PHILOSOPHER

Empedocles

490 BC - 430 BC

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Empedocles (; Ancient Greek: Ἐμπεδοκλῆς; c. 494 – c. 434 BC, fl. 444–443 BC) was a Greek pre-Socratic philosopher and a native citizen of Akragas, a Greek city in Sicily. Empedocles' philosophy is known best for originating the cosmogonic theory of the four classical elements. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Empedocles has received more than 1,604,402 page views. His biography is available in 82 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 77 in 2019). Empedocles is the 44th most popular philosopher (up from 51st in 2019), the 45th most popular biography from Italy (up from 56th in 2019) and the 5th most popular Italian Philosopher.

Empedocles is most famous for his theory of the four elements. He believed that everything was made up of four elements: earth, water, air, and fire.

Memorability Metrics

  • 1.6M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 83.01

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 82

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 13.82

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 3.07

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among PHILOSOPHERS

Among philosophers, Empedocles ranks 44 out of 1,267. Before him are Plutarch, Søren Kierkegaard, David Hume, Sun Tzu, Rajneesh, and Laozi. After him are Origen, Protagoras, Ludwig Wittgenstein, John Amos Comenius, Lucretius, and Hannah Arendt.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 490 BC, Empedocles ranks 1. After him are Phidias, Zeno of Elea, Nehemiah, Bacchylides, Archelaus I of Macedon, Agis II, Crateuas of Macedon, Hellanicus of Lesbos, Ion of Chios, Nepherites I, and Oenopides. Among people deceased in 430 BC, Empedocles ranks 1. After him are Phidias, Melissus of Samos, Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, and Archelaus.

Others Born in 490 BC

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Others Deceased in 430 BC

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In Italy

Among people born in Italy, Empedocles ranks 45 out of 5,161. Before him are Silvio Berlusconi (1936), Pontius Pilate (-12), Pope John Paul I (1912), Tiberius (-42), Donatello (1386), and Florence Nightingale (1820). After him are Gioachino Rossini (1792), Evangelista Torricelli (1608), Pope Pius IX (1792), Pope John XXIII (1881), Fibonacci (1170), and Pope Leo XIII (1810).

Others born in Italy

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Among PHILOSOPHERS In Italy

Among philosophers born in Italy, Empedocles ranks 5. Before him are Niccolò Machiavelli (1469), Thomas Aquinas (1225), Parmenides (-501), and Maria Montessori (1870). After him are Lucretius (-94), Zeno of Elea (-490), Pliny the Elder (23), Antonio Gramsci (1891), Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463), Boethius (480), and Tommaso Campanella (1568).

Italian born Philosophers

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