PHILOSOPHER

Parmenides

501 BC - 470 BC

Parmenides

Parmenides of Elea (; Greek: Παρμενίδης ὁ Ἐλεάτης; fl. late sixth or early fifth century BC) was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher from Elea in Magna Graecia (Southern Italy). Parmenides was born in the Greek colony of Elea, from a wealthy and illustrious family. His dates are uncertain; according to doxographer Diogenes Laërtius, he flourished just before 500 BC, which would put his year of birth near 540 BC, but in the dialogue Parmenides Plato has him visiting Athens at the age of 65, when Socrates was a young man, c. 450 BC, which, if true, suggests a year of birth of c. 515 BC. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Parmenides has received more than 1,898,941 page views. His biography is available in 86 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 85 in 2019). Parmenides is the 32nd most popular philosopher (down from 30th in 2019), the 33rd most popular biography from Italy and the 3rd most popular Italian Philosopher.

Parmenides is most famous for his poem, "On Nature," in which he argues that the world of our experience is an illusion and that the only thing that truly exists is a changeless, eternal, and perfect sphere.

Memorability Metrics

1.9M
Page Views (PV)
81.40
Historical Popularity Index (HPI)
86
Languages Editions (L)
14.68
Effective Languages (L*)
3.03
Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among PHILOSOPHERS

Among philosophers, Parmenides ranks 32 out of 1,267. Before him are Averroes, Auguste Comte, Thomas Hobbes, Al-Ghazali, Erasmus, and Diogenes. After him are Baruch Spinoza, Anaximander, Al-Farabi, Martin Heidegger, Maria Montessori, and Plutarch.

Others Born in 501 BC

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Parmenides
PHILOSOPHER
501 BC - 470 BC
HPI: 81.40
Rank: 1
Exekias
DESIGNER
501 BC - 501 BC
HPI: 63.11
Rank: 2
Corinna
WRITER
501 BC - 501 BC
HPI: 61.76
Rank: 3

Others Deceased in 470 BC

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Heraclitus
PHILOSOPHER
535 BC - 470 BC
HPI: 86.35
Rank: 1
Parmenides
PHILOSOPHER
501 BC - 470 BC
HPI: 81.40
Rank: 2
Euphronios
POLITICIAN
520 BC - 470 BC
HPI: 60.43
Rank: 3

In Italy

Among people born in Italy, Parmenides ranks 33 out of 5,161. Before him are Giovanni Boccaccio (1313), Sandro Botticelli (1445), Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor (1768), Caligula (12), Alessandro Volta (1745), and Horace (-65). After him are Giacomo Puccini (1858), Niccolò Paganini (1782), Maria Montessori (1870), Titian (1488), Lorenzo de' Medici (1449), and Silvio Berlusconi (1936).

Others born in Italy

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Giovanni Boccaccio
WRITER
1313 - 1375
HPI: 82.77
Rank: 27
Sandro Botticelli
PAINTER
1445 - 1510
HPI: 82.63
Rank: 28
Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor
POLITICIAN
1768 - 1835
HPI: 82.61
Rank: 29
Caligula
POLITICIAN
12 - 41
HPI: 82.23
Rank: 30
Alessandro Volta
PHYSICIST
1745 - 1827
HPI: 81.97
Rank: 31
Horace
WRITER
65 BC - 8 BC
HPI: 81.49
Rank: 32
Parmenides
PHILOSOPHER
501 BC - 470 BC
HPI: 81.40
Rank: 33
Giacomo Puccini
COMPOSER
1858 - 1924
HPI: 81.39
Rank: 34
Niccolò Paganini
MUSICIAN
1782 - 1840
HPI: 80.95
Rank: 35
Maria Montessori
PHILOSOPHER
1870 - 1952
HPI: 80.95
Rank: 36
Titian
PAINTER
1488 - 1576
HPI: 80.91
Rank: 37
Lorenzo de' Medici
POLITICIAN
1449 - 1492
HPI: 80.57
Rank: 38
Silvio Berlusconi
POLITICIAN
1936 - 2023
HPI: 80.38
Rank: 39