Thales Of Miletus | About One Of The Seven Sages Of Greece

THALES OF MILETUS – In this topic, we are going to know and learn about Thales of Miletus, one of the seven sages of Greece.

Born circa 624–620, he is well known primarily for his cosmology based on water which, according to him, is the essence of all matter, with Earth a flat disk floating on a vast sea.

He was included in the title due to his idealization, and numerous acts and sayings, in which among them include “Know thyself” and “Nothing in excess.”.

The Encyclopedia Britannica said that he was a practical statesman and an advocate of the federation of the Ionian cities of the Aegean region.

The wiseman also advised navigators to steer by the Little Bear (Ursa Minor) than the Great Bear (Ursa Major). This is due to Thales being of Phoenician descent. Phoenicians use Ursa Minor due to it being an excellent guide to true north.

Thales has been credited with the discovery of five theorems in geometry. A theorem, by definition, is a statement that can be demonstrated to be true by accepted mathematical operations and arguments.

The following theorems discovered by Thales are:

that a circle is bisected by its diameter
that angles in a triangle opposite two sides of equal length are equal
that opposite angles formed by intersecting straight lines are equal
that the angle inscribed inside a semicircle is a right angle
that a triangle is determined if its base and the two angles at the base are given.

As mentioned, Thales was the first to suggest a single material substratum (element) for the universe, specifically water or moisture.

He also held that all things are full of goods and magnetic objects possess souls by virtue of their capacity to move iron.