Meliso from Samos He was a philosopher of Ancient Greece, but also served as an important commander in the navy. He achieved relevant victories in battles and shared some of the ideas exposed by the theory of atomism.
He was a disciple of Parmenides of Elea, an important Greek philosopher who founded the School of the Eleatas. Meliso was one of the most important philosophers of this movement, although he later moved away from the ideas of his mentor.
What is known about the philosophical work of Meliso de Samos is thanks to the writings of other thinkers. For example, Aristotle was one of his detractors, since he assured that his ideas did not have a support that could be considered correct.
In a kinder way, thanks to Simplicio de Cilicia, mathematician and philosopher originally from the territory that would now be Turkey, there are 10 fragments of the only surviving work from Samos.
As part of the navy he is remembered for the battle against Pericles, although he was eventually defeated.
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Meliso de Samos was a Greek philosopher. There is no exact date to clarify biographical events in his life. The only verifiable data was that of the battle of Samos that occurred between 441 and 440 BC. C. and in which he participated with the position of commander of the navy.
For this reason, many historians assume that the birth of Meliso de Samos may have occurred around the year 470 BC. From there, all the data on the life of Samos are by inferences from the works of other thinkers of the time.
For example, it has been considered valid that he was a disciple of Parmenides, but this is due more than all to the fact that they shared many ideas and that he was part of the Philosophical School of the Eleatas. He was even, along with Parmenides, Zeno and Xenophanes, one of the most important exponents of this school.
The place where Meliso was born was Samos, an island in Greece. In ancient times the city was located in the southern part of the island, while today Samos is located to the north. It was a territory with great economic and cultural relevance.
In the era before Christ there were several outstanding philosophers originating in this area such as: Pythagoras and Epicurus. It was also the birthplace of the architect Teodoro. Even Pythagoras had a great influence in the life of Meliso because he grew up surrounded by his ideas and teachings..
Plutarco de Queronea made reference to the battle of Samos and there he named Itagenes as the father of Meliso.
The only work of which there is evidence of any of its fragments was called About nature or what exists. The ideas that Meliso de Samos captured were written in prose and only 10 fragments of the publication are known thanks to Simplicio.
In total, there are only about a thousand words of Meliso's work. Although it has been enough for historians to study the thoughts and ideas put forward by the ancient Greek philosopher.
Meliso and Parmenides agreed in many of their approaches, but they diverged in some aspects. For example, Meliso spoke of being as something infinite, a thought that even Aristotle himself refuted when he considered that the statement had no logic whatsoever..
Despite everything, Meliso and Parmenides agreed on many ideas about being. Most of the concepts used by both were accepted. Especially those that had to do with the unalterable.
For Meliso the lack of limits to be something was non-negotiable. He opted for the idea that being is not something temporary but lasts forever.
Meliso disagreed that the stimuli elicited through the five senses were very reliable. The philosopher explained that the idea that was generated changed continuously.
He was also opposed to the presence of the bodies. Aristotle was especially critical of this idea of being as incorporeal. The philosopher stated that something could not be infinite if it did not have a body, so one idea of Meliso managed to cancel the other.
It is clear that Meliso of Samos was not the most influential of the ancient Greek philosophers, not even of the group of the School of Eleatas. Obviously one of the reasons was that very little of his work survived the passage of time. Likewise, some of his thoughts were very relevant to the time..
It has not been possible to prove either who his direct disciples were. Although some historians have even affirmed that Leucippus of Miletus, founder of atomism, was one of his pupils.
Plato and Aristotle focused on many of their ideas to challenge the nature of the philosophical School of the Eleatas. Both were his main critics.
For years, no great importance has been given to the contributions of Meliso de Samos to the branch of philosophy. Aristotle was one of the great culprits that this will happen since he directed very harsh criticism to the marine commander.
For some connoisseurs, the importance of Meliso is in question, as he took advantage of the ideas and principles presented by Parmenides to gain relevance in the area of philosophy. In this sense Aristotle did not discriminate. He was a detractor of the two thinkers. He assured that the two gave explanations of little level and lacking in logic..
For Aristotle, who was much harsher in his criticisms of Meliso, the philosopher from Samos carried out bad procedures to reach his conclusions, which invalidated all his work.
In more recent years, the work of Meliso de Samos has gained importance among historians and philosophers. Some have even affirmed that the role that Meliso played in the formation and in Plato's thought was more relevant than is believed.
Some of the 10 surviving fragments of his work About nature or what exists They are:
- “What always was, always will be. Because if it arose, necessarily before its generation there was nothing; then, if there was nothing, nothing would come from nowhere ".
- "Nothing that has a beginning and an end is eternal or without limit".
- "If it were not one thing, it would limit another".
- “If what exists is divided, it moves; and if it moves, it wouldn't exist ".
All these phrases that Meliso said were arguments that supported his idea of infinity.
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