Parmenides was born approximately 530 BCE in the Greek colony of Elea in southern Italy. He was influenced by philosophers such as Pythagoras and Xenophanes, who had also been active in the region. Plato in his
Parmenidespresents him as visiting Athens and meeting the young Socrates around 450 BCE, but this is most probably a Platonic fabrication. The account of Plato's
Sophist(242d), in which Parmenides is presented as a precursor to Heraclitus, is likely more accurate; this is in agreement with all ancient biographers, who place Parmenides'
floruitaround 500 BCE.
Parmenides is probably the most original and innovative of all Pre-Socratic philosophers. He shares with them the endeavor to identify the unifying factor of the universe. But unlike the Ionian physicists, he does not locate
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Citation: Thanassas, Panagiotis. "Parmenides". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 19 February 2009 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=5789, accessed 06 October 2024.]