Thus science was born in the ancient world of the classical Greeks. What motivated the great thinkers of this yet-unsurpassed era of human intellectual achievement was the irrepressible, inexhaustible eros, or desire, to understand the Universe, and thereby to understand man’s place in it.Yep, that sounds like the Greeks all right.
Seems like materialism was metaphyisical already back then.
Because the Hellenist is convinced that only the immediate can be known, anyone whose values system is based on Ultimate Things is regarded at best as a delusional obscurantist and at worst as a ticking irrational time bomb. The "Hellenists" are not the same breed of cat as the classical Greeks. Certainly the above italics do not reflect Plato's view! Nor even Aristotle's, for that matter. Nor Pythagoras', Heraclitus', Parmenides', et al.
Thanks for the very interesting link, ZC!