Person

Anaximenes

6th century BCE · 6th century BCE

Anaximenes of Miletus was a Greek philosopher of the 6th century BCE, the third member of the Milesian school after Thales and Anaximander. He held that air was the underlying substance of all things, turning into fire when rarefied and into wind, water, earth and stone when condensed. His explanation of change through physical processes rather than myth made him an important figure in early Greek natural philosophy.

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APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Anaximenes. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/anaximenes
MLA
“Anaximenes.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/anaximenes. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Anaximenes.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/anaximenes.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Anaximenes’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/anaximenes (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻