2. Mediterranean Culture 地中海文明 （公元前5世纪——4世纪）

The first great dramatists (Aeschylus, Sophocles, Aristophanes), the greatest sculptors in history(Phidias), and Socrates all lived in Athens in the 5th century BC. No other place in history produced more genius. The Greeks’ run continued in the 4th century with Plato (one of the most influential thinkers of all time) and Aristotle (the founder of ethics, political theory, natural history and logic), and mathematicians Eudoxus and Euclid. At the other end of Eurasia, Lao-tzu, Chuang-tzu and the followers of Confucius elaborated Chinese thought; the abacus and blast furnace were invented; and the Grand Canal was begun. India produced epic literature.

第一批伟大的剧作家（埃斯库罗斯、索福克勒斯、阿里斯托芬），历史上最杰出的雕刻家（菲迪亚斯），和苏格拉底都生活在公元前5世纪的雅典。历史上再也没有任何的地方能够如此地齐聚天才。希腊文化在公元前4世纪继续发展，产生了包括柏拉图（史上最具有影响力的思想家之一）、亚里斯多德（伦理学、政治理论、自然历史和逻辑学的创立者），以及数学家欧多克斯和欧几里德在内的一批著名学者。而在欧亚大陆的另一端，老子、庄子以及孔子的学生们详尽阐述了中国思想文化；算盘和炼丹炉在这一时期发明；而大运河也开始开凿。印度创立了叙事诗文学。