Regarded as 'The Father of History.'
Herodotus of Halicarnassus (484 BCE-ca. 425 BCE)
He is regarded as the most important scientist in antiquity and one of the greatest mathematicians ever.
Archimedes of Syracuse (287 BC-ca. 212 BC)
Philosopher who taught that pleasure and pain are the measures of what is good and bad.
Epicurus (341 BC-270 BC)
He is considered the first person to propose a scientific heliocentric model of the solar system, placing the Sun, not the Earth, at the center of the known universe (hence he is sometimes known as the 'Greek Copernicus').
Aristarchus of Samos (310 BC-ca. 230 BC)
Last of the three great tragedians of classical Athens. Perhaps one of his more famous quotes is "Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad."
Euripides (ca. 480 BC-406 BC)
Universally regarded as the greatest of all Classical sculptors. Designed the temple of the goddess Athena on the Athenian Acropolis and the colossal seated Statue of Zeus at Olympia in the 5th century BC.
Phidias (c.BC 491-430 BC)
Many regard him as the first philosopher in the Greek tradition as well as the father of science.
Thales of Miletus (624 BC-ca. 546 BC)
Considered the greatest astronomer of antiquity, he developed trigonometry, a reliable method to predict solar eclipses and compiled the first comprehensive star catalog and possibly invented the astrolabe.
Hipparchus (c. 190 BC-c. 120 BC)
Student of Plato and tutor of Alexander the Great.
Aristotle (384 BC-March 7, 322 BC)
Often held to be the founder of Western philosophy, and its most influential practitioner.
Socrates (470-399 BC)
Often referred to as 'The Father of Medicine.'
Hippocrates of Kos (ca. 460 BC-ca. 370 BC)
Theban general and statesman of the 4th century BC who transformed the Ancient Greek city-state of Thebes, leading it out of Spartan subjugation into a preeminent position in Greek politics.
Epaminondas (ca. 418 BC-362 BC)
Known as the Father of Comedy and the Prince of Ancient Comedy.
Aristophanes (ca. 446 BC-ca. 388 BC)
Perhaps the greatest of the nine lyric poets of ancient Greece. Wrote many odes praising victorious Greek athletes.
Pindar (ca. 522 BC-ca. 443 BC)
His Elements is the most successful textbook in the history of mathematics.
Euclid
A poet who was called as the 'Tenth Muse' by Plato.
Sappho
Considered the greatest of all greek orators.
Demosthenes (384 BC-322 BC)
Greatest of the Attic sculptors of the 4th century BC and is considered unsurpassed in marble work.
Praxiteles
This theorem man is known as 'The Father of Numbers.' He was the first man to call himself a philosopher, or lover of wisdom.
Pythagoras of Samos (ca. 580 BC-ca. 500 BC)
Founded the Academy, a university that was the intellectual center of Greece for 900 years.
Plato (428/427 BC-348/347 BC)
He is noted for devising a system of latitude and longitude, and for being the first known to have calculated the circumference of the Earth.
Eratosthenes (276 BC-194 BC)
He and his disciple formulated the theory that all matter is composed of atoms.
Leucippus and Democritus (ca. 460BC-ca. 370BC)
Was acclaimed as 'the first citizen of Athens' and is best associated with the Golden Period of that city.
Pericles (ca. 495-429 BC)
Author of the History of the Peloponnesian War, widely considered the first work of scientific history, describing the human world as produced by men acting from ordinary motives, without the intervention of the gods.
Thucydides (ca. 460 BC-ca. 395 BC)
Generally regarded as the first sophist.
Protagoras (ca. 490BC-420BC)
Recognized as the father or the founder of tragedy, and is the earliest of the three Greek tragedians. His play The Persians remains an important primary source of information about this period in Greek history. Was killed when an eagle dropped a turtle on his head.
Aeschylus (525-456 BC)
His works begin the Western Canon and are universally praised as brilliant and influential. By convention, their composition is also often taken to initiate the period of Classical Antiquity.
Homer
The Early Imperial Roman writers consistently rated him among the greatest of Greek sculptors and he is most famous for Discus Thrower, a statue of an athlete in motion.
Myron (mid-fifth century BCE)
The most famous of his dramas are the three tragedies concerning Oedipus and Antigone: these are often known as the Theban plays or The Oedipus Cycle, although they were not originally written or performed as a single trilogy.
Sophocles (495 BC-406 BC)