Philosophers of the Ancient World
The atlas holds 26 people and 342 moments here, from 620 BC to 430. The most recorded lives are Cicero, Hannibal and Augustine of Hippo.
Notable people
Cicero
from 106 BC to 43 BC
83 moments here
Marcus Tullius Cicero (106–43 BC) was a Roman lawyer, orator, philosopher, consul, provincial governor, and defender of the late Republic.…
Hannibal
from 247 BC to 183 BC
43 moments here
Hannibal Barca was a Carthaginian general and statesman best known for leading an army from Iberia across the Alps into Italy during the Second Punic…
Augustine of Hippo
from 354 to 430
26 moments here
Aurelius Augustinus, known as Augustine of Hippo, was a North African rhetorician, Christian theologian, philosopher, priest, and bishop.…
Confucius
from 551 BC to 479 BC
23 moments here
Confucius, born Kong Qiu, was a teacher, political thinker, and sometime official of the Chinese state of Lu.…
Plato
from 428 BC to 347 BC
18 moments here
Ancient Greek philosopher of Classical Athens, student of Socrates, teacher of Aristotle, and founder of the Academy.…
The Buddha
from 563 BC to 483 BC
18 moments here
Siddhartha Gautama, known as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and teacher who founded Buddhism in the eastern Indo-Gangetic Plain.…
Marcus Aurelius
from 121 to 180
18 moments here
Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and Stoic philosopher. This chronology records securely attested physical presence from his birth and Roman residences…
Galen
from 129 to 169
16 moments here
Galen of Pergamon was a Greek physician, surgeon, medical author, and philosopher active in the Roman Empire.…
Horace
from 65 BC to 8 BC
15 moments here
Quintus Horatius Flaccus, known as Horace, was a Roman lyric poet, satirist, and former republican military tribune.…
Aristotle
from 384 BC to 322 BC
9 moments here
Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath whose surviving biography is reconstructed from sparse and sometimes conflicting ancient traditions.…
Seneca the Younger
from 5 to 65
9 moments here
Lucius Annaeus Seneca, commonly called Seneca the Younger, was a Roman Stoic philosopher, writer, and statesman.…
Sima Qian
from 145 BC to 110 BC
9 moments here
Chinese historian of the early Han dynasty and author of the Shiji (Records of the Grand Historian).…
Socrates
from 469 BC to 399 BC
8 moments here
Classical Athenian philosopher known chiefly through Plato, Xenophon, Aristophanes, and later ancient testimony.…
Epicurus
from 341 BC to 270 BC
7 moments here
Ancient Greek philosopher and founder of Epicureanism. The securely documented outline of his movements runs from his birth and upbringing on Samos…
Euripides
from 480 BC to 406 BC
6 moments here
Euripides was an Athenian tragic playwright traditionally born on Salamis around 480 BC and conventionally said to have died in Macedon around 406…
Archimedes
from 287 BC to 212 BC
5 moments here
Ancient Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and inventor associated above all with Syracuse in Sicily.…
Sophocles
from 480 BC to 406 BC
5 moments here
Ancient Athenian tragic playwright, probably born at Colonus in Attica and active chiefly in Athens.…
Pythagoras
from 570 BC to 490 BC
5 moments here
Ancient Greek philosopher and founder of the Pythagorean way of life. The surviving evidence for his biography is sparse and often contradictory;…
Hypatia
from 370 to 415
5 moments here
Hypatia was a Greek Neoplatonist philosopher, mathematician, astronomer, and teacher. Her birth is disputed, with estimates ranging from about 350 to…
Plutarch
from 66 to 95
4 moments here
Greek Platonist philosopher, biographer, essayist, magistrate, and Delphic priest. He was born at Chaeronea between 45 and 47 CE and died after 119…
Aesop
from 620 BC to 564 BC
2 moments here
Greek fabulist and storyteller traditionally credited with Aesop’s Fables. His historical existence and biography are uncertain; this atlas records…
Sun Tzu
from 544 BC to 496 BC
2 moments here
Sun Tzu (traditionally Sun Wu) was a Chinese military strategist traditionally placed in the late Spring and Autumn period.…
Heraclitus
in 500 BC
2 moments here
Heraclitus was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher associated with Ephesus in Ionia, active around 500 BC.…
Ptolemy
from 127 to 141
2 moments here
Claudius Ptolemy was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and music theorist.…
Moments
- 620 BC Traditional birth at Mesembria Aesop
- 570 BC Birth and early years on Samos Pythagoras
- 564 BC Death at Delphi Aesop
- 563 BC Born at Lumbini The Buddha
- 563 BC Grew up at Kapilavastu The Buddha
- 551 BC Born in Zou Confucius
- 547 BC Engineering the Halys crossing with Croesus' army Thales of Miletus
- 544 BC Traditional birth in Qi Sun Tzu
- 534 BC Begged for alms at Rajagaha The Buddha
- 534 BC Departed Kapilavastu as an ascetic The Buddha
- 530 BC Emigration to Croton Pythagoras
- 528 BC Awakened beneath the Bodhi tree The Buddha
- 528 BC Delivered the first sermon at Sarnath The Buddha
- 528 BC Spent the first rains retreat at Sarnath The Buddha
- 527 BC Established retreats at Veluvana The Buddha
- 525 BC Visits the ruler of Tan Confucius
- 524 BC Kept the fifth retreat near Vesali The Buddha
- 522 BC Answers Duke Jing in Lu Confucius
- 520 BC Spent the ninth retreat at Kosambi The Buddha
- 517 BC Seeks service in Qi Confucius
- 516 BC Returns to Lu Confucius
- 515 BC Kept the fourteenth retreat at Jetavana The Buddha
- 514 BC Returned to Kapilavastu for the fifteenth retreat The Buddha
- 510 BC Departure from Croton amid anti-Pythagorean violence Pythagoras
- 510 BC Flight to Metapontum Pythagoras
- 509 BC Returned to Rajagaha for the twentieth retreat The Buddha
- 508 BC Began the long Savatthi residence cycle The Buddha
- 501 BC Governs Zhongdu Confucius
- 500 BC Represents Lu at Jiagu Confucius
- 500 BC Active philosopher of Ephesus Heraclitus
- 500 BC Deposited his book at the Artemision Heraclitus
- 497 BC Departs Lu for exile Confucius
- 497 BC Lives in Wei Confucius
- 496 BC Passes through Pu Confucius
- 496 BC Stays with Qu Boyu in Wei Confucius
- 496 BC Surrounded at Kuang Confucius
- 496 BC Traditional death at Gusu Sun Tzu
- 495 BC Arrives and lodges in Chen Confucius
- 495 BC Passes through Cao Confucius
- 495 BC Passes through Zheng Confucius
- 494 BC Leaves Pu for Wei Confucius
- 494 BC Remains in Chen Confucius
- 492 BC Practices rites under a tree in Song Confucius
- 490 BC Death at Metapontum Pythagoras
- 489 BC Besieged between Chen and Cai Confucius
- 489 BC Visits the Duke of Ye Confucius
- 484 BC Returns home to Qufu Confucius
- 484 BC Spent the final retreat at Beluva The Buddha
- 483 BC Crossed the Kakkuttha River The Buddha
- 483 BC Died at Kushinagar The Buddha