Melissos
Melissos von Elea ( Greek Μέλισσος ὁ Σάμιος Mélissos ho Sámios , German 'Melissos von Samos' ; * around 490 BC ; † 430 BC ) was an ancient Greek philosopher and naval commander . He lived around the middle of the 5th century BC. And is counted among the pre-Socratics .
Originally he came from Samos . But he spent most of his life in southern Italy as a follower of the Eleatic school. Around 441 BC When the Sami rebelled against Athens, he is said to have been in command of the Sami fleet and to have repulsed the Athenians in a sea battle (or several). However, despite these successes, he finally lost to his opponent Pericles .
His teachers were Parmenides of Elea and Zenon of Elea . Like her, Melissos also tried to justify the doctrine that there is no change - i.e. neither movement nor becoming and passing away - in the world. Melissos is obviously the first pre-Socratics to justify this with the argument that movement would presuppose an emptiness in space and is not possible because this emptiness (the nothingness) cannot be thought. For this reason, sensual perception that simulates changes is considered a deceptive appearance. His works On Beings and On Nature have only survived in fragments .
Source collections and translations
- Laura Gemelli Marciano (Ed.): The pre-Socratics . Volume 3, Artemis & Winkler, Mannheim 2010, ISBN 978-3-538-03502-7 , pp. 180–220 (Greek source texts with German translation, explanations and introduction to life and work)
literature
- Richard Goulet: Mélissos de Samos. In: Richard Goulet (ed.): Dictionnaire des philosophes antiques . Volume 4, CNRS Éditions, Paris 2005, ISBN 2-271-06386-8 , pp. 391-393
- Christof Rapp : Melissos from Samos . In: Hellmut Flashar et al. (Ed.): Early Greek Philosophy (= Outline of the History of Philosophy . The Philosophy of Antiquity , Volume 1), Half Volume 2, Schwabe, Basel 2013, ISBN 978-3-7965-2598-8 , p. 573-598
Web links
- Fragment : About nature or about being
Individual evidence
- ^ Christof Rapp: pre-Socratics . Munich 2007, p. 125.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Melissos |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Melissus from Elea; Melissos from Samos |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | pre-Socratic philosopher |
| DATE OF BIRTH | around 490 BC Chr. |
| DATE OF DEATH | 430 BC Chr. |