In ancient Greece and Rome, a sophist was a teacher of rhetoric and philosophy primarily, although some focused on other subjects such as the arts and sciences. The word is derived from the Greek 'sophia', which means wisdom, and was a core tenet in Hellenic philosophy. Sophists took on the role of teachers for the nobility and younger statesmen; they were paid exorbitantly for their services, making theirs a role of renown and prestige. In the 5th century BC, particularly in Athens, the sophists were known as a class of travelling intellectuals, and made up for any lack of knowledge with mastery of rhetoric, to better hide their inadequacies and entertain their audiences. Prominent scholars, such as Plato and Aristotle, described the sophist ways as empty rhetoric, resulting in many sources being tainted by bias.
