Nikos Kazantzakis
One of the most important Greek writers, poets and philosophers of the 20th century, was born in Iraklion in 1883. In 1906 he graduated from the Athens Law School and continued his studies in Paris (1907-1909). During the Balkan Wars he fought as a volunteer in the…
Pericles
Pericles is perhaps most famous for his great building projects. He wanted to establish Athens as the leader of the Greek world and wanted to build an acropolis that represented the city’s glory. He rebuilt many temples on the acropolis that were destroyed by the Persians. Only in…
Archimedes
Generally considered the greatest mathematician of antiquity and one of the greatest of all time, Archimedes anticipated modern calculus and analysis by applying concepts of infinitesimals and the method of exhaustion to derive and rigorously prove a range of geometrical theorems. In the 3rd Century BC, Archimedes: invented…
Sophocles
Sophocles c. 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC) is one of three ancient Greek tragedians whose plays have survived. His first plays were written later than or contemporary with those of Aeschylus, and earlier than or contemporary with those of Euripides. The most famous tragedies of Sophocles feature Oedipus and also Antigone: they are generally known as the…
Hippocrates
Hippocrates was born around 460 BC on the island of Kos, Greece. He became known as the founder of medicine and was regarded as the greatest physician of his time. He based his medical practice on observations and on the study of the human body. Hippocrates‘ theory of the four…
Thucydides
Thucydides was a Greek historian who was born in Alimos between the years 460 and 455 B.C and died between 411 and 400 B.C. He is known for his book The History of the Peloponnesian War which details the war between Sparta and Athens in the 5th Century….
Alexander the Great
Alexander the Great (Greek: Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ Μέγας, Aléxandros ho Mégas), was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon and a member of the Argead dynasty. Alexander the Great changed the course of history. One of the world’s greatest military generals, he created a vast empire that stretched from Macedonia to Egypt…
Plato
Plato is considered by many to be the most important philosopher who ever lived. He is known as the father of idealism in philosophy. His ideas were elitist, with the philosopher king the ideal ruler. Plato is perhaps best known to college students for his parable of a cave, which appears in Plato’s Republic….
Aristotle
Aristotle (c. 384 B.C. to 322 B.C.) was an Ancient Greek philosopher and scientist who is still considered one of the greatest thinkers in politics, psychology and ethics. … In 335, Aristotle founded his own school, the Lyceum, in Athens, where he spent most of the rest of his life…
The Greek doctor whose achievements helped save millions of women’s lives.
Described by many as one of the most brilliant scientific minds of the 20th century, Georgios Papanikolaou is recognised for developing the life-saving cervical cancer test also known as Pap smear or Pap test. Born on the Greek island of Euboea on May 13, 1883,…