Greek Thinkers: Philosophy

* Marble statue of a veiled woman at the British Museum via Google Arts & Culture

"Intellectual Heiress" to Aristippus of Cyrene

Born: about 400 BC

Died: about 340 BC

School: Cyrenaic school

Disciple of: Aristippus (her father and founder of the Cyrenaic school)

Taught: Aristippus the Younger (her son)

Known for: Passing on the teachings of her father, Aristippus, to her son Aristippus the Younger who is credited with formalizing these teachings into a school of thought.

"In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous."

Born: 384 BC in Stagira, Chalcidian League

Died: 322 BC in Euboea, Macedonian Empire (aged approx. 62)

School: Peripatetic school and the Aristotelian tradition

Disciple of: Plato

Taught: Alexander the Great and Theophrastus

Known for: Aristotelian philosophy, Syllogism, Theory of the soul, Virtue ethics

Born: about 470

Died: about 400 BC

Known for: A foreign-born rhetorician and philosopher of Athens who influenced many of the writers, thinkers, and statesmen of her time. Partner of Pericles.

Born: about 365 BC in Thebes

Died: 285 BC (aged 80) in Boeotia

School: Cynicism

Disciple of: Diogenes of Sinope (possibly), Bryson the Achaean, and Stilpo

Taught: Zeno of Citium (founder of Stoicism)

Known for: The husband of Hipparchia of Maroneia; gave away his money to live a life of poverty on the streets of Athens.

"The greatest reward of righteousness is peace of mind."

Born: February 341 BC in Samos, Greece

Died: 270 BC in Athens (aged about 72)

School: Epicureanism

Influenced by: Democritus, Aristippus, Pyrrho

Known for: Opened his own school, "the Garden" and openly allowed women and slaves to join. For Epicurus, the purpose of philosophy was to help people be happy.

"I, Hipparchia chose not the tasks of rich-robed woman, but the manly life of the Cynic."

Born: 350 BC in Maroneia, Thrace

Died: 280 BC

School: Cynicism

Known for: The wife of Crates of Thebes and the sister of Metrokles. Lived a life of poverty on the streets of Athens with her husband.

"Wonder is the feeling of a philosopher, and philosophy begins in wonder."

Born: 420s BC in Athens

Died: 348 or 347 BC in Athens (age c. 80)

School: Platonism

Disciple of: Socrates

Taught: Aristotle

Known for: Founded the Academy, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world and considered the founder of Western political philosophy. Author of famous works including allegories (such as the Allegory of the Cave), and works including the Republic and Dialogues.

"Friends share all things"

Born: 570 BC on Samos

Died: 495 BC in Croton or Metapontum (aged around 75)

School: Pythagoreanism

Influenced by: Plato and Aristotle

Known for: Many mathematical and scientific discoveries, including the Pythagorean theorem, Pythagorean tuning, the five regular solids, the Theory of Proportions, and the sphericity of the Earth.

"The unexamined life is not worth living."

Born: about 470 BC in Athens

Died: 399 BC in Athens (aged about 71) 

School: Classical Greek philosophy

Taught: Plato, Aristippus, and Xenophon

Known for: Credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy and first moral philosopher in the Western tradition

"A reflective, contented mind is the best possession."

Time Period: No historical consensus, possibly between 1500 and 500 BC in modern-day Iran

Known for: Persian priest-turned-prophet who founded the religion of Zoroastrianism, an early monotheistic religion, which is the one of the world's oldest continually-practiced religions.