Ancient Greece

Explore 296 quotes by people from Ancient Greece

Tell me, muse, of the man of many resources who wandered far and wide after he sacked the holy citadel of Troy and he saw the cities and learned the thoughts of many men, and on the sea he suffered in his heart many woes.

Homer

The Odyssey

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Author

Homer

Source

The Odyssey

Medium

Poem

Genre

Epic poem

Statement Type

Opening lines

Language

Greek

Time

700 BC 700s BC 8th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Homer. Ὀδύσσεια [Odyssey]. c. 710 BC, bk. 1, l. 1-4.

Current Citation

Homer. The Odyssey, edited by Bernard Knox, translated by Robert Fagles. Penguin Classics, 2006, bk. 1, l. 1-4.

Until philosophers are kings, or the kings and princes of this world have the spirit and power of philosophy, and political greatness and wisdom meet in one, and those commoner natures who pursue either to the exclusion of the other are compelled to stand aside, cities will never have rest from their evils.

Socrates

Quoted in Republic, by Plato

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Topic

Political theory Philosophers Government Political philosophy Politics

Speaker

Socrates

Author

Plato

Source

Republic

Medium

Philosophical dialogue Dialogue

Genre

Philosophical literature

Language

Greek

Time

375 BC 370s BC 4th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Socrates. Quoted in Πολιτεία [Republic], written by Plato. c. 375 BCE.

Current Citation

Socrates. Quoted in Republic, written by Plato, translated by Desmond Lee. Penguin Classics, 2007.

There is no great genius without some touch of madness.

Aristotle

Quoted in On the Tranquility of the Mind, by Seneca the Younger

More information about this quote

Topic

Genius and insanity Genius Insanity

Speaker

Aristotle

Author

Seneca the Younger

Source

On the Tranquility of the Mind

Medium

Essay

Genre

Philosophical literature

Language

Latin

Time

60 60s 1st century

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Seneca the Younger. De Tranquillitate Animi [On the Tranquility of the Mind]. c. 60.

Current Citation

Seneca the Younger. "On Tranquility of Mind." Moral Essays. Vol. 2, Harvard University Press, 1963.

To fear death, my friends, is only to think ourselves wise, without being wise: for it is to think that we know what we do not know.

Socrates

Quoted in Apology, by Plato

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Topic

Fear of death The unknown Ignorance Death The afterlife

Speaker

Socrates

Author

Plato

Source

Apology

Medium

Courtroom speech Speech

Genre

Philosophical literature

Language

Greek

Time

399 BC 390s BC 4th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Plato. Ἀπολογία Σωκράτους [Apology of Socrates]. Speech of legal self-defence which Socrates spoke at his trial for impiety and corruption. 399 BC, Athens, Greece.

Current Citation

Plato. "Apology." Plato: Euthyphro; Apology; Crito; Phaedo, translated by Christopher Emlyn-Jones and William Preddy. Harvard University Press, 2017.

The people have always some champion whom they set over them and nurse into greatness. This and no other is the root from which a tyrant springs; when he first appears he is a protector.

Socrates

Quoted in Republic, by Plato

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Topic

Tyranny Decline of democracy

Speaker

Socrates

Author

Plato

Source

Republic

Medium

Philosophical dialogue Dialogue

Genre

Philosophical literature

Language

Greek

Time

375 BC 370s BC 4th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Socrates. Quoted in Πολιτεία [Republic], written by Plato. c. 375 BCE.

Current Citation

Socrates. Quoted in Republic, written by Plato, translated by Desmond Lee. Penguin Classics, 2007.

False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil.

Socrates

Quoted in Phaedo, by Plato

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Topic

Consequences of lying Lying

Speaker

Socrates

Author

Plato

Source

Phaedo

Medium

Philosophical dialogue Dialogue

Genre

Philosophical literature

Language

Greek

Time

360 BC 360s BC 4th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Socrates. Quoted in Φαίδων [Phaedo], written by Plato. c. 360 BC.

Current Citation

Socrates. Quoted in "Phaedo." Plato: Five Dialogues: Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Meno, Phaedo, written by Plato, translated by G. M. A. Grube and John M. Cooper. Hackett Publishing, 2002.

We should behave to our friends as we would wish our friends to behave to us.

Aristotle

Quoted in The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, by Diogenes Laërtius

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Topic

Golden rule Friends

Speaker

Aristotle

Author

Diogenes Laërtius

Source

The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers

Genre

Historical literature

Language

Greek

Time

400 400s 3rd century

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Aristotle. Quoted in Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, written by Diogenes Laertius. c. 240 AD, bk. 5, ch. 1, sect. 21.

Current Citation

Aristotle. Quoted in The Lives of Eminent Philosophers, written by Diogenes Laërtius, translated by Pamela Mensch, edited by James Miller. Oxford University Press, 2018, bk. 5, ch. 1, sect. 21.

The country places and the trees won't teach me anything, and the people in the city do.

Socrates

Quoted in Phaedrus, by Plato

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Topic

Rural vs. urban Cities

Speaker

Socrates

Author

Plato

Source

Phaedrus

Medium

Philosophical dialogue Dialogue

Genre

Philosophical literature

Language

Greek

Time

370 BC 370s BC 4th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Socrates. Quoted in Φαῖδρος [Phaedrus], written by Plato. c. 370 BC.

Current Citation

Socrates. Quoted in "Phaedrus." Plato: Lysis; Symposium; Phaedrus, written by Plato, translated by Christopher Emlyn-Jones and William Preddy. Harvard University Press, 2022.

When the tyrant has disposed for foreign enemies by conquest or treaty, and there is nothing to fear from them, then he is always stirring up some war or other, in order that the people may require a leader.

Socrates

Quoted in Republic, by Plato

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Topic

Tyrants Political theory

Speaker

Socrates

Author

Plato

Source

Republic

Medium

Philosophical dialogue Dialogue

Genre

Philosophical literature

Language

Greek

Time

375 BC 370s BC 4th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Socrates. Quoted in Πολιτεία [Republic], written by Plato. c. 375 BCE.

Current Citation

Socrates. Quoted in Republic, written by Plato, translated by Desmond Lee. Penguin Classics, 2007.

Virtue does not come from money, but from virtue comes money and all other good things to man, both to the individual and to the state.

Socrates

Quoted in Apology, by Plato

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Topic

Virtue Money

Speaker

Socrates

Author

Plato

Source

Apology

Medium

Courtroom speech Speech

Genre

Philosophical literature

Language

Greek

Time

399 BC 390s BC 4th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Plato. Ἀπολογία Σωκράτους [Apology of Socrates]. Speech of legal self-defence which Socrates spoke at his trial for impiety and corruption. 399 BC, Athens, Greece.

Current Citation

Plato. "Apology." Plato: Euthyphro; Apology; Crito; Phaedo, translated by Christopher Emlyn-Jones and William Preddy. Harvard University Press, 2017.

Even when laws have been written down, they ought not always to remain unaltered.

Aristotle

Politics

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Topic

Legal theory Law

Author

Aristotle

Source

Politics

Genre

Political literature Philosophical literature

Language

Greek

Time

350 BC 350s BC 4th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Aristotle. Politics. 4th century BC, bk. 2.

Current Citation

Aristotle. Politics, translated by R. F. Stalley and Sir Ernest Barker. Oxford University Press, 2009, bk. 2.

One might perhaps say that this very thing is probable, that many things happen to men that are not probable.

Agathon

Quoted in Rhetoric, by Aristotle

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Topic

Probability The human condition

Speaker

Agathon

Author

Aristotle

Source

Rhetoric

Genre

Philosophical literature

Statement Type

Irony Paradox

Language

Greek

Time

4th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Agathon. Quoted in Ῥητορική [Rhetoric], written by Aristotle. c. 350 BC.

Current Citation

Agathon. Quoted in Rhetoric, written by Aristotle, translated by W. Rhys Roberts. Dover Publications, 2004.

The partisan, when he is engaged in a dispute, cares nothing about the rights of the question, but is anxious only to convince his hearers of his own assertions.

Socrates

Quoted in Phaedo, by Plato

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Topic

Sophistry Hackery Persuasion

Speaker

Socrates

Author

Plato

Source

Phaedo

Medium

Philosophical dialogue Dialogue

Genre

Philosophical literature

Language

Greek

Time

360 BC 360s BC 4th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Socrates. Quoted in Φαίδων [Phaedo], written by Plato. c. 360 BC.

Current Citation

Socrates. Quoted in "Phaedo." Plato: Five Dialogues: Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Meno, Phaedo, written by Plato, translated by G. M. A. Grube and John M. Cooper. Hackett Publishing, 2002.

The greatest griefs are those we cause ourselves.

Sophocles

Oedipus Rex

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Speaker

Second Messenger

Author

Sophocles

Source

Oedipus Rex

Medium

Play

Genre

Greek tragedy Tragedy (play)

Language

Greek

Time

430 BC 430s BC 5th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. c. 429 BC, Theatre of Dionysus, Athens, Greece.

Current Citation

Sophocles. "Oedipus Rex." The Oedipus Cycle: Oedipus Rex; Oedipus at Colonus; Antigone, translated by Dudley Fitts and Robert Fitzgerald. Mariner Books, 2002.

Will you not allow that I have as much of the spirit of prophecy in me as the swans? For they, when they perceive that they must die, having sung all their life long, do then sing more lustily than ever, rejoicing in the thought that they are going to the god they serve.

Socrates

Quoted in Phaedo, by Plato

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Topic

Facing death Swans Birds Animals

Speaker

Socrates

Author

Plato

Source

Phaedo

Medium

Philosophical dialogue Dialogue

Genre

Philosophical literature

Language

Greek

Time

360 BC 360s BC 4th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Socrates. Quoted in Φαίδων [Phaedo], written by Plato. c. 360 BC.

Current Citation

Socrates. Quoted in "Phaedo." Plato: Five Dialogues: Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Meno, Phaedo, written by Plato, translated by G. M. A. Grube and John M. Cooper. Hackett Publishing, 2002.

Socrates is a wrongdoer because he corrupts the youth and does not believe in the gods the state believes in, but in other new spiritual beings.

Plato

Apology

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Topic

Socrates

Author

Plato

Source

Apology

Genre

Philosophical literature

Statement Type

Legal charge

Language

Greek

Time

339 BC 330s BC 4th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Plato. Ἀπολογία Σωκράτους [Apology of Socrates]. c. 339 BC, sect. 24b-24c.

Current Citation

Plato. "Apology." Plato: Five Dialogues: Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Meno, Phaedo, translated by John M. Cooper and G. M. A. Grube. Hackett Publishing Company, 2002, sect. 24b-24c.

The old are in a second childhood.

Strepsiades

The Clouds

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Topic

Youth vs. old age Old age

Speaker

Strepsiades

Author

Aristophanes

Source

The Clouds

Medium

Play

Genre

Comedic play Greek theater

Language

Greek

Time

423 BC 420s BC 5th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Aristophanes. Νεφέλαι [The Clouds]. c. 423 BC, The Dionysia, Athens, Greece.

Current Citation

Aristophanes. "The Clouds." Aristophanes: Frogs and Other Plays, translated by Stephen Halliwell. Oxford University Press, 2017.

How dreadful knowledge of the truth can be
When there's no help in truth!

Sophocles

Oedipus Rex

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Topic

Truth hurts Truth Ignorance is bliss

Speaker

Teiresias

Author

Sophocles

Source

Oedipus Rex

Medium

Play

Genre

Greek tragedy Tragedy (play)

Language

Greek

Time

430 BC 430s BC 5th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. c. 429 BC, Theatre of Dionysus, Athens, Greece.

Current Citation

Sophocles. "Oedipus Rex." The Oedipus Cycle: Oedipus Rex; Oedipus at Colonus; Antigone, translated by Dudley Fitts and Robert Fitzgerald. Mariner Books, 2002.

For a city consists of men, and not of walls nor ships empty of men.

Nicias

Quoted in History of the Peloponnesian War, by Thucydides

Speech to the defeated Athenian army at Syracuse, 413 BC.

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Topic

Cities

Speaker

Nicias

Author

Thucydides

Source

History of the Peloponnesian War

Genre

Historical literature

Language

Greek

Time

404 BC 400s BC 5th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Nicias. Quoted in History of the Pelopponesian War, written by Thucydides. c. 405 BC, bk. 7.

Current Citation

Nicias. Quoted in History of the Pelopponesian War, written by Thucydides, translated by Martin Hammond. Oxford University Press, 2009, bk. 7.

Reason is God's crowning gift to man.

Sophocles

Antigone

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Topic

Reason Gifts of God

Speaker

Haemon

Author

Sophocles

Source

Antigone

Medium

Play

Genre

Greek tragedy Tragedy (play)

Language

Greek

Time

442 BC 440s BC 5th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Sophocles. Ἀντιγόνη [Antigone]. c. 441 BC, Festival of Dionysus, Athens, Greece.

Current Citation

Sophocles. "Antigone." The Oedipus Cycle: Oedipus Rex; Oedipus at Colonus; Antigone, translated by Dudley Fitts and Robert Fitzgerald. Mariner Books, 2002.