PHILOSOPHER

Democritus

460 BC - 360 BC

Photo of Democritus

Icon of person Democritus

Democritus (, dim-OCK-rit-əs; Greek: Δημόκριτος, Dēmókritos, meaning "chosen of the people"; c. 460 – c. 370 BC) was an Ancient Greek pre-Socratic philosopher from Abdera, primarily remembered today for his formulation of an atomic theory of the universe. Democritus wrote extensively on a wide variety of topics. None of Democritus' original work has survived, except through second-hand references. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Democritus has received more than 3,501,298 page views. His biography is available in 99 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 97 in 2019). Democritus is the 22nd most popular philosopher (down from 21st in 2019), the 11th most popular biography from Greece (down from 10th in 2019) and the 5th most popular Greek Philosopher.

Democritus is most famous for his atomic theory.

Memorability Metrics

  • 3.5M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 84.00

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 99

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 16.07

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 3.29

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among PHILOSOPHERS

Among philosophers, Democritus ranks 22 out of 1,267. Before him are Francis Bacon, Thomas Aquinas, John Locke, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Arthur Schopenhauer, and Montesquieu. After him are Epicurus, Seneca the Younger, Friedrich Engels, Averroes, Auguste Comte, and Thomas Hobbes.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 460 BC, Democritus ranks 2. Before him is Hippocrates. After him are Thucydides, Diogenes of Apollonia, Critias, Prodicus, and Verginia. Among people deceased in 360 BC, Democritus ranks 1. After him are Agesilaus II, Atropates, Agnodice, Lais of Corinth, Dinocrates, Campaspe, Aeschines of Sphettus, Artabazos II, Silanion, Polykleitos the Younger, and Lais of Hyccara.

Others Born in 460 BC

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Others Deceased in 360 BC

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In Greece

Among people born in Greece, Democritus ranks 11 out of 1,024. Before him are Pythagoras (-570), Homer (-800), Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881), Hippocrates (-460), Sophocles (-497), and Pericles (-494). After him are Epicurus (-341), El Greco (1541), Kösem Sultan (1590), Saint Stephen (1), Euripides (-480), and Aristophanes (-448).

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Among PHILOSOPHERS In Greece

Among philosophers born in Greece, Democritus ranks 5. Before him are Aristotle (-384), Plato (-427), Socrates (-470), and Pythagoras (-570). After him are Epicurus (-341), Plutarch (46), Protagoras (-486), Gorgias (-483), Theophrastus (-371), Antisthenes (-445), and Pyrrho (-365).

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