Socrates

Greece & Rome

Between 800 and 200 BCE, transformative thinkers appear almost simultaneously across disconnected civilizations: Confucius in China, the Buddha in India, Zor…

• ~600 BCE

  Axial Age: simultaneous philosophical revolutions

  Between 800 and 200 BCE, transformative thinkers appear almost simultaneously across disconnected civilizations: Confucius in China, the Buddha in India, Zoroaster in Persia, and Socrates in Greece. Philosopher Karl Jaspers called it the "Axial Age"—an era that still shapes how humanity thinks about ethics, spirit, and society.

• 470 BCE

  Socrates born

  Athenian philosopher who questions everything.

• 399 BCE

  Socrates executed

  Sentenced to death for corrupting youth.