Cosmos of the Ancients

Comsos of the Ancients

The Greek Philosophers on Myth and Cosmology



Anaximander

T o Anaximander (611-546 BC) the boundless (apeiron) was a basic principle of the world, the parts of which may be changing but itself as a whole remaining the same, eternally. This the boundless he gave no element or other significant character, instead clearly stating it to be something else: "it is neither water nor any other of the so-called elements, but some different, boundless nature, from which all the heavens arise", and out of this all existing things are formed as well as destroyed, "according to what must needs be; for they make amends and give reparations to one another for their offense, according to the ordinance of time."


Cosmos of the Ancients. Book by Stefan Stenudd. Cosmos of the Ancients
by Stefan Stenudd
In this book I present the Greek philosophers and what they thought about cosmology, the myths, and the gods. Click the image to see the book at Amazon (paid link).


       Aristotle points out that the boundless of Anaximander could not have any beginning, or it would have a limit. Thereby follows also, that it cannot change significantly, in its own essence, but all the things of the world, formed out of it, still can — as can clearly be seen in Anaximander's cosmogony.


Anaximander


       Out of the boundless, the world was formed when the qualities of hot and cold arose:

       Something capable of generating Hot and Cold was separated off from the eternal (Boundless) in the formation of this world, and a sphere of fire from this source grew around the air about the earth like bark around a tree. When this sphere was torn off and closed up into certain circles, the sun and moon and stars came into being.

       The sea Anaximander regarded as a remaining first moisture, not dried up by the fire of the world formation. He seemed to believe that the sun continues to dry up the seas, so that in the future the earth will be barren. The primeval moisture also figures in his view that animals at first arose from moisture, later to move toward drier land, changing shape in the process — as did man: "In the beginning man was similar to a different animal, namely, a fish." About the earth he stated:

       The earth is aloft, not dominated by anything; it remains in place because of the similar distance from all points.

       Aristotle was deeply appreciative to this argument for why the earth did not seem to move at all, without being held by something else, explaining it: "a thing established in the middle, with a similar relationship to the extremes, has no reason to move up rather than down or laterally; but since it cannot proceed in opposite directions at the same time, it will necessarily remain where it is." The same is expressed by Socrates in Plato's Phaedo, where he says that he is "persuaded", not unlikely by the thoughts of Anaximander: "since the earth is round and in the middle of the heaven, it has no need either of Air or any other Necessity in order not to fall, but the similarity of the heaven to itself in every way and the equilibrium of the earth suffice to hold it still." Regarding the roundness of the earth, though, Anaximander sees it as a cylinder, "with a depth one third of its width".


Anaximander


       Anaximander's universe seems to have needed none of the divine forces acting in the myths of Homer and Hesiod. We have no statement of his regarding their existence, but their complete absence from his cosmology hints toward an atheistic view, or at least one where the gods have little to do with the fundamental processes of the world. They are instead given a mechanical order, which could be called astronomical, in the sense that the forces at work are contained within the universe and its natural substances.


Literature

Kahn, Charles H., Anaximander and the Origins of Greek Cosmology, New York 1960.


© Stefan Stenudd 2000



Search Amazon for books about Anaximander:


The Greek Philosophers.

The Greek Philosophers


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
The book


Aristotle

Aristotle


Introduction
Aristotle's Life
Timeline
Aristotle's Poetics
Aristotle's Cosmology


About Cookies


My Other Websites


CREATION MYTHS
Myths in general and myths of creation in particular.

TAOISM
The wisdom of Taoism and the Tao Te Ching, its ancient source.

LIFE ENERGY
An encyclopedia of life energy concepts around the world.

QI ENERGY EXERCISES
Qi (also spelled chi or ki) explained, with exercises to increase it.

I CHING
The ancient Chinese system of divination and free online reading.

TAROT
Tarot card meanings in divination and a free online spread.

ASTROLOGY
The complete horoscope chart and how to read it.

MY AMAZON PAGE

MY YOUTUBE AIKIDO

MY YOUTUBE ART

MY FACEBOOK

MY INSTAGRAM

MY TWITTER

STENUDD PÅ SVENSKA



Stefan Stenudd

Stefan Stenudd


About me
I'm a Swedish author of fiction and non-fiction books in both English and Swedish. I'm also an artist, a historian of ideas, and a 7 dan Aikikai Shihan aikido instructor. Click the header to read my full bio.