Great men of ages past

I thought I'd bore our readers with some history. :)

I recently got an email asking me to name the greatest general, scientist and philosopher of the classic greek period. I pondered long and hard, as the classic age was filled with great men (alas we know far too little of their women), so my picks were quite difficult.

As a scientist, Archimedes is by far held in the highest esteem by the Dragon. The father of mathematics (with Pythagoras), he was literally more than thousand years ahead of his time. And this did not only cover theories -he applied his genius to technology and invented incredibly advanced war machines that were the terror of the Roman fleet besieging his home city of Syracuse.

Though war in itself is abhorrent to me, I have always been facinated by the concept of military strategy, (hardly surprising as I am chiefly known for designing strategy games), and I've read through hundreds of books on the subject.

Many would name Alexander the Great here (and quite justifiably, as he did indeed conquer the entire known world), or perhaps Leonidas who stood with his 300 Spartans against the myriads of Great King Xerxes of Persia.

But the Theban Epaminondas stands head and shoulders above everyone else as far as I am concerned. He was the first man in all history to finally defeat the nigh-invincible Spartans on open field, with an army that did not outnumber them. His tactics, the formation of the Sacred Band (elite fighting formation made up from lovers who finally broke the Spartan Phalanx), his brilliant victory at Leuctra, all shaped history more than is widely known. Perhaps Hollywood will one day pick up his story so his mighty shadow in the Hall of Heroes will get the recognition it deserves.

The greatest philosopher was perhaps the hardest to pick, with such an array of great minds. Finally though I had to settle with Socrates. I always value those who begin something new, and practice what they preach. Though Plato did take his concepts much further than his mentor, and Aristotle was perhaps more brilliant, I cannot help but admire the old, ugly philosopher who relentlessly pursued the truth.

"An unexamined life is not worth living."

You were so right, Socrates.