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GIANTS OF HUMAN CIVILIZATION

Dr Sci. SIMO JELAČA

PREFACE

The following text summarizes the most important information about the greats, who marked human civilization with their works. Scientists and other greats such as inventors, engineers, doctors, artists and the like were included, and it started with the ancient Greek philosophers who laid the first foundations of astronomy, mathematics and democracy. In the order of listing the greats, it was done according to the years of their birth. Readers will note that during the Middle Ages there was almost no one except the Uzbek mathematician Al-Khwarizmi (780-850). The reason for this is the burning of the Library of Alexandria and the advent of Christianity, when the Catholic Church banned all scientific progress (M. Milanković: History of Astronomical Science, pp. 358-366). Nothing has been revealed except the Holy Scriptures. Thus, even the work of Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543) remained unpublished, even though he himself was a worldly person, banned almost three centuries after his death. The real progress of science shone only with the time of the most brilliant mind of human civilization, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), whose acknowledgments came long after his life. Among our greats, on the list of world greats are: Sveti Sava, Ruđer Bošković, Dositej Obradović, Vuk Karadžić, Njegoš, Josif Pančić, Nikola Tesla, Mihajlo Pupin, Mihajlo Petrović-Alas, Mileva Marić, Milutin Milanković, Ivo Andrić, Jovan Karamata, Jovan Cvijić, Dobrica Cosić, Pavle Savić, Bogdan Maglić and Dragan Skorić.

There is much more literary data and information for Western authors, while for many great men of Serbian or Russian origin, even the most basic ones are often missing, which may be the reason why some equally deserving ones are not included in this text. There are also cases when the data is different for the same person in different sources. This is especially true for weather data.

The purpose of this text is to present the encyclopedic content of the most important achievements, in chronological order. And as the title itself says, we are only talking about those works that in their own way marked the development and progress of the human race, during two and a half millennia of written history. Newest discoveries will be written by the new generation.

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HOMER (800-750 BC), Greek poet

Information about Homer's life is considered a great mystery, due to the lack of original documents about the place of birth and the years of his life. There are scientists who even claim that Homer, as a person, did not even exist, and that the works that are considered Homer's are in reality the works of several authors created over the course of several centuries. However, everyone agrees that Homer was blind.

The most famous works of Homer are: Iliad and Odyssey. According to legends, Homer sang Greek history in his works. In the Iliad he sang about the Trojan War, and in the Odyssey he sang about his return from the war. Both of these works are considered the leading ideas of human civilization, and Homer, as a person, is taken as the starting point of European literature and historical tradition. Many authors claim that Homer portrayed himself in the Odyssey through the person of Demodocus, whom the whole world respected at that time.

There are, however, authors who state that the Iliad and the Odyssey are not the works of the same author. Among Homer's other works, 23 short hymns dedicated to certain gods are mentioned.

ANAXIMANDER (611-545 BC), Greek astronomer

He was born in Miletus, on the island of Samos. Anaximander is the astronomer who established the first concepts of the cosmos. In addition to astronomy, he studied physics, philosophy and geometry. Before Anaximander, it was believed that the earth rested on a support in space and had the shape of a disc, which he was the first to disprove. However, he believed that the sun, moon and stars revolved around the earth. Anaximander was the first to use the concept of space and claimed that there was air between the Earth, the Sun, the Moon and the stars. However, he mistakenly thought that the stars were closer to the Earth than the Moon, and that the Sun was farthest in space. He made the first known map of the world and made the first sundial, with the equinoxes in Greece, as well as solar lighting in Babylon. In the domain of biology, it is the forerunner of Darwin's theory of evolution.

PYTHAGORAS (581-497 BC), Greek mathematician and philosopher

Pythagoras was a practitioner and even conducted experiments on the relationship between mathematics and music, which led to the opening of a school, which in principle still exists today. He claimed that the world is in a sphere, in which the stars also move in circular paths. He founded his school (the Academy) in Croton, Italy, in 518 BC, where the relationship between the physical world and mathematics was studied. For him, reality was based on mathematical foundations. As a distinguished mathematician and geometer, he was the first to derive the statement that the sum of the angles in each triangle is equal to 180°, and that the sum of the angles in a polygon of n sides is equal to 2n-4 right angles, and he was the first to define irrational numbers. The Pythagorean right triangle theorem is known, according to which the square over the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares over both sides (c2=a2+b2). Pythagoras was also the first to work on fractions. Dealing with mathematics, he studied in detail the dimensions of the Egyptian pyramids (and they were all built in the same proportions), the height to the poles

SOPHOCLES (496-406 BC), Greek playwright

Sophocles studied all kinds of art, and already at the age of 16 he became famous for his beauty, and as such he was chosen to lead the boys' choir at the celebration of the Solamine victory, and 12 years later he finished his studies and founded theaters with permanent performances. In most of his works he played alone. He performed several duties in his life: he even served as a priest; he was considered the God of medicine; worked in the administration of generals, in the committee for military affairs and as head of the state treasury in Athens. He brought newspapers into the theater of that time, to present each of his stories in the form of a tragedy. He created about 120 theater works, of which only seven have been preserved. Oedipus the King and Antigone are considered the most important works of Sophocles. Sophocles depicted different types of personality in his works, and Electra is considered the most characteristic female personality.

PERICLES (495-429 BC), Greek general and statesman

Pericles was born and died in Athens. He is considered the founder of "Athenian democracy". In 461 BC he was elected among the leaders of Athens and in that position he managed to develop democratic relations and reforms. He defended his ideas through the Delta Alliance. He is responsible for the restoration of the Acropolis, which was destroyed by the Persians during the conquest of Greece. When the plague entered Athens and destroyed a quarter of the city's population at the time, Pericles also died of the same disease. The data shows that his funeral was magnificent and that the importance of his democracy was especially emphasized.

HERODOTUS (484-430 BC), Greek historian

Herodotus was born in Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey). He is known as a writer of history. He was the first to write historical events in a logical way. He tried to separate the real events from the mythical ones. His work called History has always served to read old facts, events and legends. Herodotus' most important data on the Persian conquests of Greece have been preserved, and the main details are descriptions of the battles at Marathon and Thermopylae. In literature, he is often called the "father of history".

EURIPIDES (480-406 BC), Greek playwright

For Euripides, there is detailed information that he was born on September 23, 480 BC in the city of Salamis, and that he died in the city of Pella in Greece. Aristotle called him the most tragic Greek poet. And in modern times, he is truly considered the most revolutionary Greek dramatist.

He is the son of the powerful family of Mnesarchus, from the island of Salamis, educated in an atmosphere of culture and a witness to the restoration of the wall that served to defend Athens from the Persians. Euripides was greatly influenced by Aeschylus and is considered the most influential poet of his time. He had the title "Philosopher of Pop". In life, he was an outstanding athlete and a good painter.

Euripides' first work Pelli's Daughter from 455 BC has been lost forever.

SOCRATES (469-400 BC), celebrated Greek philosopher

Socrates was born in Athens. His father was a sculptor, so he started doing the same job when he was young. He received the average education of an Athenian of that time, which included: mother tongue; reading Greek poems; elements of arithmetic; geometry and astronomy. He served in the military infantry and participated in several wars, in which he stood out for his bravery, which was received with approval.

In the middle of his life, he changed his profession, engaged in philosophy, in which he later became famous. Socrates did not open his own school, but worked as a regular teacher. He especially stood out as a speaker. Early, every morning, he went for a walk to the market, and spent the whole working day with the people. He was happy to talk to everyone, old and young, rich and poor. In this way, he knew very well what the world was thinking. For himself, he emphasized that his knowledge was the result of his consciousness, so he tried to develop his own consciousness in all other people as well.

Cicero said of Socrates that he brought philosophy from heaven to earth. Studying astronomy, geometry, physics and other sciences, he realized that the study of scientific disciplines directs people towards better interpersonal relationships.

In 400 BC, an incident occurred: Socrates was condemned for not praying to God. The punishment was death, by poison. And indeed, on the last day of his life, Socrates talked with his acquaintances, and then, when the time came, he drank the poison given to him with dignity and died.

HIPPOCRATES (460-377 BC), Greek physician

60-70 of Hippocritus' written texts in the field of medicine have been preserved, many of which were written after his death. Aristotle called him "The Great Doctor", and even today he is considered the father of medicine. He certainly laid the first foundations of scientific medicine and left his own impression on them to this day. He considered all kinds of diseases to be everyday and rejected superstitions, and he personally sought to find the causes and symptoms of diseases and treated them with natural methods. He advocated rest, healthy eating, exercise, hygiene and clean air. Hippocritus himself said that walking is the best medicine. Even today, at all universities in the world, doctors take the Hippocratic Oath, as their ethical responsibility towards patients.

To be continued

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