# Anaximander explained — The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers

> Chapter companion for The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers by Diogenes Laërtius.

## What happens

Anaximander, a Milesian philosopher, posited the Infinite as the primary principle of all things, with the whole being unchangeable though parts change. He described a spherical Earth at the center, the moon's light as borrowed from the sun, and the sun as pure fire. He invented the gnomon, sundials, clocks, a map of the earth and sea, and a globe. His work was known to Apollodorus, who recorded his age and death around the time of Polycrates.

## Themes in this chapter

### Natural Philosophy and Cosmology

Anaximander's theories on the Infinite, spherical Earth, celestial bodies, and his inventions (gnomon, sundials, maps) exemplify early natural philosophy and cosmological speculation.

## Character check-ins

### Anaximander

Main subject of the chapter; Milesian philosopher who proposed the Infinite as the first principle, invented the gnomon and sundials, and created early maps and a globe.

### Phavorinus

Cited as the source in his Universal History for Anaximander's invention of the gnomon and placement in Lacedaemon.

### Apollodorus of Athens

Mentioned as the author of Chronicles who recorded Anaximander's age and death.

## Key lines

> He used to assert that the principle and primary element of all things was the Infinity, giving no exact definition as to whether he meant air or water, or anything else.

Anaximander claimed that the fundamental substance of everything is the Infinite, without specifying if it is air, water, or another element.

_Highlights Anaximander's unique concept of the apeiron as the first principle._

> He also was the first discoverer of the gnomon; and he placed some in Lacedaemon on the sundials there, as Phavorinus says in his Universal History, and they showed the solstices and the equinoxes; he also made clocks.

Anaximander invented the gnomon, installed sundials in Lacedaemon to mark solstices and equinoxes, and also constructed clocks.

_Describes his practical contributions to timekeeping and astronomy._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se/chapters/anaximander
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