PHILOSOPHER

Gorgias

483 BC - 375 BC

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Gorgias ( GOR-jee-əs; Ancient Greek: Γοργίας; c. 483 BC – c. 375 BC) was an ancient Greek sophist, pre-Socratic philosopher, and rhetorician who was a native of Leontinoi in Sicily. Several doxographers report that he was a pupil of Empedocles, although he would only have been a few years younger. W. K. C. Guthrie writes that "Like other Sophists, he was an itinerant that practiced in various cities and giving public exhibitions of his skill at the great pan-Hellenic centers of Olympia and Delphi, and charged fees for his instruction and performances. A special feature of his displays was to ask miscellaneous questions from the audience and give impromptu replies." He has been called "Gorgias the Nihilist", although the degree to which this epithet adequately describes his philosophy is controversial. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Gorgias is the 69th most popular philosopher (down from 64th in 2019), the 35th most popular biography from Greece (up from 37th in 2019) and the 9th most popular Greek Philosopher.

Gorgias is most famous for his "On Non-Existence" speech, in which he argues that nothing exists.

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Among PHILOSOPHERS

Among philosophers, Gorgias ranks 69 out of 1,267. Before him are Thomas More, Johann Gottlieb Fichte, Zhu Xi, Antonio Gramsci, Zeno of Citium, and Xenophanes. After him are Ibn Arabi, Nagarjuna, Pliny the Elder, Peter Abelard, Leucippus, and Edmund Husserl.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 483 BC, Gorgias ranks 1. After him is Zisi. Among people deceased in 375 BC, Gorgias ranks 1. 

Others Born in 483 BC

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  • Photo of Gorgias

    Gorgias

    PHILOSOPHER

    483 BC - 375 BC

    HPI: 80.90

    Rank: 1

  • Photo of Zisi

    Zisi

    PHILOSOPHER

    483 BC - 402 BC

    HPI: 66.99

    Rank: 2

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Others Deceased in 375 BC

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  • Photo of Gorgias

    Gorgias

    PHILOSOPHER

    483 BC - 375 BC

    HPI: 80.90

    Rank: 1

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In Greece

Among people born in Greece, Gorgias ranks 35 out of 1,024. Before him are Spartacus (-109), Xenophon (-430), Muhammad Ali of Egypt (1769), Demosthenes (-384), Hayreddin Barbarossa (1478), and Nurbanu Sultan (1525). After him are Themistocles (-524), Ptolemy I Soter (-367), Cleisthenes (-565), Lycurgus of Sparta (-800), Leonidas I (-540), and Peisistratos (-600).

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Among PHILOSOPHERS In Greece

Among philosophers born in Greece, Gorgias ranks 9. Before him are Socrates (-470), Pythagoras (-570), Democritus (-460), Epicurus (-341), Plutarch (46), and Protagoras (-486). After him are Theophrastus (-371), Apollodorus of Athens (-180), Antisthenes (-445), Pyrrho (-365), Isocrates (-436), and Clement of Alexandria (150).

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