The Sophists of Ancient Greece Essay

The Classical period was a time of intellectual growth and stimulus. The desire to learn brought about the need for a group of teachers to impart worldly wisdom unto their students. This new group of teachers that emerged were known as "Sophists", which means "those who are wise." Socrates, a great philosopher of the Classical period, challenged the assumed truths of his day in order to reconstruct Athenian life. Plato, Socrates' best student, in turn became a great philosopher

The ancient Greeks with their brilliant and imaginative spirit created a complete order of things that functioned harmoniously in the infinite world that contained them. Although its exact origins are lost in time, Greek religion is thought to date from about the 2d millenium B.C., when the culture of Aryan invaders fused with those of the Aegean and Minoan peoples who had inhabited the region of Greece from Neolithic times [1]. The beginning and the genesis of this world occupied the ancient Greeks in much the same way it did the early people of every civilization. Greek religion was at the beginning a blend of Minoan, Egyptian, Asian, and other elements, but it subsequently evolved along with Greek thought.

Theater in ancient Greece was considered the climax of the days long cultural festival of The City Dionysia. At the festival, various types of plays were shown but one of the most popular was tragedy. These tragedies show the main character, usually a god or person of myth, going through human suffering and the terrible sequence of events that followed; and were produced in 472- 401 BCE. In order for a play to be performed at The City Dionysia festival; tragic playwrights would first have to appeal to the state official that was organizing the festival by submitting ideas to him and his committee. The ideas submitted were outlines of main themes and points of interest to be performed in the play. If a playwright was selected by the state official and his committee, then they received a financial backer and a chance to compete in the drama competition of the festival. The state official, or his committee, was likely pushing their own agenda and choose playwrights that matched their ideals. This is just one example of how theater in ancient Greece was used to influence the morality of Greek culture by using the stories of tragedies, like those of Euripides.

Ancient Greece has been a religion- centered culture since the earliest period of habitation in Greece, the Pre-Mycenaean/Mycenaean period. Also through to the Dark Ages to the Classical period. It is a religiously centered civilization, and did have significant changes in the how it was incorporated into people’s daily lives. Religion is important to know about the Ancient Greeks because through it we are able to understand how they lived their lives.

Ancient Greek culture had major influences on today’s culture; some of these influences include mathematics, government, art and architecture; they even did research in the field of medicine. Many cultures and religions have adapted their ideas from the ancient Greeks. Without the influences of the ancient Greeks our society wouldn’t be the way it is today. The Greek culture lasted from around 776 BCE to 146 BCE (though it is argued to have begun around 1000 BCE), during this time they invented many technologies and refined old technologies. These things are what caused the ancient Greek culture to be such a powerful influence on western society today.

The sophists were rhetoric teachers in Athens who lived at the same the as Socrates. They were major intellectual figures, and the term “sophist” means “wise person.” At that time “sophistry” was roughly equivalent to “rhetoric,” and rhetoric is the art of persuasion using language. However, the term ‘sophistry’ is now generally used to refer to manipulative forms of rhetoric.

Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) was a Greek philosopher, educator, and scientist. He was able to combine the thoughts of Socrates and Plato to create his own ideas and definition of rhetoric. He wrote influential works such as Rhetoric and Organon, which presented these new ideas and theories on rhetoric. Much of what is Western thought today evolved from Aristotle's theories and experiments on rhetoric.

Ancient Greece had a major impact on the Western World due to many factors. Documents 1 and 2 reveal that the Western World has been impacted by political factors of the ancient Greeks, whille documents 4, and 5 show us that the Western World was impacted due to cultural reasons.

The years within 600 B.C.E to 600 C.E are often referred to as the Classical Age. For a society to be considered classical, parts of their followings have to be in use in present day societies. Civilizations during this period developed various religions, cultures, and institutions that have left a lasting impact on the present day world. Classical societies were usually well organized, and powerful in their time. Greece was one of several classical societies during this period, and many aspects of Greece still influence present day societies.

In this essay I would like to talk about the nature of sophism and how it changes religion, politics and education. In the first part of my essay I am going to define the meaning of sophism, in the second part I am going to talk about the connection of sophism and aristocrats, in the third part of my essay I am going to talk about the changes in religion with the help of sophism; in the fourth part I will examine the changes in decision-making and in last part I will talk about Socrates use of cross-examination to find out the meaning of the oracle’s message. As a source of information I am going to use Plutarch’s essays Pericles and Alcibiades, Plato’s Apology and Crito, and Thucydides’ Peloponnesian War.

I am now going to define some terms that pertain to the argument between Thrasymachus and Socrates. The Sophists were a presocratic group that earned a living by teaching young Greek men lessons in excellence and to speak intelligently and persuasively. Sophists, like Thrasymachus, believed in subjective truth. Subjective truths are truths that in some way depend on us. How we think or feel on a matter is a

Daniel Mechenko HIS 1001 Professor Trumbach Paper 2 Sophism For many years, ancient Athens had been governed entirely by aristocrats with peasants contributing little to nothing to politics due to the imbalance of power. However, after the birth of democracy, which was implemented by Solon, the Aristocrats did not have as much power at their disposal relative to previous era. Peasants acquired the right to vote for their leaders, and because of this, an individual looking to obtain political power had to be a proficient orator in order to sway the citizens of Athens to elect him as a public official.

Socrates is accused of being a sophist. A sophist is someone who teaches people to be cleaver speakers, sophist’s charge money. Socrates claims that he is not wise enough to be a sophist, he merely speaks out about his thoughts and beliefs and if the youth of Athens listen and are intrigued, it is not his fault. In fact, Socrates mocks sophists saying that they almost brain wash young men, “to leave the company of their fellow citizens, with any of whom they can associate for nothing, attach themselves to him, pay money for the privilege, and be grateful into the bargain" (19e-20a) Socrates thinks that it is intriguing that

A sophist would speak, a sophist would teach, a sophist would use language and words to manipulate a situation to fit his point. A sophist would engulf you in his words and make the impossible seem possible. A sophist would share his views on the world, life, and the future with you; he would make you see the light of day even if it was night. A sophist was a wise man who had the gift of gab, the ability to influence, the ability to sway, the ability to teach the young how to be better speakers. All of the qualities that Socrates claimed he did not possess. Socrates was depicted as a clever man, yet one who never taught, never persuaded, never tried to make his thoughts shared by others. He was not a sophist, not a teacher, not a "wise man". "A wise man knows that he knows nothing". Socrates always spoke of the fact that he was not a sophist because he was only out for the truth. He never wanted you to believe his words just because they came out of his mouth, he only asked the questions that were necessary to draw out the map to the truth buried down below the layers of rhetoric.

Every idea has a start and a history that can be traced back in time. An incredible amount of these ideas and thoughts were started by great ancient civilizations. These ancient civilizations are the base of all modern knowledge. No ancient civilization has contributed more to this base than the civilization of Ancient Greece. The unique ways of ancient Greek agriculture have left a profound influence on the agriculture of today.