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      Famous Ancient Greek philosophers

      I can name some important Ancient Greek philosophers and describe their legacies in the modern world.

      Lesson 2 of 6
      New
      New
      • Year 4

      Famous Ancient Greek philosophers

      I can name some important Ancient Greek philosophers and describe their legacies in the modern world.

      Lesson details

      Key learning points

      1. Philosophy is the study of some of life’s major questions, such as ‘are humans naturally good or evil?’
      2. Ancient Greece was home to many philosophers including Socrates, Plato and Aristotle.
      3. Socrates encouraged the Ancient Greeks to think about morality and how society should work.
      4. His student Plato recorded many of his ideas and his own: he was interested in how states should be governed.
      5. Many of the ideas these philosophers had have continued to influence people and governments today.

      Keywords

      • Philosophy - the study of the nature of life is known as philosophy

      • Philosopher - a philosopher is someone who studies the nature of life

      • Morality - inner beliefs about what is right and what is wrong is known as morality

      • Reasoning - coming to a conclusion about something using facts is reasoning

      • Legacy - a legacy is the long-lasting impact of historical events, actions, a person or group of people

      Common misconception

      That philosophical questions, like all questions, must have answers.

      Questions that relate to factual information usually do have answers. Philosophical questions are not about facts. Philosophical questions are about people's opinions, feelings and perspectives on life, so they can have many and varied responses.

      There is opportunity here to lead into some work about how the UK government operates. There are many free resources about the government and parliament available on the UK government website.
      Teacher tip

      Content guidance

      • Depiction or discussion of upsetting content

      Supervision

      Adult supervision recommended

      Licence

      This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2026), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

      Lesson video

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      Prior knowledge starter quiz

      6 Questions

      Q1.
      What conflict took place between the Greeks and the people of Troy?

      Correct answer: The Trojan War
      The Peloponnesian War
      The Great War

      Q2.
      Who was a great Greek hero?

      Paris
      Correct answer: Achilles
      Menelaus
      Homer

      Q3.
      Who was a great Greek poet?

      Paris
      Achilles
      Menelaus
      Correct answer: Homer

      Q4.
      The Trojan War started when Paris kidnapped .

      Correct Answer: Helen, helen

      Q5.
      Match the items to the definitions.

      Correct Answer:The Iliad,An epic poem telling the story of the Trojan War myth

      An epic poem telling the story of the Trojan War myth

      Correct Answer:The Aegean Sea,A body of water separating Greece and Troy

      A body of water separating Greece and Troy

      Correct Answer:The Trojan War,A ten year conflict between Greece and Troy

      A ten year conflict between Greece and Troy

      Correct Answer:The Odyssey,An epic poem written by Homer

      An epic poem written by Homer

      Q6.
      In the end, the won the Trojan War.

      Correct Answer: Greeks, greeks

      Assessment exit quiz

      6 Questions

      Q1.
      Which of these people was an Ancient Greek philosopher?

      Zeus
      Achilles
      Correct answer: Aristotle
      Heracles

      Q2.
      Who was the goddess of wisdom in Ancient Greek mythology?

      Correct answer: Athena
      Hera
      Demeter
      Persephone

      Q3.
      Put the philosophers in the order they appeared in history. Start with the earliest.

      1 - Socrates
      2 - Plato
      3 - Aristotle

      Q4.
      Match the philosophers to the correct statements about them.

      Correct Answer:Socrates,Encouraged a new way of thinking

      Encouraged a new way of thinking

      Correct Answer:Plato,Had ideas about how to run city-states

      Had ideas about how to run city-states

      Correct Answer:Aristotle,Explained how to use logic to find answers

      Explained how to use logic to find answers

      Q5.
      Which of these is an example of a philosophical question?

      How many centimetres in a metre?
      What is the opposite of dark?
      Where was William Shakespeare born?
      Correct answer: Why are we alive

      Q6.
      The philosopher Aristotle was a student of the philosopher .

      Correct Answer: Plato, plato

      Lesson appears in

      UnitHistory / Ancient Greek civilisation: what is its most significant legacy?

      History