Thales of Miletus: a bridge between the science of the West and the East

One of the first sages of the Ionian school is the natural philosopher Thales of Miletus. The biography of this man is full of lacunae, as he lived in the 6th century BC, and his works, unfortunately, did not reach us. However, historians can judge the life of this thinker from the reviews and references of other scientists. For example, Aristotle called Thales the founder of philosophy about the existence of the world and the founder of the Milesian school. The historians managed to establish that he traveled a lot, he drew knowledge from the Egyptian priests and Chaldeans. Thales had a wide range of interests: he was engaged in astronomy, designed military implements and engineering structures.

Who was this great man, Thales? His biography is full of words "approximately", "probably" and "apparently". The only exact date associated with the scientist is May 28, 585 BC. E. On this day, a total solar eclipse occurred. The mathematician and astronomer predicted his offensive and warned his patron, the Lydian king Aliatta, about this. The latter used this natural phenomenon to achieve a profitable peace agreement with the troops of the Medes. The scientist worked for another king Lydia - Crease, and under his command participated in the war with the Persians.

So, what are the indisputable facts about the life path of the "Father of Philosophy"? Thales of Miletus was born about 625, and died a deep old man (according to some sources, at 76 years old, and in others at 95). On the assurances of ancient historians, the scientist watched gymnastic exercises at the stadium. There was a heat and a crush, which became fatal for an elderly person. But it is reliably known that Thales was from a rich Phoenician family. Whether he was an "immigrant of the first generation" or born in the Greek province, is unclear.

Thales of Miletus received an excellent education. As a merchant, he traveled a lot: he lived in the Egyptian cities of Memphis and Thebes, he visited Mesopotamia. It is believed that it was he who "brought" the foundations of geometry from Egypt, with which he introduced the Greeks. He found a way to measure the height of the pyramid by its shadow and invented a rangefinder, which allows to determine the distance of the ship to the sea from the shore. His name is the theorem. But not only in mathematics was a great scientist. He was a skilled diplomat and tried to create a military alliance of the cities of Ionia against the Persians. Thales was close to the Milesian tyrant Frasibulu.

Information about the sage's personal life is contradictory and meager. According to one information, he lived as a bachelor, and for others he was married and had a son. Thales of Miletus also possessed an extraordinary business acumen: he seized the monopoly in his native Miletus on the trade in olive oil. In one of the campaigns he made the river Galis flow along a new channel, having built a dam and water channel for this. This maneuver allowed King Cruz to transport the army.

But the greatest glory Thales of Miletus earned in the field of philosophy. He searched in all the variety of things in nature, one fundamental principle. Such a base of the world, "first-class", the sage called water. Everything arises from a moist nature and dissolves in it. The universe, according to Thales, is an inverted bowl, lowered to the ocean. Inside it floats disk - Earth. The concave surface of the vessel is the sky, and the stars on it are gods. The soul is a subtle etheric substance. According to Diogenes Laertius and Aristotle, Thales owns at least two works: "On the Turns of the Sun and Equinox" and "Navigation Astronomy." Tradition ascribes to him also about 200 verses written by a hexameter. The most famous followers of Thales are Anaximenes and Anaximander.