stenudd.COM
Stefan Stenudd           Author, Artist, Aikido instructor
MYTH
Myth of Creation
The Logics of Myth
Psychoanalysis of Myth
Genesis 1: The first creation of the Bible
Enuma Elish: Babylonian Creation
Cosmos of the Ancients
Aristotle - life and work
Aristotle's Poetics
Ideas and learning
The Taoist source
About the writer

ANCIENT GREECE
Introduction
Thales
Anaximander
Anaximenes
Pherecydes of Syros
Pythagoras
Xenophanes
Theagenes
Hecataeus
Heraclitus
Pindar
Parmenides
Anaxagoras
Empedocles
Herodotus
Gorgias
Melissus
Protagoras
Euripides
Prodicus of Ceos
Leucippus
Democritus
Critias
Antisthenes
Diagoras of Melos
Plato
Aristotle
Epicurus
Euhemerus
Table of the Greek Philosophers
Literature

Aristotle - life and work
Aristotle's Poetics

Books by Stefan Stenudd:
Cosmos of the Ancients, by Stefan Stenudd.
COSMOS OF THE ANCIENTS
The Greek philosophers' theories about the gods, the myths, and cosmology.
More about the book here.


Murder, by Stefan Stenudd.
MURDER
Thoughts on life, death, and the meaning of it all - by Stefan Stenudd.
More about the book here.


All's End, by Stefan Stenudd.
ALL'S END
A science fiction novel by Stefan Stenudd, about the quest for a perfect world.
More about the book here.


QI - increase your life energy.
QI
Increase your life energy
The book about the life energy qi, with exercises on how to awaken and use it.
More about the book here.

Aikido - the book by Stefan Stenudd.
AIKIDO
The Peaceful Martial Art
The book about aikido principles, philosophy and basic concepts.
More about the book here.

Aikibatto - the book.
AIKIBATTO
The book about the aikibatto sword and staff exercises, practical and spiritual aspects of the sword arts, equip­ment for training, etc.
More about the book here.



Parthenon

Cosmos of the Ancients

The Greek Philosophers
on Myth and Cosmology


Melissus


M elissus (flourished circa 442 BC) was the student of Parmenides, but also in contact with Heraclitus – that would have been in his early youth, since their flourishing differs some 60 years. To Parmenides, the difference was a little more than 30 years. Melissus wrote one book, the title of which is referred to with different titles in antiquity, one being Concerning Nature or What Is. According to Diogenes Laertius, Melissus said that: "we ought not to make any statements about the gods, for it was impossible to have knowledge of them." Melissus regarded the universe as unlimited and forever the same, also uniform and completely full of matter. Any change or motion was only apparent, not real. Simplicius, who contains all ten Melissus fragments remaining, quotes him saying:
     That which was, was always and always will be. For if it had come into being, it necessarily follows that before it came into being, Nothing existed. If however Nothing existed, in no way could anything come into being out of nothing.
     By the same method of reasoning he concludes that the world is one, uniform and unlimited, cannot move and cannot change.
     Thereby, he would necessarily refuse to accept the cosmogony given in Hesiod, and a portrayal of gods mighty enough to cause genuine change to the world – to add things to it or take things away from it, to disturb its uniformity or set it in motion. With such limitations, there would not be much divine remaining for the gods, and indeed he makes no reference at all to them in his cosmology. Therefore, in stating that it is impossible to have any knowledge of the gods, Melissus may have masked a total disbelief in them behind this somewhat diplomatic thesis, very similar to what had been stated by Protagoras – of the same age as him – in the year 411 BC. There were limits to the tolerance of Greek society, and they could be dangerous indeed to exceed.

Literature
Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, translated by R. D. Hicks, volume II, Loeb, London 1950.
Barnes, Jonathan, The Presocratic Philosophers, volume 1, London 1979.
Freeman, Kathleen, Ancilla to The Pre-Socratic Philosophers, Oxford 1952.

© Stefan Stenudd 2000

How to get the book
An edited and extended version of the texts on this website was published in 2007.
     If you want to buy the book, you can do so at most international web based bookstores, such as Amazon and the like. Here are links to the book on Amazon US and Amazon UK. Use the latter if you are European - then you get the book cheaper and quicker. Otherwise, you may want to buy it at Amazon US.

At Amazon US:
Cosmos of the Ancients, by Stefan Stenudd - at Amazon US.
At Amazon UK:
Cosmos of the Ancients, by Stefan Stenudd - at Amazon UK.


Search Amazon for books about Melissus:




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Tao Te Ching - the Taoist source.
TAOIST SOURCE
The Taoist source. The complete Tao Te Ching and Chuang Tzu.


More on this website:
Aikido
Aikibatto sword exercises
Myth
Greek Philosophers
Aristotle and his Poetics
The Taoist source
Qi - life energy
Fiction by Stenudd
Art by Stenudd
Astrology and horoscopes