# Anaximenes explained — The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers

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

## What happens

Anaximenes, a Milesian pupil of Anaximander (and some say Parmenides), posited air and the Infinite as the principles of all things, and held that stars move around the earth. He wrote in pure Ionian dialect, lived during the 63rd Olympiad, and died around the time of the fall of Sardis. The chapter includes two letters attributed to him: one recounting Thales' accidental death, and another urging Pythagoras to remain in Crotona while lamenting Milesian oppression and the threat of Median war.

## Themes in this chapter

### Natural Philosophy and Cosmology

Anaximenes' theory that air and the Infinite are the principles of all things, and his view that stars move around the earth.

### Origins and Succession of Philosophical Schools

Anaximenes as a pupil of Anaximander (and possibly Parmenides), continuing the Milesian tradition.

### Political Engagement and Tyranny

Anaximenes' letters lament Milesian oppression by tyrants and the threat of Median conquest, contrasting with Pythagoras' peaceful life in Crotona.

## Character check-ins

### Anaximenes

Main subject of the chapter; pupil of Anaximander, philosopher who taught air as the first principle.

### Anaximander

Teacher of Anaximenes; mentioned as his philosophical predecessor.

### Parmenides

Some say Anaximenes was also a pupil of Parmenides.

### Thales

Mentioned in Anaximenes' letter recounting his accidental death while stargazing.

### Pythagoras

Recipient of two letters from Anaximenes; praised for migrating to Crotona.

### Apollodorus of Athens

Cited as the source for Anaximenes' lifespan and Olympiad dating.

## Key lines

> He said that the principles of everything were the air and the Infinite, and that the stars moved not under the earth but around the earth.

Anaximenes taught that air and the boundless are the fundamental substances of all things, and that stars revolve around the earth rather than passing beneath it.

_Core cosmological doctrine of Anaximenes._

> Thales, the son of Euxamias, has died in his old age, by an unfortunate accident. In the evening, as he was accustomed to do, he went forth out of the vestibule of his house with his maidservant, to observe the stars: and (for he had forgotten the existence of the place) while he was looking up towards the skies, he fell down a precipitous place.

Anaximenes writes that Thales died in old age after accidentally falling off a cliff while stargazing at night.

_Anecdote of Thales' death as reported in Anaximenes' letter._

> How then can Anaximenes apply his mind to the contemplation of the skies, while he is in perpetual fear of death or slavery?

Anaximenes laments that constant fear of death or enslavement prevents him from focusing on astronomical study.

_Reflects the tension between philosophical contemplation and political turmoil._

## Links

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