In the southwestern part of Ancient Greece, on the coast of Asia Minor, there was once a large trading city of Miletus. There in the 5th century BC. e. the philosopher and mathematician Thales was born, whose name later became a symbol of wisdom. The outstanding ancient Greek thinker Plato valued his works so highly that he called him the father and founder of philosophy. What is known about this man?
Inquisitive merchant
The exact date of birth of Thales of Miletus (the name of his native city became part of his name) is unknown. But among scientists it is generally accepted that this event occurred between 640 and 624 BC. From those meager and sometimes contradictory information that formed the basis of the biography of Thales of Miletus, it follows that he was born into a we althy family of Phoenician origin and thanks to this he received a very decent education for those times.
Having reached the proper age, he took up trading. In this regard, he traveled a lot, visited the largest cities of Ancient Egypt. This circumstance gave him the opportunity toreplenish your knowledge. It is known, for example, that under the guidance of the priests, who at that time were representatives of the most educated part of society, the young man received information that he later laid as the basis for a science that was new at that time - geometry. There, on the banks of the Nile, an inquisitive merchant comprehended the causes of floods, looking for ways to prevent their detrimental consequences.
Political activities of a young scientist
An important aspect of the life of Thales of Miletus was his social and political activities. Possessing an outstanding oratorical talent, he spoke to his compatriots with calls to unite efforts for a joint fight against the Lydian and then Persian conquerors, who then invaded their Greece and tried with all their might to establish their dominance.
Showing political foresight, he sought to create from scattered military units formed in all cities of the country, a joint army, subordinate to the leadership of a single defensive alliance. By such actions, the young man exposed his life to serious danger, since in all ages the invaders used to brutally crack down on the recalcitrant.
The circumstances of Thales's life, which remained a mystery
Among other aspects of the scientist's life that have not received their coverage, the question of whether he had a family remained unanswered. On the basis of very disparate and contradictory materials, three hypotheses have emerged regarding the personal life of Thales of Miletus. Briefly, their essence is as follows.
According to one version, he did not marry anyone and left the world without offspring, while according to another, he still had a wife and bore him a son named Kibist. Supporters of the third hypothesis, denying marriage, argue that Kibist was the son of Thales' sister, that is, a nephew. Which of them is right is now hardly possible to establish, since there is very little documentary evidence.
Equally contradictory information regarding the date and circumstances of his death. It is generally accepted that the philosopher left the mortal world between 548 and 545 BC. e., and the reason for this was a cardiac arrest caused by heat and a crush on the podium, with which he watched the competition of athletes during one of the Olympics. What to do, the sages are the same mortal creations of the gods as ordinary people.
Literary works that have sunk into oblivion
It is impossible to say with complete certainty what the works of Thales of Miletus contained, since none of the writings of the "father of philosophy" have survived to this day, and one can judge them only from the reports of biographers who studied in subsequent centuries of his work. So, there is an opinion that during his lifetime he owes universal fame to two major works, one of which was called "On the Equinoxes", and the other - "On the Solstice".
In addition, it is known that, in addition to philosophy, poetry was the subject of his constant passion, which is why the brief biography of Thales of Miletus, which served as the basis for writing this article, says that he is credited withthe authorship of almost two hundred poems. However, some researchers question these data.
The wise man who predicted a solar eclipse
Despite the fame of Thales of Miletus, a philosopher and mathematician, that has survived the centuries, the authorship and authenticity of his scientific discoveries is controversial, since most sources cover them extremely contradictory. The same can be said about all the dates associated with his life.
The only exception is the solar eclipse predicted by scientists, which, according to modern research, occurred in May 585 BC. e., when a bloody war was going on between the two largest states of the Ancient World - Lydia and Media. All biographers mention him, because the example of scientific foresight impressed his contemporaries to such an extent that he established the reputation of the greatest sage for Thales.
Wizard of Custom Solutions
Most of the facts about the life of Thales of Miletus are not supported by documentary evidence and are perceived more as legends, often invading the biographies of prominent people of the past. These include, in particular, the story of how, being in the service of the Lydian king Croesus (the one who became a symbol of we alth in world history), the scientist managed to ensure the crossing of his troops across the Galis River.
The decision he made was truly extraordinary. Contrary to tradition, Thales did not look for a ford or build bridges, but changed the course of the river itself, letting it flow in a direction convenient for him. For this purpose, nearIn the city of Mitel, he designed and built a dam and a drainage canal. As a result, the water level in the former channel dropped so much that the troops almost crossed it dry.
They say that talented people are talented in everything. The founder of scientific philosophy, Thales of Miletus, has also established himself as an outstanding entrepreneur. Thanks to the location of the same king Croesus, he managed to establish his own monopoly on the olive oil trade and extract huge profits from this. He had other brilliant business ventures as well.
Wisdom shown in political decisions
It would be an unforgivable omission to ignore the political activities of Thales, which also showed his outstanding talent. He, in particular, owned the idea of creating a confederation of cities, the center of which was to be the island of Chios. This initiative was aimed at countering possible aggression emanating at that time from the power of the Achaemenids, a state that existed on the territory of Western Asia in the 6th-4th centuries BC. e.
At the same time, the pundit was very far-sighted in assessing the political situation in the region. On the recommendation given by him, the ruler of Miletus (his hometown) evaded entering into a military alliance with the king of Lydia Croesus. This was a very far-sighted decision, it soon allowed the city to be avoided by the Persians, who defeated the Lydian army and mercilessly plundered all the occupied territories.
Merit instudying astronomy
However, Thales of Miletus acquired his main laurels in the scientific field. In the field of astronomy, he is credited with the discovery of the inclination of the ecliptic (a great circle of the celestial sphere, along which the apparent annual movement of the Sun occurs) relative to the equator. In addition, he taught contemporaries to calculate the time of the equinox and solstice. Thales also holds the lead in the conditional division of the celestial sphere into five circles, designated by him as the Antarctic circle, the winter tropic, the celestial equator, the summer tropic and the arctic circle.
Watching the Moon, he was the first scientist to come to the conclusion that its radiance is nothing more than a reflection of sunlight, and eclipses of the Sun occur when the Moon covers it from us. Moreover, the scientist was able to calculate the angular size of these cosmic bodies, calculating that it is equal to 1/720 of the length of their orbits. It is Thales that modern astronomers consider to be the founder of the mathematical method for studying the motion of stars and planets.
The doctrine of the nature of stars proposed by Thales was completely new for that time and revolutionary in its own way. According to him, they were not precious stones scattered in the universe, as was believed at that time, but consisted of a substance similar to our earthly soil, but in a hot state and therefore emitting light.
Philosophical school of Thales of Miletus
The historical period we are considering (5th century BC) was characterized by the fact that with the widespread dominationpagan worldview based on polytheism, in the minds of advanced thinkers ideas began to emerge, according to which all forms of being have a single basis. This doctrine, called "monism", served as the basis for the Miletus School of Philosophy. Thales, as one of the most educated and creatively thinking people of his time, played an important role in shaping its main directions. It was the search for a single God, begun five centuries before our era, that then led Greek society to open conflict with paganism and the adoption of Christianity.
The history also includes the names of two more prominent thinkers of those years, who worked together with Thales at the Miletus school - Anaximander and Anaximenes. The scientific works of these people have not survived to this day, and their content can only be imagined on the basis of comments compiled several centuries later. However, there is no doubt that, thanks to the philosophical teachings of Thales of Miletus and his colleagues, mankind has embarked on the path of a fundamentally different understanding of the existing world.
The scientist who laid the foundations of modern geometry
The Milesian thinker also made a significant contribution to geometry, the founder of which he is often called. To this day, a theorem named after him is studied as part of the school curriculum. In the practical life of the ancient Greeks, she found a very curious application: with her help, one could easily measure the distance from the coast to the ship, which was at some distance.
Among entriescontemporaries preserved evidence of how unconventional thinking possessed Thales. For example, while in Egypt, he met with Pharaoh Amasis and struck him by setting the height of one of the pyramids with extraordinary ease. To do this, sticking his staff into the sand, the length of which was known, he waited for the moment when the shadow falling from him reached the same size. After that, he measured the length of the shadow from the pyramid, which at that moment was also equal to its height, and thus found the desired value - just like everything ingenious.
Conclusion
Historians note that even the ancient Egyptians and the inhabitants of Babylon de alt with problems related to geometry, but they had all the basic relationships confirmed exclusively by empirical rules, that is, rules based solely on observation and practical experience. Thales was the first of the mathematicians who developed a system of proofs, giving the geometry of the features of science, very similar to the one that is familiar to all of us from school. That is why in the modern world he is revered not only as the founder of philosophy, but also as an outstanding researcher who devoted himself to the exact sciences.
