Thales of Miletus He was born in 639 BC, in Miletus, Turkey, and was a famous Greek thinker, who is considered the first philosopher in history, and the founder of the Ionian school of philosophy. He led the group of Seven Sages of Greece, and had as a disciple Pythagoras. In addition, he was one of the greatest astronomers and mathematicians of Ancient Greece, making his contributions in different branches, such as Geometry of space, Statics, Dynamics, Geometry, Linear Algebra and Optics.
He was the son of Euxamias and of Cleobulin, some maritime merchants who did business with Egypt and Babylon, which allowed him to Such know distant lands. As is known, when the thinker was very young, he visited Egypt during the reign of Pharaoh Amasis, where he was educated by different priests of that place. In addition, he had teachers in Babylon, where he learned astronomy.
In his political life, he was a wise political advisor to Ionians and Lydians. Several historians affirm that he was the first to uphold the theory of the immortality of the soul, being, in addition, the motive force of the body. A legend tells that Such he managed to divert the path of the Halys River, in order that the Cresse Forces could cross it.
Aristotle he also quoted Such in many of his writings, ensuring that he excelled in the area of finance. Also, according to a story, SuchThanks to his knowledge of astronomy, he predicted what the olive harvest would be like, so he decided to invest all his money in buying all the oil presses in Miletus and Chios in the winter season and then renting them when it was harvest time. Thanks to this move, he accumulated a great fortune.
One of the most famous myths that have Such as the protagonist, he is the one who says that the thinker predicted to the Ionians the year in which a solar eclipse would occur. In addition, he is attributed the fact of having taken the measurements of the pyramids of Egypt, thanks to the shadows that they projected.
There is a rather comical anecdote starring the Greek thinker, who relates that, in the middle of an excursion in which he took an old woman to see the stars, Such fell into a well, so the old woman told him “How do you pretend, Thales, to know about the heavens, when you do not see what is under your feet?”
This thinker provided various explanations about nature, such as his theory that water was the true principle of everything, attributing that it is the primary universal substance. To explain it, he made different announcements that would help the understanding of his theory, such as: “The land rests on the water like an island“,”Moisture is in the nourishment of all things“,”The heat itself is generated by and retained by moisture” Y “The seeds of all things are wet“.
As is known, he was the first to scientifically explain the formation of an eclipse, dividing the year into seasons and ensuring that it has 365 days.
While several historians assure that Such He did not write any work, others consider him the author of two works, entitled: “Nautical astronomy” Y “On the solstice and On the equinoxes“.
Thales of Miletus died in 546 BC, being the forerunner of several thinkers, such as Pythagoras Y Aristotle, among others.