Ancient
190 people
A
Acharya Pingala
Ancient inventor of binary numbers, combinatorics, and matrix rules.
Aelian
Roman author and teacher (c.175–c.235)
Agnodice
Athenian physician, midwife and gynecologist
Ambrose
Roman theologian and Bishop of Milan (c. 340–397)
Ammianus Marcellinus
4th-century Roman historian and soldier
A
Ammonius Hermiae
5th-century Greek philosopher
Anaxagoras
5th-century BC Greek philosopher
A
Anthemius of Tralles
ancient Greek scientist and architect
Antisthenes
Greek philosopher, founder of Cynicism (c.446–c.366 BCE)
A
Apollodorus of Athens
ancient Greek grammarian and historian
Apollonius of Perga
ancient Greek geometer and astronomer noted for his writings on conic sections
Apollonius of Tyana
1st century AD Greek Neopythagorean philosopher
Appian
Greco-Roman historian (c. 95 – c.165)
Apuleius
2nd-century Numidian Latin-language writer, rhetorician and philosopher
Aratus
Greek didactic poet (c. 315/310–240 BC)
Archimedes
Greek mathematician and physicist (c. 287 – c. 212 BC)
Archytas
4th-century BC Greek philosopher, mathematician, astronomer and statesman
A
Aristarchus of Samos
Greek astronomer and mathematician (c.310–c.230 BC)
Aristippus
Greek philosopher, founder of Cyrenaicism (c.435–c.356 BCE)
A
Aristophanes of Byzantium
third-century BC Greek literary scholar and grammarian in Alexandria
Aristotle
4th-century BCE Classical Greek philosopher and polymath
Aristoxenus
4th century BC Greek Peripatetic philosopher
Arrian
2nd century Greek historian, official and philosopher
Aryabhata
Pioneer astronomer who formulated zero, quadratic rules, and earth's rotation.
Aspasia
5th-century BC partner of Athenian statesman Pericles
Augustine of Hippo
Christian theologian, philosopher, and saint (354–430)
Aulus Cornelius Celsus
Roman physician and writer
A
Aurelius Victor
4th century Roman historian and politician
A
Autolycus of Pitane
ancient Greek mathematician
Ban Gu
Chinese historian, politician and poet (AD 32–92)
Ban Zhao
late 1st/early 2nd century Chinese historian, philosopher and scholar
Basil of Caesarea
4th-century Christian bishop, theologian, and saint (329–379)
Berossus
3rd-century BC Babylonian writer, priest and astronomer
Blaise of Sebaste
early 4th-century saint and bishop
Bodhidharma
Indian-Chinese philosopher and Buddhist Monk
Boethius
Roman senator and philosopher of the early 6th century (480–524)
C
Callippus of Cyzicus
4th-century BC Greek astronomer and mathematician
C
Callisthenes
Greek historian (c. 360–327 BC)
Cassiodorus
6th-century Roman senator and scholar
Cassius Dio
Greco-Roman statesman and historian (c. 155–c. 235)
Cato the Elder
Roman politician, soldier and writer (234–149 BC)
Chanakya Kautilya
Ancient Indian teacher and strategist who authored the foundational manual on...
Charaka
Indian physician and academic
Chrysippus of Soli
Greek Stoic philosopher (c.279–c.206 BC)
Cicero
Roman statesman, lawyer, orator, and philosopher (106–43 BC)
Claudius
fourth Roman emperor (41–54)
Clement of Alexandria
Christian theologian (c.150 – c.215)
C
Conon of Samos
Greek astronomer and mathematician (c.280–c.220 BC)
Cornelius Nepos
Roman historian and biographer (c.110 BC–c.25 BC)
Craterus
Macedonian general under Alexander the Great
C
Craterus
Macedonian historian
Cyprian
Bishop of Carthage and Christian writer (c.210-258)
Democritus
Greek philosopher (c. 460–c. 370 BC)
D
Didymus Chalcenterus
Greek scholar and grammarian (c.63 BC–c.AD 10)
Diodorus Siculus
1st-century BC Greek historian
Diogenes of Sinope
4th-century BC Greek Cynic philosopher
Dionysius Exiguus
Byzantine saint
Dionysius of Halicarnassus
1st-century BC Greek historian and teacher
Diophantus of Alexandria
3rd century Alexandrian Greek mathematician
Empedocles
5th century BC Greek philosopher
Ennius
Roman writer and poet (c. 239 – c. 169 BC)
E
Ephorus
Greek historian (c. 400 – 330 BC)
Epictetus
Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50–c. 138)
Epicurus
ancient Greek philosopher
Erasistratus
ancient Greek physician
Eratosthenes
Greek mathematician, geographer, poet, astronomer, librarian and music theorist
Euclid
ancient Greek mathematician (fl. 300 BC)
Eudemus of Rhodes
ancient Greek philosopher
Eudoxus of Cnidus
Greek astronomer and mathematician (c.408–c.355 BC)
E
Euhemerus
ancient Greek philosopher
E
Eunapius
ancient Greek sophist and historian
Euripides
Classical Athenian playwright
Eusebius of Caesarea
Greek Christian scholar, c.260-c.340
Faxian
Chinese Buddhist monk (bhikkhu), pilgrim to India, and travelogue author during the...
G
Gaius Julius Hyginus
Roman freedman and writer (c. 64 BC – AD 17)
Galen
2nd-century Greek physician, surgeon and philosopher
Gnaeus Pompeius Trogus
Gallo-Roman historian who flourished during the reign of the emperor Augustus
H
Han Fei
Chinese Legalist, 280–233 BCE
H
Hellanicus of Mytilene
5th century BC Greek logographer
Heraclides Ponticus
Greek philosopher and astronomer (c.390–c.310 BC)
Hero of Alexandria
ancient Greek mathematician and engineer
Herodian
Greco-Roman official and historian (c.170–c.240)
Herodotus
Greek historian and geographer (c.484–c.425 BC)
Herophilos
Greek physician (335–280 BC)
H
Hesychius of Alexandria
5th/6th century Greek philologist and lexicographer
Hilary of Poitiers
Bishop of Poitiers (c. 310 – c. 367)
Hipparchus
2nd century Greek astronomer, geographer and mathematician
H
Hippias
5th century BC Greek sophist
Hippocrates
Greek physician (c. 460 – c. 370 BC)
H
Hippocrates of Chios
5th-century BC Greek mathematician and astronomer
Horace
Roman lyric poet (65 BC – 8 BC)
Hua Tuo
Chinese physician (c. 140–208)
Hypatia
Greek Neoplatonist philosopher
Irenaeus
2nd-century Greek bishop and Doctor of the Church
Isidore of Miletus
Byzantine Greek architect
Jerome
4th and 5th-century Catholic and Eastern Orthodox saint and Doctor of the Church
J
John Malalas
6th-century Byzantine Greek chronicler
J
John Philoponus
Byzantine philologist and philosopher (c. 490–c. 570)
J
Jordanes
Late Roman historian and writer, author of Getica
Josephus
Roman–Jewish historian and military leader (c. 37–c. 100)
Juba II
crown prince of Numidia and King of Mauretania (c. 48 BC - AD 23)
Julian
last Pagan Roman emperor, reigned 361 to 363
Julius Caesar
Roman general and dictator
J
Julius Firmicus Maternus
4th century Latin writer and astrologer
J
Justin
Roman historian, 2nd century
Justin Martyr
2nd century CE Christian apologist and martyr
Juvenal
early 2nd century Roman poet
Liu Hui
Chinese mathematician from Cao Wei (Three Kingdoms period)
Lucan
Roman poet (39–65)
Lucian of Samosata
2nd-century Syrian satirist and rhetorician
Lucretius
1st-century BC Roman poet and philosopher
M
Manetho
3rd-century BC Egyptian historian and priest
Mani
3rd century prophet and founder of Manichaeism
Marcus Aurelius
16th Roman Emperor from 161 to 180 and Stoic philosopher
Marcus Junius Brutus
assassin of Julius Caesar
Marcus Terentius Varro
Roman scholar, polymath and author (116–27 BC)
Marcus Velleius Paterculus
Roman historian, soldier and senator (c.19 BC - c. AD 31)
M
Megasthenes
ancient Greek ethnographer and explorer
M
Menaechmus
4th-century BC Greek mathematician
Mencius
Chinese Confucian philosopher (372–289 BC)
Mesrop Mashtots
Armenian theologian and linguist (362–440)
Moses of Chorene
5th-century Armenian historian
Mozi
5th-century BC Chinese philosopher and founder of Mohism
Nagarjuna
3rd-century Indian Buddhist philosopher
Nearchus
admiral of Alexander the Great
N
Nicolaus of Damascus
1st-century BC historian and philosopher
Origen
Christian scholar, ascetic, and theologian (c. 185 – c. 253)
Orosius
Roman historian and theologian (c.375/385 – c.420 AD)
Pantaleon
saint
P
Pappus of Alexandria
4th century Greek mathematician
Pedanius Dioscorides
Greco-Roman physician and pharmacologist (AD c.40-90)
Petronius
1st century AD Roman courtier and author of the Satyricon (27–66)
Philo of Alexandria
Hellenistic Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria (c. 20 BCE-c. 50 CE)
Philolaus
Greek philosopher, astronomer and Pythagorean (c.470–c.385 BCE)
Plato
4th-century BCE Greek philosopher
Pliny the Elder
Roman military commander and writer (AD23/24–79)
Pliny the Younger
Roman lawyer, author and magistrate (61 – c.113)
Plotinus
Hellenistic Platonist philosopher and founder of Neoplatonism (c. 204/5–270)
Plutarch
Greek philosopher and historian (c. AD 46 – after AD 119)
P
Polyaenus
2nd-century Greek author and rhetorician
Polybius
ancient Greek historian
Pomponius Mela
Roman geographer of the first century
Porphyry
3rd-century Greek Neoplatonist philosopher
Posidonius
Greek Stoic philosopher (c.135 – c.51 BC)
Priscus
5th-century diplomat, historian and orator
Proclus
5th-century Greek Neoplatonist philosopher
Protagoras
Pre-Socratic Greek philosopher (c.490–c.420 BC)
Ptolemy
2nd-century Roman mathematician, astronomer, geographer
Ptolemy I Soter
Macedonian general, ruler of Egypt
Pytheas
ancient Greek explorer
Saint Valentine
3rd-century Roman Christian saint (175–273)
Sallust
Roman historian and politician (86 BC - c. 35 BC)
Seneca
Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman and dramatist (c. 4 BCE–65 CE)
Seneca the Elder
Roman scholar, writer and historian (54 BC-c.39 AD)
Sextus Empiricus
2nd-century Roman philosopher and physician
S
Sextus Julius Africanus
Greco-Roman Christian traveller and historian (c.160–c.240)
Silius Italicus
1st-century AD Roman senator, orator and poet (26–101)
Sima Qian
2nd-century BCE Chinese historian and writer
Simplicius of Cilicia
6th-century Greek pagan philosopher
Socrates
5th-century BCE Greek philosopher
S
Socrates of Constantinople
5th century Greek Christian church historian
Sophocles
ancient Greek playwright
S
Sosigenes of Alexandria
ancient Greek astronomer
S
Sozomen
Byzantine historian
Strabo
Greek geographer, philosopher and historian (64/63 BC–c.24 AD)
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Suetonius
late 1st/early 2nd-century Roman historian
Sulpicius Severus
Christian writer and historian and native of Aquitania (c. 363 – c. 425)
Tacitus
Roman historian and senator (c. 56 – c. 120)
Tertullian
Roman Christian theologian and writer (c. 155 – c. 220)
Theodoret
5th century Byzantine theologian and bishop
T
Theon of Alexandria
ancient Greek scholar
Theophrastus
Greek philosopher (c.371-c.287 BC)
T
Theopompus
Greek historian and rhetorician (c.380–c.315 BC)
Thucydides
5th-century BC Athenian historian and general
Titus Livius
Roman historian (59 BC – AD 17)
Titus Pomponius Atticus
Roman banker, writer and philosopher (c.110 BC – 32 BC)
Valerius Maximus
early 1st century AD Roman professional rhetorician, historian and author
Vegetius
writer of the Later Roman Empire
W
Wang Chong
1st century Chinese meteorologist, astronomer, and philosopher
Xenocrates
4th-century BC Greek philosopher, mathematician and scholarch
Xenophon
Greek philosopher, historian, soldier (c. 430–355/354 BC)
Xu Shen
Chinese author of Shuowen Jiezi
Xunzi
Chinese Confucian philosopher (c. 310 – after 238 BCE)
Yang Xiong
Chinese linguist, poet and writer (53 BCE – 18 CE)
Zeno of Citium
Greek philosopher, founder of Stoicism
Zeno of Elea
Greek philosopher (c. 495 – c. 430 BC)
Z
Zhang Heng
Chinese scientist and statesman (78–139)
Zhuang Zhou
Chinese Taoist philosopher (c. 369–286 BC)
Z
Zosimus
late 5th/early 6th century Byzantine historian
Zu Chongzhi
Chinese mathematician-astronomer