Great Greek Thinkers
By: Kelli Floyd
The ancient Greeks were remarkably advanced in science, astrology and medicine. They made lots of discoveries, some of which were forgotten about for many years and some discoveries that even the Greeks at the time didn’t believe to be true. Although some of their learning was pulled from the Egyptians, they quickly moved far ahead of them for many reasons. The Greeks were allowed more freedom in thought and experimentation. They also had many schools of thought where knowledge was a virtue.
Greek Discoveries
There were many discoveries made by the Greeks, from astrological to anatomical. For example, the astrologist Hipparchus made star charts that were very complex and full of details and Ptolemy later …show more content…
However, although the Egyptians are credited with some major things, they were still far behind the Greeks. In medicine, part of this reason was that they believed, at least somewhat, in healing magic. Also, they basically had directions in manuals that told that what to do in order to heal a person’s illness or injury. If they did something other than what the manual said, they risked punishment. The Greeks were trained in schools, whereas the Egyptians learned their medicine in temples. The Greeks actually learned how to practice medicine, in other words, how to treat patients and the different treatment possibilities. It can be compared to medical schools of today. Of course, it should come as no that the Greeks were able to make more advances when they were allowed the freedom of …show more content…
He was born in approximately 460 BCE into a family full of physicians. He is known as “The Father of Medicine.” He is also probably the most well-known for the Hippocratic oath, something doctors today have to take before they can begin practicing medicine. It’s incredible that someone who lived so long ago, thousands of years before us, is still so prominent, not just in theories and practices, but his actual name is still used on a daily basis.
Another interesting person is Epicurus who founded the school of Epicurism. He taught that the only reason that people suffer is because they are afraid of death or afraid of the gods. He said that being afraid of either would be a waste of time. In his words, the gods don’t care about us and when you die, all of your suffering ends. Even today, if this is the way that people could think, lives could be a lot less stressful. The final interesting Greek is Hegesias, also known as the ‘Death Persuader.’ His cheery school of thought taught that it is impossible to be happy and the whole purpose of life a person’s is to avoid pain. According to him, even having many possessions would bring you no happiness. He actually taught that being dead would be preferable to a meaningless life, full of useless pain and possessions. The really amazing thing about him is that he actually inspired around 200 people to commit suicide!
By: Kelli Floyd
The ancient Greeks were remarkably advanced in science, astrology and medicine. They made lots of discoveries, some of which were forgotten about for many years and some discoveries that even the Greeks at the time didn’t believe to be true. Although some of their learning was pulled from the Egyptians, they quickly moved far ahead of them for many reasons. The Greeks were allowed more freedom in thought and experimentation. They also had many schools of thought where knowledge was a virtue.
Greek Discoveries
There were many discoveries made by the Greeks, from astrological to anatomical. For example, the astrologist Hipparchus made star charts that were very complex and full of details and Ptolemy later …show more content…
However, although the Egyptians are credited with some major things, they were still far behind the Greeks. In medicine, part of this reason was that they believed, at least somewhat, in healing magic. Also, they basically had directions in manuals that told that what to do in order to heal a person’s illness or injury. If they did something other than what the manual said, they risked punishment. The Greeks were trained in schools, whereas the Egyptians learned their medicine in temples. The Greeks actually learned how to practice medicine, in other words, how to treat patients and the different treatment possibilities. It can be compared to medical schools of today. Of course, it should come as no that the Greeks were able to make more advances when they were allowed the freedom of …show more content…
He was born in approximately 460 BCE into a family full of physicians. He is known as “The Father of Medicine.” He is also probably the most well-known for the Hippocratic oath, something doctors today have to take before they can begin practicing medicine. It’s incredible that someone who lived so long ago, thousands of years before us, is still so prominent, not just in theories and practices, but his actual name is still used on a daily basis.
Another interesting person is Epicurus who founded the school of Epicurism. He taught that the only reason that people suffer is because they are afraid of death or afraid of the gods. He said that being afraid of either would be a waste of time. In his words, the gods don’t care about us and when you die, all of your suffering ends. Even today, if this is the way that people could think, lives could be a lot less stressful. The final interesting Greek is Hegesias, also known as the ‘Death Persuader.’ His cheery school of thought taught that it is impossible to be happy and the whole purpose of life a person’s is to avoid pain. According to him, even having many possessions would bring you no happiness. He actually taught that being dead would be preferable to a meaningless life, full of useless pain and possessions. The really amazing thing about him is that he actually inspired around 200 people to commit suicide!