetary Solar System was a geocentric astronomical model which depicted and forecasted the orbits of the sun, the moon and all of the known planets at the time. Upon it were implemented mathematical principles of Apollonius of Perga, Hipparchus and Ptolemy which made the geocentric model the dominant model up until the 16^th century, when Copernicus re-introduced the heliocentric model of Aristarchus of Samos. Finally, Ptolemy used a parallactic instrument for measuring vertical angles of the moon and its distance from the Earth.

He wrote books on the physics, reflection and refraction of light, historical books, books on trigonometry, geometry and most importantly astronomy. His magnum opus “Syntaxis Mathematica” was the bible of astronomy that determined the astronomical perceptions of all humanity for as long as 1500 years. The book was translated by the Arabs into Almagest, which translates to “The Great” from Greek «μεγίστη» (megiste). In the Almagest, which is comprised of 13 books, Ptolemy introduces the mathematical models which he created in order to explain the motions of the sun, the moon and the planets based on his observations with his astrological instruments. He presents trigonometric principles, geometric applications, numerous astronomical phenomena and the zodiac signs. In addition, the book contains Hipparchus’ original star catalogue of 1022 stars now each with their own coordinates and magnitude added by Ptolemy. It is said that one of the agreements of the peace treaty imposed by Chosroes on Heraclitus was the deliverance of a copy of the Almagest to him. Another one of Ptolemy’s monumental works is “Geography” in which he provides a description of the known world with extraordinary accuracy. His book “Tetrabiblos” sums up all the Greek knowledge on horoscopes and is an invaluable tool for the field of astrology.

Ptolemy as an astronomer could be considered an equal to Hipparchus. Even though the geocentric model he proposed turned out to be false, it still retains its value for being a genius astronomical model for the interpretation of complex astronomical phenomena, as well as for being one of the most strenuous attempts to investigate all these phenomena based on mathematical principles, provided that the Earth be the centre of the solar system.

Bibliography

1. Kotsanas, Kostas. Ancient Greek Technology The inventions of the ancient Greeks. Pyrgos: Kostas Kotsanas, 2013. Print.
2. Koutoulas, Diamantis. The Ancient Greek Religion and the Mathematics. Thessaloniki: Dion. 2001. Print
3. “Ptolemaios, Klaudios”. Helios New Encyclopaedic Dictionary. Passas, I. Athens. 1946. Print.

Laskarina Bouboulina

Captain, Heroine of the Greek War of Independence (1771 – 1825)

Along with Manto Mavrogenous, Bouboulina was one of the leading female figures of the Greek War of Independence.

Born in a prison in Constantinople, she went on to marry twice; captain Stavrianos Pinotzis and later ship owner Demetrios Bouboulis, both of whom died fighting against Turkish and Algerian pirates, respectively. Having amassed a great fortune, Bouboulina sought to enter the Greek War of Independence and fight for her country.

Having aided the Russians in the war against the Turks, she fled to Constantinople where she managed to save her fortune. From there on she joined the Society of Friends (Philiki Hetaereia), becoming the only woman to do so, and allocated her entire fortune for the causes of the war. She provided funds for both naval and infantry forces necessary for the liberation of Greek lands and cities.

Her biggest contribution to the war was in the naval forces. Bouboulina built 3 ships, among them the first and largest Greek warship called ”Agamemnon”, named after the Homeric king Agamemnon who led the Greeks against the Trojans. During the first two years of the war she had already spent her entire fortune on building naval armies for the liberation of Nafplion and Tripolis. In 1821 she was the captain of the strongest naval army in Greece, leading many Greek islands, such as Spetses, Hydra and Psara, to an uprising against the Turkish yoke. Leading an army of 8 warships, she fought alongside Andreas Miaoulis in the Battle of Nauplia against the Ottoman Fleet which resulted in the successful siege of the gulf. She continued her fight in decisive battles in Monemvasia, Pylos and Argos.

Having fought alongside Theodoros Kolokotronis himself, Bouboulina stands as an admirable figure of the Greek War of Independence because of her courage and outstanding contribution to the victory of the war. What also distinguished Bouboulina was her code of honor for respecting even the enemy. It is said that during the siege of Tripolitsa in 1821, Bouboulina kept an old promise she had made to a Turkish sultan woman and saved the lives of women and children in a Turkish harem from slaughter.

Bibliography

1. ”Bouboulina, Laskarina”. Helios New Encyclopaedic Dictionary. Passas, I. Athens. 1946. Print.

Hippocrates of Kos

Physician, Philosopher (c460 BC – c356 BC)

The most renowned of the Greek physicians, descendent of the Asclepiads, Hippocrates of Kos’ influence in medicine was strongest than any other physician’s before him. He was the quintessence of the philosopher-doctor, who combined rational thinking with medical practice for the combat and most importantly the prevention of disease.

Hippocrates learnt medicine from his father by studying in the Asclepieions of Kos and Cnidus. Herodicus, Gorgias and Democritus were also his teachers. He travelled in the depths of Asia and Africa, Macedonia and Thrace before eventually settling in Larissa, where he would flourish during the Golden Age of Pericles like many other Great Greeks at that time. Hippocrates quickly rose to fame for offering his services in numerous cities around Greece. In Athens he was made an honorary citizen and was initiated in the Eleusinian Mysteries. When he was asked to offer his services to the Persian King, Hippocrates refused, saying that he would never help the enemies of his country.

Hippocrates’ contributions in medicine befall in all of today’s medical specialties. In Anatomy, he described the bones, the bone marrow, the joints, several muscles, numerous internal and reproductive organs as well as the heart and its valves. He knew that veins contained blood but believed that arteries carried air to the heart. He was unable to decipher the brain’s actual function but had acknowledged the fact that it was the center of cognition, movement and sensation. He also knew that vision and smell were functions connected to the brain.

As a pioneer in surgery, Hippocrates performed surgeries that even today are considered very difficult. He describes in his texts the opening of a skull with a drill, amputations, pleurectomies, paracentesis, haemorrhoid operations, phlebotomies. Moreover, he used catheters, knives, needles, chainsaws, and many other tools which he had built for operations. He founded preventive medicine and established all of the ethical codes and deontology in medicine. The roots of Homeopathy as a science were also established by Hippocrates (“similia similibus curentur”).

Hippocrates’ philosophy on the human body was that it was composed of 4 major elements: wind, earth, fire and water. In each of these elements corresponds a trait: cold, dry, warm and liquid. The heart was thought to be the center of the warm trait. The major humors of the human body were blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile. Provided that there is a balanced mixture of the four, the person would be healthy. If, however, one of the humors predominated in the mixture, then disease would develop. A disease is not confined to one organ; rather the entire organism is diseased. Numerous diseases are named and described in his texts, namely influenza, tuberculosis, typhus, malaria, herpes, leprosy and some nervous diseases such as mania and depression. Treatment lies in what we eat. An interesting concept in Hippocrates’ philosophy on the human body is that inside of it lies an inner force which he terms “nature” and it is the force responsible for the conservation and development of the body as well as its healing.

Hippocrates was a prolific writer; Soranus of Ephesos reports that he had written 64 books on medicine, of which 57 survive today. The first category of his books includes The Hippocratic Oath, “The Law”, “On Ancient Medicine”, “On Art”, “Aphorisms” etc. These books were concerned with medicine as a science and its relationship with philosophy. They were mostly intended for students studying at the Asclepieions. The second category contains 9 books written on Anatomy and Physiology, namely “On Anatomy”, “On the Heart”, “On the Articulations”, “The Nature of Man” etc. He wrote books on diet (“On Food”, “On Diet”), on pathology and disease (“On Airs, Waters, Places”, “On Ulcers”, “On Regimen of Acute Diseases”), on prognostics, of which The Book of Prognostics is the most valuable one, therapeutic ones, on surgery (“On the Surgery”, “On Fistulae”, “On Fractures”, “On Haemorrhoids”), on ophthalmology, obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics, orthopedics, hygiene and dentistry. A very large number of his works was saved and translated into Latin and Arabic. This was not coincidence, as people found Hippocrates’ writings more understandable than the writings of philosophers as well as more useful since they would benefit their own health.

All of his books comprise the Corpus Hippocraticum, which is used to this day as an invaluable tool by doctors and students alike in medical universities. It is called voices of God by Suda, the oldest Greek encyclopaedia, and that his teachings come not from a human spirit but were direct words of God. He also calls Hippocrates star and light of medicine. Galen, the second most renowned physician of antiquity after Hippocrates, considers him as the greatest physician of all ages, the most important writer of all time and one of the greatest philosophers. Erotianos compares him to Homer, Herodotus and Thucydides calling him divine, God-like and founder of logical medicine. He stands among Asclepius and Apollo, one as the founder of medicine, one as the physician of the Gods and he respectively as Father of Medicine.

Bibliography:

1. “Hippocrates of Kos”. Helios New Encyclopaedic Dictionary. Passas, I. Athens: 1946. Print.
2. Manias, Theophanes. The Holy Geometry of the Greeks and the Mathematical Structure of the Hellenic Language. Athens: Pyrinos Kosmos, 2006. Print.
3. Manias, Theophanes. The Unknown Masterpieces of the Ancient Greeks. Athens: Pyrinos Kosmos, 2006. Print.
4. Tziropoulou Eustathiou, Anna. Archigenethlos Helliniki Glossa. Athens: Georgiades, 2011. Print.
5. Tziropoulou Eustathiou, Anna. O en tei Lexei Logos. Athens: Georgiades, 2011. Print.

Alexander Hypsilantis

Prince, Hero of the Greek War of Independence (1792 – 1828)

Alexander Hypsilantis, brother of Demetrios Hypsilantis descended from a royal Phanariot family that ruled Wallachia during the Ottoman yoke. He served as a senior officer in the Imperial Russian Army in the Napoleonic wars, was prince of the Danubian Principalities and was one of the leading members of the Society of Friends (Philiki Hetaereia), a secret organization founded by Ioannis Kapodistrias and the Tsakalov brothers in an attempt to liberate Greece from the Turkish yoke.

Alexander’s decision to abandon his life as a prince, a life that many would envy, to devote all his life and fortunes to the sacred war of Greek Independence and freedom made him a holy figure in modern Greek history.

His first actions in the Greek War of Independence are traced back to when he first joined the Society of Friends at the age of 25, when he was appointed de-facto leader of the organization. He quit from the Russian Imperial Army in which he had served and excelled as a sergeant and in February 1821 he crossed the river Pruth in Wallachia and raised the banner of Greek revolt against the Ottoman Empire. He was accompanied by an army of 500 young volunteers that comprised the “Hieros Lochos” (Sacred Band). The battle took place in Dragatsani and resulted in the defeat of the Greek army. The plan, originally conceived by Ioannis Kapodistrias was to start the war in Wallachia in order to lure the Russians into the war against the Ottomans and have them as allies of the Greeks. Unfortunately the plan had failed. More than 200 warriors fell heroically in the name of freedom. The battle was only the beginning of the Greek War of Independence.

After the unsuccessful attack, Alexander fled to Austria where he was arrested and imprisoned. One year after he was released, having lost his arm, impoverished and forgotten, he died in the streets of Vienna happily and peacefully after having learned a few days earlier that Ioannis Kapodistrias had become Governor of Greece and that his nation was once again free after nearly 400 years of slavery.

Bibliography

1. Boutatos, Christos. “Ἀλέξανδρος Ὑψηλάντης Ἕνας ἐθνικὸς ἥρωας ἀπὸ μιὰ οἰκογένεια ἐθνικῶν ἡρώων”. February 18, 2014. Web. April 7, 2016.
2. “Hpsilantis, Alexandros”. Helios New Encyclopaedic Dictionary. Passas, I. Athens. 1946. Print.

Demetrios Hypsilantis

Prince, Hero of the Greek War of Independence (1793 – 1832)

Demetrios Hypsilantis, brother of Alexander Hypsilantis descended from a royal Phanariot family that ruled Wallachia during the Ottoman yoke. He served as an officer in the Imperial Russian Army in Moldavia prior to the outbreak of the Greek War of Independence.

Demetrios followed his brother in the Greek War of Independence and was initiated in the Society of Friends (Philiki Hetaereia), a secret organization founded by Ioannis Kapodistrias and the Tsakalov brothers in an attempt to liberate Greece from the Turkish yoke. Being in charge of military duties, Demetrios’ first polemic action was the reclaiming of Nafplion along with a small army of French and German Philhellenes led by Valesta, which he himself had organized. Even though it was unsuccessful, Hypsilantis managed to reclaim Argos in 1822.

In 1822, Demetrios Hypsilantis fought alongside Theodoros Kolokotronis, Nikitas Stamatelopoulos, Demetrios Plapoutas, Papaflessas, Panos Kolokotronis and many other worthy fighters against Mahmud Dramali Pasha and his army of 36.000 soldiers in the Battle of Dervenakia. Outnumbered by nearly 28.000 fighters, the Greeks, this time led by Theodoros Kolokotronis fought victoriously against the Ottoman army and liberated an important part of Peloponnesus.

In 1825, when Mahmud Dramali Pasha invaded Peloponnesus once again, Demetrios gathered an army of 350 men from Nafplion and fended off the Ottoman army whilst battling against an exceptionally well organized Egyptian army as well. Following his success, Demetrios was met by Henri de Rigny, commander of the French squadron and Philhellene and this made him rise to fame in the entire Europe among the Philhellenes.

Before the end of the Greek War of Independence he clashed once more with Dramali’s forces. With the coming of Ioannis Kapodistrias in Greece in 1827, Demetrios was appointed Field Marshall of Eastern Greece and with a series of victorious battles he cleared the Greek lands of the Ottoman army, thus liberating important parts of Greece. The Battle of Petra in 1829 was the last battle in the Greek War of Independence. Demetrios Hypsilantis led an army of 3000 brave men against 7000 Ottomans and defeated them, bringing yet another victory to the Greek nation and an end to the Greek War of Independence. He received the highest honours from the Governor of Greece for his services in the war. He died in 1832 in Nafplion.

Bibliography

1. Barbis, Kostas. Jackals and Hyenas of the Greek Politics. Thessaloniki: Kadmos, 2012. Print.
2. “Hypsilantis, Demetrius”. Helios New Encyclopaedic Dictionary. Passas, I. Athens. 1946. Print.

Hippodamus

Urban Planner, Architect, Mathematician, Philosopher, Physicist, Meteorologist (498 BC – 408 BC)

Hippodamus is one of the lesser-known polymaths of Greek antiquity. He is considered the Father of urban planning, a branch of architecture concerned with organization and design of urban space. In addition to his contributions in architecture, he was a skilled mathematician, able to implement mathematical and geometrical principles in the construction of cities as well as a philosopher interested primarily in politics.

He is the founder of the Hippodamian plan, a city planning system that is widely used to this day in urban planning for the construction of city layouts. According to it, rectangular blocks representing land of equal area were crossed by parallel lines representing streets in such a way as to create an idiomorphic pattern. The location of important city structures and landmarks were determined with precision; the agora, the vouleuterion and the temples were placed in the center of the grid while the houses were placed in the periphery. Before the invention of the Hippodamian plan, most cities’ grid was irregular and buildings were built around an important landmark e.g. the Acropolis in Athens. This often hindered transport or water supply to the houses. That is why Aristotle credits Hippodamus with “inventing the art of planning cities”.

Following his success and having achieved fame, Hippodamus was called up by Pericles and was tasked with building the city layout of Piraeus. He built neighbourhoods composed of two-storey houses with a kitchen, living room and garden. He orientated every house in such a way that they could be warm during the winter and cool during the summer. He also invented an ingenious water supply system that supplied every house with clean water. Moreover, roads with big inclination were designed to remove water during floods. Upon its completion, Piraeus’s layout stood as the prototype for all ancient Greek cities. To this day, Piraeus retains the same layout. He went on to do the same for Miletus, another port town, Thouria in Southern Italy and Rhodes. After this, numerous cities adopted this system implemented by Hippodamus, namely Olynthus, Priene and Alexandria.

In addition to being an urban planner, Hippodamus was involved in the political and administrative aspects of a city. He distinguished 3 types of properties: public, private and sacred. He studied how a city must be structured in order to function excellently and its people live gracefully. Numerous Ancient Greek writers such as Strabo, Stobaeus and most importantly Aristotle cite him on their works and credit him as a meteorologist and physicist. Sadly, his works in mathematics, physics and meteorology have not survived.

Bibliography

1. “Hippodamus”. Helios New Encyclopaedic Dictionary. Passas, I. Athens: 1946. Print.
2. Vassileva, Diliana. “Hippodamus and Early Planned Cities”. museumofthecity.org. 29 March, 2016.

Aris Poulianos

Anthropologist, Archaeologist (1924)

“My mother named me Aris Poulianos, my profession over the last years is anthropologist; I study the origin of man, where he came from, and that is how I came to some conclusions…”.

Aris Poulianos’s name today is connected with some of the most groundbreaking discoveries made in the field of archaeology and paleontology. He is credited as the discoverer of the oldest human remains on the planet.

On September 1960, in a cave in Petralona, Chalkidiki, a shepherd named Philippos Chantzarides accidentally discovered a human skull and later a skeleton. After 12 years of meticulous anthropometric studies by the University of Thessaloniki, European and Japanese scientists and Aris Poulianos himself, the skeleton was revealed to be almost 750.000 years old. The skeleton, which came to be known as Archanthrope of Petralona is believed to be the transitional stage between homo erectus and homo sapiens. At the time of its discovery, it was the oldest human skeleton in Europe.

In Ptolemais, northern Greece, Poulianos discovered a whole skeleton of an elephant that had been killed by hunters using tools. The skeleton was dated 3.000.000 years old.

His greatest discovery, however, was a tibia and a fibula found in a quarry in Triglia, Chalkidiki in 1996. It pertained to the Archanthrope of Triglia, as he came to be called. The anthropometry conducted by the University of Northern Carolina revealed that the bones were dated 12.000.000 years ago, meaning that Poulianos had discovered the remains of the oldest homo erectus ever. It predated the so-called “Lucy”, which was found in Tanzania by more than 700.000 years and thus wiped out the “Out-of-Africa” theory.

Later, Poulianos would discover the oldest fire ash ever recorded in human history, again in Greece, dating back to 1.000.000 BC. These discoveries proved that this man could speak, impose laws, build weapons and form communities.

Aris Poulianos has conducted more than 20.000 anthropometries during his work as an anthropologist. Throughout his career, which has spanned more than half a century, he gave all of his fortune for the construction of a museum inside the cave where all of the artifacts were found. Today it attracts tourists from all around the world, as well as students from prestigious universities seeking to complete their doctorate. Unfortunately, many of the artifacts discovered by Poulianos, including bones of the skeletons, were taken by shady scholars and have been lost.

Poulianos’ discoveries overturned numerous mainstream theories on the origin of man as well as of the Greeks. Before his discoveries, it was believed that man originated from Africa and subsequently moved and colonized other continents. During the 19th and 20th century, it was theorized that the Greeks originated from the north as part of an Indo-European race and settled in Greece before wiping out all its previous inhabitants.

Today, thanks to the archaeological discoveries of Poulianos, it has been established that the Greeks are in fact an autochthonous race and that man as he is today first stood up in two legs and walked the earth in Greece. In his own words: “All of the peoples, the Europeans, and those that went to Africa, Asia and America, all of them began from the Greek peninsula”. “It is the place which gave the first homo erectus on Earth since 13.000.000 years. Darwin told us about Africa 3.000.000 years ago; I say here, 13.000.000 years ago”.

Bibliography

1. Ayfantis, Georgios. Anthropos & Epistimi – Enimerosis: Prehistory and History of Man, Science & Civilization. Athens: Hellinikon Selas, 2009. Print.
2. Balanthsberoia. Το Σπήλαιο των Πετραλώνων. Youtube. April 4, 2012. Web. March 25, 2016.
3. ΕΛΛΑΣ-ΑΦΥΠΝΙΣΗ -ΤΩΡΑ. Άρης Πουλιανός: Ο Βενιζέλος εξαφάνισε τα ευρήματα που ανατρέπουν την παγκόσμια ιστορία!!!. Youtube. September 22, 2014. Web. March 25, 2016.
4. Kalopoulos, Michalis. ”Αρης Πουλιανός… και ο Αρχάνθρωπος τών Πετραλώνων 11 εκατ. ετών! GreatLie. Web. 25 Mar. 2016.
5. Kikkerjen. Άρης Πουλιανός για τον Αρχάνθρωπο των Πετραλώνων. Youtube. December 14, 2011. Web. March 25, 2016.
6. Zisopoulos, Dimitris. Άρης Πουλιανός. Ο Άρης των Ανθρώπων. Youtube. April 27, 2011. Web. March 25 , 2016.

Dionysios Solomos

Poet (1798 – 1857)

He is regarded as Modern Greece’s national poet. He was born in the island of Zakynthos as the illegitimate son of Nicolaos Solomos, a wealthy noble. As a child, Solomos studied under the supervision of several Greek scholars in Zakynthos before moving to Italy to study literature. There, he met many eminent scholars who acquainted him with the works of Ancient Greek writers and philosophers namely Plato, Homer and Thucydides. It was the beginning of his glorious career.

He returned to Zakynthos, abandoning his studies in law school to get involved in poetry. Originally, Solomos wrote his poems in Italian until he met Spyridon Trikoupis, a historian of the Greek War of Independence, who persuaded him to start writing his poems in Greek.

In his first poems “Death of the Orphan”, “Death of the Shepherd”, “To Mr. Ludovick Strank” and “The Shadow of Homer” he explores the themes of death, human emotions and most importantly nature. Despite the difficulties he had to face in writing in Greek language, Solomos made tremendous progress over a very short period of time. He went on to write his most famous work “Hymn to Liberty”. In it, he salutes Liberty and describes the harsh times of the Greek peoples during the Turkish yoke. After commemorating the glory of Ancient Greece, he describes vividly numerous victorious scenes from the Greek War of Independence and prompts the Greeks to fight for their freedom. It was the first star that was shining in the Modern Greek sky of poetry. Part of it would later become Greece’s and Cyprus’ national anthem, which is till this day.

Some of his most famous works include “To the Death of Lord Byron”, a poem in reminiscence of Lord Byron, “O Kritikos”, one of his most successful poems of which unfortunately only excerpts remain and “The Destruction of Psara”. Solomos’ magnum opus “The Free Besieged” is regarded as a hallmark in Modern Greek poetry. It is a hymn to will and debt of man, who is willing to risk everything for something he believes in, in the case of the poem, the people of Messolongi, who sacrificed themselves because they wanted to live free. The poem’s title refers to the fact that even though they are besieged by the Turkish army, they are free in their spirit. Sadly, while it took nearly 30 years for Solomos to complete his masterpiece, today only fragments exist.

Common themes in all of his works are rich and vivid fantasy, the power of imagery, the musical tone of each word, imparting a rhythm to his poem and a total harmony, religion, love towards his country and love towards the human being and nature.

Dionysios Solomos laid the foundations of Modern Greek poetry. He was the first to mix art with ethnic elements and notions. His works had enormous impact on all the poets who followed after him and for this he is the founder of the Eptanesos School of Poetry. He was one of the strongest proponents of the Greek language because through it he could convey the highest ideas of human intellect in his poems. He died in 1857 from encephalopathy at the age of 59.

Bibliography

1. ”Solomos, Dionysios”. Helios New Encyclopaedic Dictionary. Passas, I. Athens. 1946. Print.

Xenocrates

Philosopher, Mathematician (394 BC – 314 BC)

Xenocrates was one of Plato’s students. He studied philosophy in the Academy before becoming a scholar there. Xenocrates, while a Platonic philosopher had also profound knowledge of Pythagorean philosophy. He had travelled in Syracuse together with Plato and Speusippus to study the Pythagoreans.

Little is known about his life. He lived an ascetic life; at one point in his life he didn’t have money to pay the taxes to the Athenians so they sold him as slave. Thankfully, he was bought by Demetrius of Phalera and granted him his freedom. The two would later become close friends. Xenocrates had also deep respect for mathematics.

Xenocrates work begins when he becomes a scholar of the Academy. He compiled and published all of Plato’s works. Furthermore, he wrote numerous books, namely “Logistics”, composed of 9 tomes, “On Studies”, composed of 6 tomes, “On Distances”, “On Astrology” (6 books). In total, Xenocrates wrote more than 60 books on physics, logic, philosophy and ethics, nearly none of which has survived today.

Philosophically, Xenocrates believed that the soul is immortal that is able to go beyond the body. He accepted that there are somatic and spiritual goods and that priority should be given to the latter. By means of a virtuous life, one could free himself from the bonds of the body and live a life free of materialism. Xenocrates supported the fact that virtuous life does not simply mean avoiding bad actions but also avoiding bad thoughts. According to him cognition is the only form of knowledge that enables us to safely reach the truth. Finally, he had philosophical ideas on ethics and physics, though details, unfortunately today are not known.

Bibliography:

1. Pleuris. Konstantinos. Greek Philosophers. Athens: Hilektron, 2012. Print.
2. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. ”Xenocrates.” Encyclopaedia Britannica. Web. 22 Mar. 2016.

Thales of Miletus

Philosopher, Mathematician, Physicist, Astronomer (c604 BC – c546 BC)

The first by chronological order Greek philosopher and the founder of European philosophy as a science of humanity. Thales claimed that he owed gratitude to luck for 3 things: First that he was born a human being, second that he was born a man and not a woman and third that he was born Greek, not barbarian.

Thales was born in Miletus at a time when the city had become an important trade centre. He used this advantage to travel to Persia and Egypt. He visited the pyramids, which he successfully measured their height using his own mathematical theorems, measured the distance from shore of ships to sea and came up with an explanation for the floods of river Nile, facing the Egyptians not only as tutors but as students as well.

Thales was portrayed as a wise researcher devoted to the study of science. Plato, for example, writes that one day Thales fell into a drain shaft as he was walking on the street while gazing at the sky while studying the movement of the stars.

What is special about Thales is his expertise in numerous fields. He did discoveries purely scientific in astronomy, physics and geometry; he established his own philosophical system and participated actively in politics. Concurrently, he performed great mechanical works and worked as a political supervisor of the Ionians.

He would frequently use his vast scientific knowledge to surprise people. In one example, in May 28^th, 585 BC he predicted a total solar eclipse that stopped the battle between two opposing forces. Because of this feat, Thales’ reputation as a mathematician and astronomer grew enormously and was hailed as one of the 7 wide men of Greece. In another example, by studying and observing the stars, Thales correctly predicted that during the next autumn, the harvest from the olive oils would be significantly increased in comparison to the previous period. He proceeded to negotiations with the oil presses and succeeded in renting them for much higher prices than he himself had originally paid. In this way, Thales had used his astronomic knowledge in conjunction with economics in a way that no modern economist has done to this day. By then, philosophy had acquired a practical value thanks to Thales.

As a mathematician, Thales made radical discoveries in geometry most notably that the diameter divides the circle into two equal parts, that an isosceles triangle has its two basal angles equal, the intercept theorem and the well-known Thales’ Theorem. Even though some of them were already known and used by the Babylonians, Thales was the first to prove them mathematically and today they are considered as fundamental basics of geometry.

In the field of physics and astronomy, Thales always sought to find out the cause. Aside from his research on solar eclipse, earthquakes and floods, Thales’ major contribution in physics were his observations on the phenomena of magnetism and electricity. He is the first person recorded to have discovered electricity, the fact that two light objects could be attracted after being rubbed on amber. With this seemingly simple discovery, Thales was opening the gates to the unknown, which thousands of years later scientists of the Enlightenment would enter and explore.

As a philosopher, Thales is a Unitarian. He believes that the primordial substance of all is water. Everything we see comes from water and is a result of this substance’s simple transformation. Water as a primordial substance and all its products are not dead; they are life, full of energy and it is the water inside everything that is strongly connected to an energetic force, which in living beings is correspondent to the soul.

Thales of Miletus, scientist and philosopher, observer, researcher and experimentalist, founder of the Ionic school of philosophy and discoverer of electricity stands today in the first line of the wisest men in history of mankind. His most famous aphorism “Know thyself” (γνῶθι σ’αὐτὸν) guides all those scientists who wish to climb the stairs to wisdom.

Bibliography

1. Manias, Theophanes. The Unknown Masterpieces of the Ancient Greeks. Athens: Pyrinos Kosmos, 2006. Print.
2. Pleuris, Konstantinos. Greek Philosophers. Athens: Hilektron, 2012. Print.
3. ”Thales of Miletus”. Helios. Passas, I.Athens. 1946. Print