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 Greek poet and grammarian, flourished about 400 BC. Scarcely anything is known of his life. His poetical efforts were not generally appreciated, although he received encouragement from his younger contemporary Plato. His chief works were: an epic __Thebais__, an account of the expedition of the Seven against Thebes and the war of the Epigoni; and an elegiac poem __Lyde__, so called from the poet's mistress, for whose death he endeavoured to find consolation telling stories from mythology of heroic disasters.
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 [[classical:antimachus|Antimachus Page]]
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 ===== Plato =====
+Philosopher in Classical Greece. He was also a mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the foundations of Western philosophy and science. Plato's sophistication as a writer is evident in his Socratic dialogues; thirty-six dialogues and thirteen letters have been ascribed to him. Plato's writings have been published in several fashions; this has led to several conventions regarding the naming and referencing of Plato's texts. Plato's dialogues have been used to teach a range of subjects, including philosophy, logic, ethics, rhetoric, religion and mathematics. Plato is one of the most important founding figures in Western philosophy.
 [[classical:plato|Plato Page]]
 ===== Polycleitus of Argos =====
+Greek sculptor in bronze of the fifth and the early 4th century BCE. Next to Phidias, Myron and Praxiteles, he is considered the most important sculptor of Classical antiquity: the 4th-century catalogue attributed to Xenocrates (the "Xenocratic catalogue"), which was Pliny's guide in matters of art, ranked him between Phidias and Myron.
 [[classical:polycleitus|Polycleitus of Argos Page]]
 ===== Praxiteles =====
+Most renowned of the Attic sculptors of the 4th century BC. He was the first to sculpt the nude female form in a life-size statue. While no indubitably attributable sculpture by Praxiteles is extant, numerous copies of his works have survived; several authors, including Pliny the Elder, wrote of his works; and coins engraved with silhouettes of his various famous statuary types from the period still exist.
 [[classical:praxiteles|Praxiteles Page]]
 ===== Prodicus =====
+Greek philosopher, and part of the first generation of Sophists. He came to Athens as ambassador from Ceos, and became known as a speaker and a teacher. Plato treats him with greater respect than the other sophists, and in several of the Platonic dialogues Socrates appears as the friend of Prodicus. Prodicus made linguistics and ethics prominent in his curriculum. The content of one of his speeches is still known, and concerns a fable in which Heracles has to make a choice between Virtue and Vice. He also interpreted religion through the framework of naturalism.
 [[classical:prodicus|Prodicus Page]]
 ===== Protagoras of Abdera =====
+Pre-Socratic Greek philosopher and is numbered as one of the sophists by Plato. In his dialogue __Protagoras__, Plato credits him with having invented the role of the professional sophist. He is also believed to have created a major controversy during ancient times through his statement that "man is the measure of all things", meaning that there is no truth but that which individuals deem to be the truth. This idea was revolutionary for the time and contrasted with other philosophical doctrines that claimed the universe was based on something objective, outside the human influence.
 [[classical:protagoras|Protagoras of Abdera Page]]
 ===== Simmias of Thebes =====
+Ancient Greek philosopher, disciple of Socrates, and a friend of Cebes. In his __Memorabilia__, Xenophon includes him in the inner circle of Socrates' followers. He appears in Plato's __Phaedo__ as a main discussion partner of Socrates alongside Cebes, as well as Crito, Phaedrus, and Epistile XIII.
 [[classical:simmias_thebes|Simmias of Thebes Page]]
 ===== Socrates =====
+Classical Greek Athenian philosopher. Credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy, he is an enigmatic figure known chiefly through the accounts of later classical writers, especially the writings of his students Plato and Xenophon and the plays of his contemporary Aristophanes. Many would claim that Plato's dialogues are the most comprehensive accounts of Socrates to survive from antiquity. Through his portrayal in Plato's dialogues, Socrates has become renowned for his contribution to the field of ethics, and it is this Platonic Socrates who lends his name to the concepts of Socratic irony and the Socratic method, or elenchus. The latter remains a commonly used tool in a wide range of discussions, and is a type of pedagogy in which a series of questions are asked not only to draw individual answers, but also to encourage fundamental insight into the issue at hand. Plato's Socrates also made important and lasting contributions to the field of epistemology, and the influence of his ideas and approach remains a strong foundation for much western philosophy that followed.
 [[classical:socrates|Socrates Page]]
 ===== Sophocles =====
+One of three ancient Greek tragedians whose plays have survived. His first plays were written later than those of Aeschylus, and earlier than or contemporary with those of Euripides. According to the __Suda__, a 10th-century encyclopedia, Sophocles wrote 123 plays during the course of his life, but only seven have survived in a complete form: __Ajax__, __Antigone__, __The Women of Trachis__, __Oedipus the King__, __Electra__, __Philoctetes__ and __Oedipus at Colonus__. For almost 50 years, Sophocles was the most-fêted playwright in the dramatic competitions of the city-state of Athens that took place during the religious festivals of the Lenaea and the Dionysia. He competed in around 30 competitions, won perhaps 24, and was never judged lower than second place. Aeschylus won 14 competitions, and was sometimes defeated by Sophocles, while Euripides won only 4 competitions. The most famous tragedies of Sophocles feature Oedipus and Antigone: they are generally known as the Theban plays, although each play was actually a part of a different tetralogy, the other members of which are now lost. Sophocles influenced the development of the drama, most importantly by adding a third actor, thereby reducing the importance of the chorus in the presentation of the plot. He also developed his characters to a greater extent than earlier playwrights such as Aeschylus.
 [[classical:sophocles|Sophocles Page]]
 ===== Speusippus =====
+Ancient Greek philosopher. Speusippus was Plato's nephew by his sister Potone. After Plato's death, Speusippus inherited the Academy and remained its head for the next eight years. However, following a stroke, he passed the chair to Xenocrates. Although the successor to Plato in the Academy, he frequently diverged from Plato's teachings. He rejected Plato's Theory of Forms, and whereas Plato had identified the Good with the ultimate principle, Speusippus maintained that the Good was merely secondary. He also argued that it is impossible to have satisfactory knowledge of any thing without knowing all the differences by which it is separated from everything else.
 [[classical:speusippus|Speusippus Page]]
 ===== Thrasymachus of Chalcedon =====
+Sophist of Ancient Greece best known as a character in Plato's __Republic__. Thrasymachus was a citizen of Chalcedon, on the Bosphorus. His career appears to have been spent as a sophist at Athens, although the exact nature of his work and thought is unclear. He is credited with an increase in the rhythmic character of Greek oratory, especially the use of the paeonic rhythm in prose, and a greater appeal to the emotions through gesture.
 [[classical:thrasymachus|Thrasymachus of Chalcedon Page]]
 ===== Thucydides =====
+Greek historian and Athenian general. His __History of the Peloponnesian War__ recounts the 5th century BC war between Sparta and Athens to the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been dubbed the father of "scientific history" because of his strict standards of evidence-gathering and analysis in terms of cause and effect without reference to intervention by the gods, as outlined in his introduction to his work. He has also been called the father of the school of political realism, which views the relations between nations as based on might rather than right. His text is still studied at advanced military colleges worldwide, and the Melian dialogue remains a seminal work of international relations theory. More generally, Thucydides showed an interest in developing an understanding of human nature to explain behaviour in such crises as plague, massacres, as in that of the Melians, and civil war.
 [[classical:thucydides|Thucydides Page]]
 ===== Xanthus =====
+Native Lydian historian and logographer who, during the mid-fifth century BC, wrote texts on the history of Lydia known as __Lydiaca__ (Λυδιακά). Xanthus also wrote occasionally about geology. It is believed that Xanthus was the earliest historian to have written a significant amount on the topic of Lydian history. He is also believed to have written a work entitled __Magica__ (Mαγικά), as well as one entitled __Life of Empedocles__. It is believed that Xanthus had some knowledge of Persian traditions, and it is plausible that he, a Lydian, would write about Persian religion, but it seems unlikely due to the available evidence.
 [[classical:xanthus|Xanthus Page]]
 ===== Xenophon =====
+Greek historian, soldier, mercenary, philosopher and a contemporary and admirer of Socrates. He is known for his writings on the history of his own times, the 4th century BC, preserving the sayings of Socrates, and descriptions of life in ancient Greece and the Persian Empire.
 [[classical:xenophon|Xenophon Page]]
 ===== Zeuxis =====
+Painter who flourished during the 5th century BC.
 [[classical:zeuxis|Zeuxis Page]]