Melissus of Samos

Melissus of Samos
Melissus of Samos
	An illustration of Melissus of Samos from the Nuremberg Chronicle
Born	Samos
Era	Ancient philosophy
Region	Western philosophy
School	Eleatic school
Main interests	Metaphysics
Notable ideas	'What is' is both One and Infinite; Nothing comes from nothing

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Melissus of Samos (/məˈlɪsəs/; Ancient Greek: Μέλισσος ὁ Σάμιος; fl. 5th century BC) was the third^[3] and last member of the ancient school of Eleatic philosophy, whose other members included Zeno and Parmenides. Little is known about his life, except that he was the commander of the Samian fleet in the Samian War. Melissus’ contribution to philosophy was a treatise of systematic arguments supporting Eleatic philosophy. Like Parmenides, he argued that reality is ungenerated, indestructible, indivisible, changeless, and motionless. In addition, he sought to show that reality is wholly unlimited, and infinitely extended in all directions; and since existence is unlimited, it must also be one.

^ DK 30 B 7: "So then it is eternal and infinite and one and all alike."
^ DK B 1: "οὐδαμὰ ἂν γένοιτο οὐδὲν ἐκ μηδενός (...in no wise could anything have arisen out of nothing)".
^ Whether or not Xenophanes should be included in the list of Eleatic philosophers is debatable.

[1] DK 30 B 7: "So then it is eternal and infinite and one and all alike."

[2] DK B 1: "οὐδαμὰ ἂν γένοιτο οὐδὲν ἐκ μηδενός (...in no wise could anything have arisen out of nothing)".

[3] Whether or not Xenophanes should be included in the list of Eleatic philosophers is debatable.

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