Thales

:For the French electronics and defence contractor, see Thales Group

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Thales (in Greek: Θαλης) of Miletus (ca. 635 BC-543 BC), also known as Thales the Milesian, was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher and one of the Seven Sages of Greece. Many regard him as the first philosopher in the Greek tradition as well as the father of science.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Thales lived in the city of Miletus, in Ionia, now western Turkey. According to Herodotus, he was of Phoenician descent. It was said that Thales had no children but adopted his nephew as his son.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The well-traveled Ionians had many dealings with Egypt and Babylon, and Thales may have studied in Egypt as a young man. In any event, Thales almost certainly had exposure to Egyptian mythology, astronomy, and mathematics, as well as to other traditions alien to the Homeric traditions of Greece. Perhaps because of this his inquiries into the nature of things took him beyond traditional mythology.

Greek: The noun Greek refers to:...

Miletus: :In Greek mythology, Miletus was the founder of the city described below. He had two children: Caunus and Byblis....

635 BC: redirect 630s BC...