By the middle of the fifth century B.C., Athens was governed by democratic rule, and power turned upon the ability of the individual to command the attention of other citizens and to sway the crowds of the assembly. It was the sophists who understood the art of rhetoric and the importance of being able to transform effective reasoning into persuasive public speaking. Their inquiries - into the gods, the origins of religion, and whether virtue can be taught - laid the groundwork for the next generation of thinkers including Plato and Aristotle