Greece & Rome · c. 624–546 BCE
Thales
Sage of Miletus, traditionally the first Greek philosopher
Taught that water is the origin of all things and that the world is “full of gods”, meaning nature is alive with its own powers. He wrote nothing; ancient reports credit him with geometry and with predicting an eclipse, usually dated to 585 BCE.
Life and thought
Thales lived in Miletus, a rich Greek trading city on the coast of Asia Minor, in the early 6th century BCE. Later Greeks counted him among the Seven Sages and told stories of his practical skill: measuring the pyramids by their shadows, diverting a river for an army, and foretelling an eclipse that Herodotus ties to a battle usually dated to 585 BCE. He left no writings, so what we know comes mainly from Aristotle, two centuries later.
Aristotle says Thales made water the origin (archē) of all things, perhaps because moisture nourishes life and seeds are wet, and that he thought the magnet has a soul because it moves iron. The answer matters less than the move: instead of telling how gods made the world, he named one natural principle and gave reasons that others could test and dispute. His successors in Miletus did exactly that.
Students
c. 610–546 BCEAnaximanderAncient tradition makes Anaximander Thales’ pupil and successor.Meanwhile, in other traditions
traditionally 599–527 BCE (many scholars: c. 499–425 BCE)MahāvīraTwenty-fourth Jain tīrthaṅkara, a contemporary of the Buddhatraditionally 6th c. BCELaoziLegendary sage credited with the Daodejingfl. 6th–5th c. BCEAjita KesakambalīMaterialist teacher of the Buddha’s time, named for his hair blanket551–479 BCE (traditional)ConfuciusTeacher from Lu who sought to revive the Zhou wayOn the record
Ancient reports credit Thales with predicting an eclipse, usually dated to 585 BCE.
Herodotus says Thales foretold the eclipse that ended a battle between the Lydians and the Medes, conventionally 28 May 585 BCE. The eclipse itself is secure, but historians doubt that any method available to him, such as the Babylonian cycles, could have predicted a solar eclipse for that place; whether he really did so is open.
Sources: Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, “Thales of Miletus”