Philosopher. Legendary founder of Chinese Daoism, and reputed author of The Daodejing, he taught simplicity, brevity, non-attachment, intuition, a sometimes wise passivity, and especially indirection, the doctrine that the best path between two points is not necessarily a straight one. Contemporary Daoism has moved quite far away from its founder's little book, but the original doctrines continue to inspire millions of people.
| fl. 550 BCE | Zoroaster |
| 570–480 BCE | Xenophanes |
| fl. 550 BCE | Lucius Tarquinius Superbus |
| fl. c. 650–c. 550 BCE | Solon |
| 556–468 BCE | Simonides of Ceos |
| 610–580 BCE | Sappho |
| fl. 550 BCE | Pythagoras |
| 600–527 BCE | Pisistratus |
| 650–570 BCE | Pittacus of Mytilene |
| ?–554 BCE | Phalaris |
| 630–562 BCE | Nebuchadnezzar II |
| fl. 550 BCE | Lucretia |
| fl. 550 BCE | Kapila |
| 622–570 BCE | Ezekiel |
| 548–486 BCE | Darius I |
| ?–529 BCE | Cyrus II |
| ?–546 BCE | Croesus |
| 551–479 BCE | Confucius |
| 563–483 BCE | Buddha |
| 530–468 BCE | Aristides |
| 611–547 BCE | Anaximander |
| 585–525 BCE | Anaximenes |
| 570–475 BCE | Anacreon |
| fl. c. 550–c. 450 BCE | Ananda |
| 525–456 BCE | Aeschylus |
| fl. 550 BCE | Aesop |
