Thales was born in 625 BCE in Miletus. An ancient Greek thinker from the Ionian city of Miletus, Thales is often called the first philosopher in the Western tradition. Aristotle reported that he held water to be the basic substance of all things, an attempt to explain nature without recourse to myth. Later writers credited him with predicting a solar eclipse around 585 BCE, with measuring the height of pyramids by their shadows, and with early geometrical theorems. He was counted among the Seven Sages of Greece. None of his writings survive, so what we know comes from later accounts, and the dates given for his life are approximate.
Before and after
- c. 657 BCEFounding of Byzantium (Istanbul)
- 642 BCEBirth of Nebuchadnezzar II
- 628 BCEBirth of Zoroaster
- from 626 BCE to 539 BCENeo-Babylonian Empire
- 625 BCEBirth of Thales
- 620 BCEBirth of Aesop
- 7th century BCEIntroduction of tetradrachm
- 7th century BCEConstruction of Hanging Gardens of Babylon
- 7th century BCERise of Nyaya
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- 284 BCEColossus of Rhodes
- 48 CEPublication of Epistle to the Galatians
The era
This moment belongs to the Ancient civilizations (3,200 BCE to 500 CE), writing, cities and empires. You can also browse everything in the 7th century BCE.