Greek philosophy focused on the role of reason and inquiry. Many philosophers today concede that Greek philosophy has shaped the entire Western thought since its inception. As Alfred Whitehead once noted, with some exaggeration, "Western philosophy is just a series of footnotes to Plato."[1] Clear unbroken lines of influence lead from ancient Greek and Hellenistic philosophers, to medieval Muslim philosophers, to the European Renaissance and Enlightenment.
Early Greek philosophy, in turn, was influenced by the older wisdom literature and mythological cosmogonies of the Near East. As M. L. West points out: "[...]contact with oriental cosmology and theology helped to liberate their [the early Greek philosophers'] imagination; it certainly gave them many suggestive ideas. But they taught themselves to reason. Philosophy as we understand it is a Greek creation."[2]
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