Parmenides

Panagiotis Thanassas (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens)

Ed. by Vaios Liapis, Open University of Cyprus
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.1.1: Greek Writing and Culture: Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic and Imperial, -800--100.
Vol. editors: Jonathan Burgess (University of Toronto), Anca Dan (École Practique de Hautes Études PSL), Martine Diepenbroek (University of Johannesburg), Giacomo Fedeli (University of Exeter), Victoria Fendel (University of Oxford), Emily Kneebone (University of Nottingham), Vaios Liapis (Open University of Cyprus), Elodie Paillard (University of Sydney), Mali Skotheim (Ashoka University), Laura Swift (The Open University), Guendalina Daniela Maria Taietti (University of Liverpool)

Dates

Born c. -530
Died c. -450
Activity c. -500-c. -480

Places

Born in Ancient Greece
Active in Ancient Greece

Activities

Primary

Philosopher

Resources

Parmenides' Works

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Parmenides was born approximately 530 BCE in the Greek colony of Elea in southern Italy. He was influenced by philosophers such as Pythagoras and Xenophanes, who had also been active in the region. Plato in his

Parmenides

presents him as visiting Athens and meeting the young Socrates around 450 BCE, but this is most probably a Platonic fabrication. The account of Plato's

Sophist

(242d), in which Parmenides is presented as a precursor to Heraclitus, is likely more accurate; this is in agreement with all ancient biographers, who place Parmenides'

floruit

around 500 BCE.

Parmenides is probably the most original and innovative of all Pre-Socratic philosophers. He shares with them the endeavor to identify the unifying factor of the universe. But unlike the Ionian physicists, he does not locate

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2420 words

Citation: Thanassas, Panagiotis. "Parmenides". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 19 February 2009 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=5789, accessed 21 November 2024.]

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