| People | Comment |
| Agesilaus | Spartan King, 445-359 B.C. At the time of Spartan
hegemony (since 404) he campaigned in Asia Minor 396-395, sacked Sardis. Undefeated, he had to return to Greece when Athens and Thebes, subsidized by the Persians, allied against Sparta. |
| Alcibiades | Athenian statesman and general, 451-404. A proponent
of anti-Spartan policy, he devised the plan for and led the Athenian expedition to Sicily in 415, which ended in a disaster. Subsequently he was ostracized, then turning to Athens' archenemy Sparta, which he advised until expelled; then he turned to Persia, later to return to Athens, only to be ostracized a second time. |
| Aristoteles (Aristotle) |
Greek philosopher, 384-322 B.C., a disciple of Platon. Opened a school at the Lyceum
(Athens). Teacher of Alexander the Great in Pella, Macedon,343-334. Works : De Anima, Metaphysics, Nicomachean Ethics. |
| Cleisthenes | Athenian politician. Archon in 525 under tyrant
Hippias, he orchestrated Hippias' ouster in 510 and is credited with the reinvention of Athenian democracy, especially the element of ostracism. Ironically, Cleisthenes was the first politician to be ostracized (507). |
| Cypselus | Overthrew the aristocratic government of Corinth in 657 and
established tyranny. He ruled until 627 and was succeeded by his son Periander. The archetype of the first generation tyrants, his image was rather that of a reformer than of an oppressor. |
| Demosthenes | Athenian orator and politician, 384-322 B.C. Regarded
one of the greatest speakers of Antiquity. A determined enemy of Philip II. of Macedon, he twice persuaded the Athenians to declare war on Macedon, in speeches known as Philippics. Both times the Athenians lost the ensuing war. |
| Diogenes | Greek philosopher, around 412-323 B.C. An eccentric and
cynic, most famous for his simple lifestyle - he lived in an empty barrel, threw away his cup when he saw a shepherd drinking out of his bare hands. |
| Dracon (Draco) |
Athenian statesman, archon 621-620. He is credited with having given draconian (harsh) laws, later to be reformed by Solon. |
| Epaminondas | Theban statesman and general. He defeated the
Spartans in the Battle of Leuctra 371, ending Spartan hegemony. He dissolved the Peloponnesian League, restored Messenian independence, founded Megalopolis, all steps to prevent Sparta to rise again. With his death in 362 Theban hegemony ended. |
| Herodotus | Greek historian, around 484-425 B.C. Moved from Miletus to
Athens; travelled extensively, later moved to Thurii in southern Italy.. Regarded the father of history, wrote the Histories. |
| Hesiod | Greek poet/philosopher, c. 700 B.C. Born in Cyme (Aeolia,
Asia Minor), moved to Ascra (Boeotia, Greek mainland). Proponent of simple country life, opposed to poleis. Works : Theogony, Works and Days |
| Hippias | Athenian tyrant 527-510, son of
Peisistratus. He was deposed by Cleisthenes, with Spartan assistance; Cleisthenes reintroduced and redefined Athenian democracy, while Hippias went into exile, ultimately in Persia. When the Persians invaded Greece in 490 with the object of conquering Athens, Hippias accompanied them. |
| Hippocrates | Greek physician, around 460-377 B.C. Medical doctors are
to swear the Hippocratic Oath, i.e. to declare to aid anyone according to his medical need, disregarding a.o. personal hatred, money etc. Regarded the father of medicine. |
| Leonidas | King of Sparta, date of birth unknown. He ruled from 490 and
died at Thermopylae in 480. Facing an army heavily outnumbering his, facing encirclement, he refused to retreat. With a few hundred Spartans and Thespians he defended the pass until the last man was cut down, delaying the Persian advance and covering the Athenians' retreat to Salamis. His epitaph read : Wanderer, if you come to Sparta, report thither that you have seen me lying here, as the law commanded. |
| Lycurgus | Legendary lawgiver of Sparta, around 700 B.C., credited with creating the Spartan constitution. |
| Pausanias | Spartan King since 480, the victor in the Battle of Plataea (479 B.C.), conquered Byzantium 478. |
| Peisistratus (Pisistratus) | Athenian politician, 6th century B.C. In 561 and again in 546 he seized power, establishing himself as tyrant.
(in 561 he was quickly ousted again). He died in 527, succeeded by his sons Hipparchus and Hippias. |
| Pericles | Athenian politician, c. 495-429 B.C. He dominated Athenian politics
since 443, reformed Athenian democracy by eliminating the 4th and lowest class from participating in the assembly, thus creating the Aristocratic Democracy. The Age of Pericles is regarded the climax of Athenian history; culturally most productive. |
| Platon (Plato) |
Greek philosopher 427-347 B.C., disciple of Socrates, founder of the Athenian Academy.
Works : Gorgias, Phaedon, The Republic, Theaetetus, Timaeus |
| Pythagoras | Greek statesman and philosopher, born on Samos, moved
to Croton (s. Italy) c. 530, participated in overthrow of tyranny, established Pythagorean Federation, an alliance of Greek poleis in s. Italy with the intention of combatting/forestalling tyranny in the Greek poleis of S. Italy. Also a philosopher (mathematician), credited with the Pythagorean theorem, which actually was known to the Babylonians a millennium earlier. |
| Socrates | Greek philosopher 469-399 B.C. Questioning tradition and authority,
he was accused of spoiling the youth and condemned to death. He did not leave any writing; his teaching is recorded in the writings of his disciple Platon. |
| Solon | Greek statesman c. 640-559, Athens' second lawgiver. Archon in 594,
he replaced the earlier Draconian laws with the less strict Solonian laws; regarded wise. |
| Sophocles | Greek playwright, 496-406. Born at Colonus, he moved to Athens.
His tragedies include Antigone, Electra, Oedipus Rex |
| Thales | Thales of Miletus, Greek philosopher c.634-546 B.C. (iin classical
Greece, philosophy included all sciences). Mathematician and astronomer. |
| Themistocles | Athenian statesman, c. 528-462 B.C. After the Athenian victory
over the Persians at Marathon (490) Themistocles, expecting a repeat invasion, used the revenue of the Laurion silver mine to build a fleet. When the Persians invaded in 480, his fleet secured victory in the Battle of Salamis (480) and laid the basis to the Delian League, a step on the road to the Athenian seaborne empire. Themistocles was ostracised in 471, and, ironically, went to exile to Persia, where he was appointed governor of a satrapy. |
| Xenophon | Athenian politician, mercenary and historian, 430-354 B.C.
With 10,000 other Greeks, he was hired as a mercenary by Persian prince Cyrus in his rebellion against his brother Artaxerxes in 401; after Cyrus' death in 400 he lead the 10,000 Greeks back home from Babylonia, in a march through enemy country. Wrote the Anabasis (on the march of the 10,000), the Memorabilia (on Socrates' teaching), the Hellenica. |