--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The greatest thinkers of Greece…" description: "\"“The greatest thinkers of Greece — Pythagoras, Plato, Aristotle, and later Plutarch and Plotinus — derived their ideas from ancient tradition, and furt..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d78/herman-bavinck-4872_greatest-thinkers_the-greatest-thinkers-of-greece-pythagor_1855685.png" --- # The greatest thinkers of Greece — Pythagoras, Plato… ![“The greatest thinkers of Greece — Pythagoras, Plato, Aristotle, and later Plutarch and Plotinus — derived their ideas from ancient tradition, and further on from divine revelation.” quote by Herman Bavinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d78/herman-bavinck-4872_greatest-thinkers_the-greatest-thinkers-of-greece-pythagor_1855685.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d78/herman-bavinck-4872_greatest-thinkers_the-greatest-thinkers-of-greece-pythagor_1855685.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d78/herman-bavinck-4872_greatest-thinkers_the-greatest-thinkers-of-greece-pythagor_1855685.png) > ““The greatest thinkers of Greece — Pythagoras, Plato, Aristotle, and later Plutarch and Plotinus — derived their ideas from ancient tradition, and further on from divine revelation.”” [Herman Bavinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-bavinck/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Greek thinkers built on tradition and divine revelation, showing that ideas evolve from ancient roots and spiritual insight. **In simple terms:** Great thinkers combine tradition with divine insight. Key Takeaway Study ancient traditions and spiritual sources. Themes philosophy tradition divine revelation history Mood contemplative scholarly Type theological historical When to use this quote - academic study - personal spirituality - cultural analysis Key Concepts theology intellectual history Questions to Reflect On - How does tradition shape modern thought? - What is the role of divine insight today? A Different Perspective Modern contexts may reinterpret ancient ideas differently. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Greatest Thinkers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatest-thinkers-966770/) [Ideas Ancient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas-ancient-2465939/) [Plato Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plato-aristotle-1219192/) [Pythagoras Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pythagoras-plato-2465938/) [Thinkers Greece](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinkers-greece-2465937/) ## Related quotes > [The ideas of ancient Greece helped inspire America's founding fathers as they reached for democracy. Our revolutionary ideas helped inspire Greeks as they sought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/the-ideas-of-ancient-greece-helped-inspire-america-s-founding-fathers/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [The greatest thinkers in history certainly knew the value of shifting the mind into low gear. 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Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) > [ “If they \[Plato and Aristotle\] wrote about politics it was as if to lay down rules for a madhouse. And if they pretended to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/if-they-plato-and-aristotle-wrote-about-politics-it-was-as-if-to-lay/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [“In one of Plato's seminars a young man with a rural accent stood up one day and said Plato's philosophy was nonsense. You can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-f-cantor/in-one-of-plato-s-seminars-a-young-man-with-a-rural-accent-stood-up/) [Norman F. Cantor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-f-cantor/) > [Through Plato, Aristotle came to believe in God; but Plato never attempted to prove His reality. Aristotle had to do so. Plato contemplated Him;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-hamilton/through-plato-aristotle-came-to-believe-in-god-but-plato-never/) [Edith Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-hamilton/) > [Was it Aristotle who said the human soul is composed of reason, will, and desire?” “No, that was Plato. Aristotle and Plato were as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/was-it-aristotle-who-said-the-human-soul-is-composed-of-reason-will/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [The only good thing that we owe to Plato and Aristotle is that they brought forward many arguments which we can use against the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/girolamo-savonarola/the-only-good-thing-that-we-owe-to-plato-and-aristotle-is-that-they/) [Girolamo Savonarola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/girolamo-savonarola/) ## More by Herman Bavinck > [“Christ is not the founder of Christianity, nor the first confessor of it, nor the first Christian. But he is Christianity itself, in its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-bavinck/christ-is-not-the-founder-of-christianity-nor-the-first-confessor-of/) [Herman Bavinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-bavinck/) > [“Man can as little make propitiation for his sin as he can forgive it himself. 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