Around 450 BC, Protagoras emerged as a leading figure in the Sophist movement in Athens, teaching the art of rhetoric and the philosophy of relativism. His famous assertion that 'Man is the measure of all things' challenged traditional notions of truth and morality, sparking debates that would shape Western philosophy. The Sophists, including Protagoras, played a crucial role in the intellectual landscape of ancient Greece, influencing education and political thought.

Protagoras and the Sophist movement shifted the focus of literature from cosmic speculation to human experience and the power of language. This transformation influenced playwrights like Euripides, whose works incorporated psychological realism, and laid the groundwork for the rhetorical devices that would permeate poetry and prose in subsequent centuries.