BEFORE PHILOSOPHY

BEFORE PHILOSOPHY.

Our first question should be "Prior to Philosophy, how were the Ancient Greek see the world?"
This serves as an outstanding question before launching into the Study of Ancient Greek Philosophy.
It may interest us to know that Philosophy in Western Civilization began when Philosophers attempted to answer some problematic questions about the world in an organized or systematic manner.
Questions like "What is the world made up of?" "Where did the world come from?" " Is there GOD or gods?" "If there is GOD or gods, what are they, or he or she like?"
These all began at Greece at about 600BCE.

The early Greek Philosophers set an agenda that motivated later Philosophers like Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. Etc.

Prior to Thales, Anaximander, Anaximanes, Heraclitus, Parmenides, Anaxagoras, Pythagoras, Democritus, The Sophists and even the famous Socrates. Etc. There were popular poets in Greece, who used the Mythological forms of reasoning to explained the world.
These poets were Homer and Hesiod.

About Homer:

Homer was a popular poet, he probably lived about 750BCE. He is known for Illiad and Odyssey (classic Epic poetry)
The Greek Civilization was deeply influenced by his great poetic Epic.
His works constituted an oral tradition carried on for centuries by rhapsodes. This could possibly entails that Homer could neither read nor write.
People were skilled in remembering his works and the poems were recited in public gathering. Many people were familiar with the poems.

CONTENTS OF HOMER'S LONG POEMS.

The long poems contain information on sailing, farming, warfare, the working of nature, courage and justice, the nature of the gods, and much more. Homer was considered by the Greek to be the teacher in all this topic.

Homer's Picture of the World.

Before going deep into the realms of Philosophy, it is of our interest to consider a few features on how the Ancient Poet, Homer viewed the World.

He supposes that there are many gods and that those gods participate in human affairs.
Homer portrays the gods as arguing among themselves, lying to each other, they jealous and also expressed anger with one another.
He believed that natural events were often the result of the god's actions.
In other words, Homer would consider lightening or Thunder strike to be an indication that the gods of Thunder, Zeus is angry. Homer would also see a disease to be a "divine" punishment from the gods.
For these reasons, what goes on in nature can not be predicted, since so much of it depends upon the gods determination. Homer sees justice as giving each their rightful due, whether gods or human. Injustice is often punished by the gods.

About Hesiod:

Hesiod also was a popular poet. He is known for Theogony, meaning "the birth and the origin of the gods"
Hesiod, just as Homer, deeply influenced the Greek culture. He lived about 700BCE.
He writes that in the beginning there was Chaos, out of which emerged heaven, earth, and the underworld. He does not suppose that any God created the chaos. Rather, the gods are themselves products of, or identical with the part of nature or nature forces.
In this regard, Hesiod considered the earth to be itself a deity called Gaia.

One IMPORTANT feature about Hesiod poems we need to know is the idea of the principles of order.
Hesiod believed that there are principles of order that explains the emergence of an orderly Cosmos from Chaos. For example, darkness produces light, earth brought forth heaven etc.

Just as Homer, Hesiod also viewed the gods as unpredictable. He also proposes a Cosmos or in a simple way, a universe with a built-in ordering principles.

Both Homer and Hesiod based their claims about the world and gods on the testimony of the Muses, who were themselves divine beings.