570-475 B.C.

Greek Philosopher

Xenophanes was one of the first Greek philosophers to question the existence of multiple gods, and among the first to deny the possibility that any sort of knowledge could be either absolute or objective. In the second of these, he anticipated questions and philosophies that would arise again in future centuries and, in so doing, was influential in the philosophy of science.

Xenophanes was born in Colophon, Greece. He became a wandering poet in his mid-20s, and made his living in this manner until at least the age of 92. He mixed his poetry with philosophy and, in many of his recitations, he raised serious questions about the multiple deities of the Greek pantheon. This line of thought also led him to question what we know, how we know it, and whether anyone other than God could actually have objective and complete knowledge...