PHILOSOPHER

Melissus of Samos

470 BC - 430 BC

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Melissus of Samos (; Ancient Greek: Μέλισσος ὁ Σάμιος; fl. 5th century BC) was the third and last member of the ancient school of Eleatic philosophy, whose other members included Zeno and Parmenides. Little is known about his life, except that he was the commander of the Samian fleet in the Samian War. Melissus’s contribution to philosophy was a treatise of systematic arguments supporting Eleatic philosophy. Like Parmenides, he argued that reality is ungenerated, indestructible, indivisible, changeless, and motionless. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Melissus of Samos is the 166th most popular philosopher (up from 197th in 2019), the 84th most popular biography from Greece (up from 105th in 2019) and the 16th most popular Greek Philosopher.

Melissus of Samos is most famous for his argument that if something is both finite and has an end, then it cannot be eternal.

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Among PHILOSOPHERS

Among philosophers, Melissus of Samos ranks 166 out of 1,267. Before him are Hans Kelsen, Ibn Tufail, Oswald Spengler, Paul Ricœur, Herbert Marcuse, and Athanasius Kircher. After him are Ferdinand Tönnies, Adi Shankara, Ernst Cassirer, Jiddu Krishnamurti, Xun Kuang, and Jakob Böhme.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 470 BC, Melissus of Samos ranks 5. Before him are Socrates, Aspasia, Mozi, and Philolaus. After him are Callicrates, Hippocrates of Chios, Achilles Painter, and Teres I. Among people deceased in 430 BC, Melissus of Samos ranks 4. Before him are Empedocles, Phidias, and Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus. After him is Archelaus.

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In Greece

Among people born in Greece, Melissus of Samos ranks 84 out of 1,024. Before him are Clement of Alexandria (150), Pope Hyginus (100), Galla Placidia (388), Paul of Greece (1901), Antigonus I Monophthalmus (-382), and Handan Sultan (1574). After him are Creon (null), Giorgio de Chirico (1888), Irene Papas (1929), Mikis Theodorakis (1925), Mardonius (-600), and Hippias (-443).

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Among PHILOSOPHERS In Greece

Among philosophers born in Greece, Melissus of Samos ranks 16. Before him are Theophrastus (-371), Apollodorus of Athens (-180), Antisthenes (-445), Pyrrho (-365), Isocrates (-436), and Clement of Alexandria (150). After him are Hippias (-443), Diotima of Mantinea (-450), Prodicus (-460), Cratylus (-500), Pherecydes of Syros (-580), and Euclid of Megara (-435).

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