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Hall of Fame: A Day in the Life of an Ancient Greek

Aeschylus is one of the best-known Greek playwrights and is known as the "Father of the Greek Tragedy." He was the first writer to introduce dialogue and action on stage by using more than one actor at a time.

Anaxagoras discovered that the moon's light is reflected from the sun. He also calculated that an eclipse is caused by the moon blocking the light of the sun as it passes between the sun and the Earth.

Anaximander was the first to draw a map of the world.

Archimedes was a 3rd century BC mathematician and inventor. He is credited with many discoveries including the value for pi (p ) and the invention of a device, called the Archimedes Screw, for raising water from one level to another which is still used in Egypt today. He is also famous for shouting "Eureka!" (which means 'I have found it') when he discovered an important law of physics regarding the displacement of water and volume.

Aristarchus of Samos was the first to suggest that the Earth revolved on its own axis and that it moved around the sun. He also used trigonometry to calculate the distance to, and size of, the sun and the moon.

Aristophanes of Byzantium was a 3rd century BC literary scholar who introduced the use of punctuation. Aristophanes was the most famous Athenian comic playwright. His plays would mock current political events, as well as contemporary playwrights of the time.

Aristotle is the best known Greek philosopher. He studied under Plato and served as tutor to Alexander the Great. He also invented several sciences, including Biology, and composed many influential works that are still used today.

Claudius Ptolemy was a great but flawed astronomer. He believed that the universe revolved around the Earth. However, his ideas were not disproved until the 16th century and his writings on geography and astronomy were utilized until modern times.

Cleisthenes was an Athenian politician who introduced reforms that led to the development of the political system known as democracy.

Ctesibus was a 3rd century BC scientist who invented the water clock as well as many other devices.

Eratosthenes stated that the Earth was round and calculated its circumference to within a 0.5 accuracy.

Euclid was a 3rd century BC mathematician and is noted as the "Father of Geometry."

Herodotus is often described as the "Father of History." He is referred to as the first "real" historian. He wrote an account of the Persian Wars after interviewing survivors to acquire accurate information on the events.

Herophilus began dissecting bodies and learned about the nervous system. Herophilus was a 3rd century physician who established the notion that the brain, not the heart, is the seat of intelligence within the body.

Hipparchus was a 2nd century BC astronomer who invented longitude and latitude as well as calculating the length of the year to within 6 minutes of accuracy. He also located 850 stars in the sky.

Hippocrates of Kos adopted a more practical and scientific approach to medicine. He tried to search for the causes of diseases and to find out how the body worked.

Homer was the most famous Greek poet. He is the author of the Odyssey and The Iliad.

Pericles was the most powerful politician in Athens in his day. He improved the Athenian democratic system and built the Parthenon temple.

Plato was an Athenian philosopher who studied under Socrates and founded a school outside of Athens called the Academy. His philosophical ideas remain influential to the present day.

Pythagoras invented a theorem on calculating the angles of triangles.

Sappho is the most famous female poet of Ancient Greece. She is noted for her emotional and lyrical style.

Socrates was a famous Athenian philosopher who discussed the philosophies of life as well as questioned accepted thoughts and opinions in politics.

Sophocles was the first playwright to use more than two actors in his plays, as well as one of the first to introduce scenery on the stage to enhance the production.

Thales of Miletus studied mathematics and astronomy in Egypt and became the first to discover a method to measure the distance of a ship from the shore.

Xenophanes understood that fossils were the remains of plant and animal life in rocks.

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