A History of Western Philosophy

“Pre-Socratics” is the name given by historians to the earliest group of Greek philosophers, who lived about a hundred years before Socrates. In this chapter, Russell summarizes the rise of Greek civilization that prepared the way for the philosophers.

The rise of civilization in Greece was “sudden” and spectacular, leading to accomplishments in art, literature, mathematics, science, and philosophy. This development started with the invention of writing in Egypt c. 4000 BCE, which evolved from pictograms (still used today in Chinese) to alphabetic writing. The Egyptians were the source of much of Western civilization. They had a polytheistic, fertility-based religion, worshiped an absolute monarch, and developed agriculture extensively. Certain themes in Western religion, including beliefs about the soul, death, and immortality, have their origin in Egypt and in Babylonia, another major ancient civilization.

The immediate predecessors of Greek civilization were the Cretans, Minoans, and Myceneans, all of them clustered on the Greek islands. The first notable product of mainland Greek civilization was the semi-legendary poet Homer, whose works became a revered institution and were used as classical texts for Athenian youth to learn.

In Greece, religion evolved into forms that seem more familiar to modern society. Several strains of religion existed, including the cults associated with the gods Dionysus, Bacchus, Orpheus, and the Olympians.