Because of its democracy and reputation for openness, Athens became a magnet for new thinking during the 5th century BC, playing host to a remarkable collection of individuals whose unique contributions to learning have formed much of the foundation of Western civilization.

Thinkers, called Sophists, migrated to the city from their traditional homes on the coast of Western Turkey. Historians, such as Herodotus, moved to the city to complete their researches. Athens' homegrown talent, its playwrights, used the new theatres to examine what it really meant to be human.

Whereas the traditional center of intellectual life in Ancient Greece had been the symposium, the drinking parties held by wealthy aristocrats, in Athens the focus of intellectual enquiry began to shift. Places such as the agora (marketplace) and theatre also became important - and less exclusive - venues for new thinking and discussions, especially after the philosopher Socrates took to the streets in his never-ending pursuit of the truth.

Thus by the time Athens had reached its height in the 430's BC, its greatest democratic leader, Pericles, could quite reasonably declare:

'Our whole city is an education, for our citizens excel all men in versatility, resourcefulness and brilliance'.