Socrates (c. 470–399 BC)

Despite leaving no written works, Socrates became Western philosophy's foundational figure. What we know comes entirely from students like Plato and critics like Aristophanes - yet his influence shaped everything that followed.

His daily routine involved engaging Athenians in dialogue designed to reveal the limits of their supposed knowledge. Through persistent questioning, he exposed contradictions in widely held beliefs. When Athens charged him with corrupting youth and religious impiety in 399 BC, he chose death over compromise. Rather than flee or apologize, he drank hemlock while calmly discussing immortality with his followers, turning his execution into philosophy's defining moment.