PHILOSOPHER

Empedocles

490 BC - 430 BC

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Empedocles (; Ancient Greek: Ἐμπεδοκλῆς; c. 494 – c. 434 BC, fl. 444–443 BC) was a Greek pre-Socratic philosopher and a native citizen of Akragas, a Greek city in Sicily. Empedocles' philosophy is known best for originating the cosmogonic theory of the four classical elements. He also proposed forces he called Love and Strife which would mix and separate the elements, respectively. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Empedocles is the 44th most popular philosopher, the 83rd most popular biography from Italy (down from 45th in 2019) and the 6th most popular Italian Philosopher.

Empedocles is most famous for his theory of the four elements. He believed that everything was made up of four elements: earth, water, air, and fire.

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Among PHILOSOPHERS

Among philosophers, Empedocles ranks 44 out of 1,267. Before him are Origen, Al-Farabi, Lucretius, Rajneesh, Michel de Montaigne, and Sun Tzu. After him are Plutarch, Anaximander, Protagoras, David Hume, Ludwig Wittgenstein, and Anaxagoras.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 490 BC, Empedocles ranks 1. After him are Phidias, Zeno of Elea, Nehemiah, Archelaus I of Macedon, Hellanicus of Lesbos, Bacchylides, Agis II, Crateuas of Macedon, Ion of Chios, Nepherites I, and Oenopides. Among people deceased in 430 BC, Empedocles ranks 1. After him are Phidias, Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, Melissus of Samos, and Archelaus.

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In Italy

Among people born in Italy, Empedocles ranks 83 out of 5,161. Before him are Pope Pius VIII (1761), Vespasian (9), Gioachino Rossini (1792), Domitian (51), Pope Urban VIII (1568), and Pope Pius VI (1717). After him are Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598), Guglielmo Marconi (1874), Claudio Monteverdi (1567), Pope Innocent III (1160), Pope Pius III (1439), and Sophia Loren (1934).

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Among PHILOSOPHERS In Italy

Among philosophers born in Italy, Empedocles ranks 6. Before him are Niccolò Machiavelli (1469), Thomas Aquinas (1225), Maria Montessori (1870), Parmenides (-501), and Lucretius (-94). After him are Zeno of Elea (-490), Antonio Gramsci (1891), Pliny the Elder (23), Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463), Boethius (480), and Bonaventure (1221).

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