Philosopherpalooza with MatPat

                Today in Western Civilization we finished our PowerPoint on Greece. Starting off with a bang (not literally, gunpowder hadn’t been discovered yet, but possibly Greek fire) we have the Persian Empire V.S. the Greeks in the Greco-Persian Wars. First, the Greeks. The Greeks had iron weapons, well trained hoplites (like specialists or Navy SEALs), spears, swords, and shields, the phalanx, the will to preserve democracy (the Persians weren’t one), a home turf advantage, and lastly an unconquerable navy. The Persians had the world’s first archers (a high tactical advantage), cavalry, light infantry, and most importantly, numbers. However, the Persians were far from home, and to top it off the men working in the army were mostly or all mercenaries. Money can be a powerful motivator, but not as much as trust in government. The Greeks eventually won, due to a multitude of odd reasons. After this we began our last section on the philosophers of Greece, also known as Philosopherpalooza. First, Socrates. He used science and logic, and created the Socratic Method. However, as we previously talked about, he died before his time due to a death sentence from an Athenian trial. One of Aristotle’s students/followers, Plato, wrote out Aristotle’s teaching and described his trial in the book Apology. Plato also wrote a famous book called Republic which was about Socrates discussion of justice and the ideal state. One of Plato’s students, Aristotle (my favorite) wanted Athens to be an intellectual destination. He then created the Lyceum, where ideas and knowledge could be shared peacefully with others. Aristotle tutored Alexander the Great (who went on to conquer many lands) and to some extent began the idea of the Internet with the Lyceum. But, as my favorite Internet YouTuber says, “That’s just a theory. A GAME theory! Thanks for watching.”