Anaxagoras was a Greek philosopher before the time of Socrates and Plato.   He was born in Asia Minor but moved to Athens which was already becoming the center of Greek culture and philosophy.  He is best known for the concept that mind ordered the universe, meaning that nature was rational and had rational laws governing it.  He said that all things existed since the beginning but in very small fragments, and it was mind that organized these tiny fragments into things.   A philosophy essentially shared by modern Quantum Physics as well as positive thinking gurus.  Socrates and Plato felt that his philosophy was too mechanical, too machine like.  
    Anaxagoras also claimed that the sun, moon and stars were actual physical bodies.  He said the sun was a large chunk of blazing metal, ideas which conflicted with the religions of the day and got him into trouble.
    While his theories were a little off, he can still be said to be a precursor of atomic theory and the idea of intelligent design.