ATHEISM
Atheism has been defined as anything from a lack of belief in deities to a total denial of their existence. Atheism is a word that originated from the Greek locution ‘atheos” which means “without god”. It comes from the negative “a” which means "no," and theos which means "god.". Essentially it is used to express non-belief in the existence of superior entities, or deities. I've encountered many atheists who claim that atheism is not a belief system, while others say it is. Since there is no official atheist organization, nailing down the description of atheism can be difficult. Some would say that an atheist is someone who believes or knows there is no god or lacks belief or faith in any deities. Others claim to be free from religious oppression and bigotry and are free-thinkers. Nevertheless, whichever definition we accept, atheism denies deities in any form.
The idea that would be recognized as atheistic has its origins in some of the oldest documented philosophies of antiquity.
Western atheism, for example, has its roots in pre-Socratic Greek philosophy, around the 5th Century BCE. These philosophers were the first to reject mythological explanations for rational, naturalistic ones, and introduced the revolutionary idea that nature could be understood as a self-contained system - the rudimentary origins of science.
Diagoras of Melos, a Greek philosopher in the 5th century BCE, is sometimes referred to as the “first atheist” as he strongly criticized any form of religion and mysticism in his writings. Heavily influenced by Democritus, the early Greek natural philosopher, and advocate of atomism, who was his tutor, Diagoras ran afoul of religious conservatives in Athens and had to flee the city with a price on his head. He became an atheist after an incident that happened against him went unpunished by the gods. As a result of his blasphemous speeches, especially his criticism of the Eleusinian Mysteries, he was condemned to death at Athens and a price was put on his head. He fled to Corinth, where he was said to have died.
Diagoras of Melos
5th Century BCE
Democritus
460-370 BCE
Critias
Greek Philosopher/Politician
460-403 BCE
Others like Critias, an Athenian political figure who was also related to Plato, viewed religion as a human invention used to control and frighten people into following orders to benefit the powerful ones. Democritus (460 BCE 370 BCE) was an ancient Greek philosopher, as well, known for his influence on modern science more than any other pre-Socratic philosopher. He was also known as the “Laughing Philosopher", for his tendency to mock fellow citizens for their follies about religion. He specifically explained that the indivisible atoms made up everything in the universe and that the earth had never been "created" as such by any God or gods.
But we can see the same principles in the 4th/3rd Century BCE, where Epicurus disputed many religious doctrines, including the existence of an afterlife or a personal deity and, while he did not rule out the existence of gods, he believed that if they did exist they were completely unconcerned with humanity. The School of Skepticism was an influential movement founded by Pyrrho in the 4th Century BCE. He advised against making any truth claims at all on the grounds that it is impossible to know which of the various competing opinions is right.
Epicurus
Greek Philosopher
341-270 BCE
Lucretius
Roman Philosopher
99-55 BCE
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In the 1st Century BCE freethinkers like Lucretius, the Roman philosopher argued that if there were gods, they were unconcerned with humanity and unable to affect the natural world, and suggested that humanity should have no fear of the supernatural. In the 1st Century CE, the influential skeptic Sextus Empiricus argued that one should suspend judgment about virtually all beliefs.
Other Greek philosophers who had atheistic views include the Sophists Prodicus and Protagoras in the 5th Century BC, and Theodorus the Atheist and Strato of Lampsacus in the 4th and 3rd Century BC.
The works of the early Greek freethinkers influenced other countries such as Rome where most of the philosophers explored the possibility that gods were a human need to believe in something greater. One of the Roman Emperors, Marcus Aurelius, approached a belief with the standpoint that one can believe or not believe in gods. In the following centuries, many other Roman skeptical philosophers emerged and with the flourishing civilization, free thought and atheist writings stirred up. Leonardo Da Vinci during the Renaissance era was one of those who opposed the influence and authority of the Church. Soon until the nineteenth century, a lot of free thought activities boomed in books, lectures, speeches, and even plays.
Sextus Empiricus
Physician/Philosopher
160-210 CE
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Marcus Aurelius
Roman Emperor
121-180 CE
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Religion always has its victims these days, and any other view is always condemned and turned against people. Atheism also in the ancient world was not always an easy path, though. Anaxagoras was banished from Athens for being an atheist. Socrates was executed at the end of the 5th Century BCE for impiety for inspiring questioning of the Greek state gods. But the issue continued to recur in different guises.
For Atheists, the origin of species seems to have been born out of frustration with the confusion perpetuated by religious people and their allies who cannot be bothered to familiarize themselves with the traditions they traduce.
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Paola Luciani Fulbright
Anaxagoras
Pre-Socratic Greek Philosopher
500-428 BCE
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