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3. Pythagorean Astronomy.

Historical Retrospect.

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An Historical Summary of the Anthropological Period.

The Anthropological Period easily divides itself into three epochs from the point of view of its political affairs:—

1. The Persian Wars, 490 and 480 B.C.

2. The Age of Pericles, 467–428 B.C.

3. The Peloponnesian Wars, 432–403 B.C.

The first epoch is the birth and the last epoch the decadence of pure Greek civilization, while the thirty-nine years of the supremacy of Pericles cover the ripest period of Greek life. In this connection it is well to mention Hegel’s thought that nations do not ripen intellectually until they begin to decay politically (“The owl of Minerva does not start upon its flight until the evening twilight has begun to fall”). Plato and Aristotle do not come until after this period, when Greek political life had begun to wane.

The following table is a partial list of the notable men of the period, with the date of their birth:—