<P> From the word σοφός (sophos) is derived the verb σοφίζω (sophizo), which means "to instruct or make learned", but which in the passive voice means "to become or be wise", or "to be clever or skilled in a thing". In turn, from this verb is derived the noun σοφιστής (sophistes), which originally meant "a master of one's craft" but later came to mean "a prudent man" or "wise man". The word for "sophist" in various languages comes from sophistes . </P> <P> The word "sophist" could also be combined with other Greek words to form compounds . Examples include meteorosophist, which roughly translates to "expert in celestial phenomena"; gymnosophist (or "naked sophist", a word used to refer to a sect of Indian philosophers, the Gymnosophists), deipnosophist or "dinner sophist" (as in the title of Athenaeus's Deipnosophistae), and iatrosophist, a type of physician in the later Roman period . </P> <P> In the second half of the 5th century BCE, particularly at Athens, "sophist" came to denote a class of mostly itinerant intellectuals who taught courses in various subjects, speculated about the nature of language and culture and employed rhetoric to achieve their purposes, generally to persuade or convince others: "Sophists did, however, have one important thing in common: whatever else they did or did not claim to know, they characteristically had a great understanding of what words would entertain or impress or persuade an audience ." Sophists purposely went to Athens to teach rhetoric because of how flourishing the city was at the time . It was good employment for those who were good at debate, which was the specialty of the first Sophists; they received the fame and fortune they were seeking . Protagoras is generally regarded as the first of these professional sophists . Others include Gorgias, Prodicus, Hippias, Thrasymachus, Lycophron, Callicles, Antiphon, and Cratylus . A few sophists claimed that they could find the answers to all questions . Most of these sophists are known today primarily through the writings of their opponents (specifically Plato and Aristotle), which makes it difficult to assemble an unbiased view of their practices and beliefs . In some cases, such as Gorgias, there are original rhetorical works that are fortunately extant, allowing the author to be judged on his own terms . In most cases, however, knowledge about what individual sophists wrote or said comes from fragmentary quotations that lack context . </P> <P> Sophists could be described both as teachers and philosophers, having traveled about in Greece teaching their students various life skills, particularly rhetoric and public speaking . These were useful qualities of the time, during which persuasive ability had a large influence on one's political power and economic wealth . Athens became the center of the sophists' activity, due to the city's freedom of speech for non slave citizens and wealth of resources . There were numerous differences among Sophist teachings, and they lectured on subjects that were as diverse as semantics and rhetoric, to ontology, epistemology . </P>

Who were sophists and what were their beliefs