Known for their myths and epics explaining the origins of the universe, Greeks had the tendency to question and seek rational explanations for unknown phenomenons. This era of Greek thinkers was known as the Pre-Socratics where pre-Socratic thinkers took separate facts and connected them within natural laws of the universe- a mindset that set them beyond the Athenians. This mindset caused men and women to question and research the building blocks of the universe in their simplest form in order to understand the ‘big picture’. Although there are many obstacles and limitations, a greater understanding of the universe and our existence is widely regarded as Greece’s most important intellectual legacy.
Pre-Socratics thought was based around the four simple substances that made up the universe; fire, air, water and earth. Within Pre-Socratics there were many different theories and many contradictions to those theories, for instance, Thales thought the basic
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There were many different theories based off of these four simple elements, however, many didn’t catch traction until the thinkers and theories based off of this mindset earned respect. A great example would be Thales when he predicted the eclipse of the sun in 585 B.C.E. “ The Greeks in general were so impressed by the fact that Thales seemed to have predicted it that they later attributed to him an implausible number of wise words, wise deeds and discoveries, from the proofs of various geometrical theorems to the ability to make vast amounts of money. More importantly, the developed a deep respect for his way of thinking.”