Was high intellectualism part of Greek culture?

Les explains that Paul did not come with intellectual degrees or the wisdom of words; he came with the simplicity of the gospel into a pagan, ungodly city. High intellectualism was part and parcel of the Greek culture, and Corinth was in Greek territory, about thirty or forty miles from Athens. The Greeks were all hung up on philosophy. On Mars Hill, Paul encountered philosophers who spent their days dreaming up some new thing to philosophize about, but Paul said he did not come with a philosophy or some new thing; he came with the gospel, which is the cross of Christ. Verse 18 declares that the preaching of the cross is foolishness to those who perish. Les applies this to the lost mass of hustling and bustling humanity today, to whom the cross is so much foolishness. He also recalls a gentleman who used to be on the program and came to his place one evening after Les had been baling hay.