ABSTRACT
One of the most exciting developments of the 5th century BC was the transformation of Greek intellectual culture by a motley, controversial set of figures known as the Sophists. The most prominent figures were Protagoras of Abdera, Gorgias of Leontini, Hippias of Elis, Prodicus of Ceos, and Thrasymachus of Chalcedon. Many Sophists were famous for argumentative innovation. Indeed, a male was expected to take an active role in public life, be that in commerce, the assembly, or the law courts. As innovative teachers, the Sophists had an indirect influence on the character of the city, even though, as foreigners, they could not participate directly in official political affairs. When the golden age came crashing to an end with the long, divisive Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta, the conditions in which the earliest Sophists flourished disappeared, and the movement lost much of its initial vitality.
