Diogenes of Apollonia facts for kids

Diogenes of Apollonia (/daɪˈɒdʒɪniːz/ DY-oj-IN-eez; Ancient Greek: Διογένης ὁ Ἀπολλωνιάτης, romanized: Diogénēs ho Apollōniátēs; lived in the 5th century BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher. He came from a Greek colony called Apollonia in Thrace. He also lived in Athens for some time.

Diogenes believed that air was the single most important thing. He thought everything else came from air. He also believed air was intelligent and even divine. Besides philosophy, he wrote about how blood vessels are organized in the human body. His ideas were even made fun of in plays by Aristophanes.

Who Was Diogenes of Apollonia?

Diogenes was born in Apollonia Pontica. This city is now known as Sozopol in modern-day Bulgaria. His father's name was Apollothemis. We don't know much about his life. We only know he spent some time living in Athens.

Some stories say he faced serious trouble in Athens. But this might be a mix-up with another philosopher named Anaxagoras. Like other early natural philosophers, he wrote in the Ionic Greek language.

Diogenes' Main Ideas

Diogenes is seen as one of the last "natural philosophers." These thinkers tried to understand the world through nature. He combined ideas from earlier philosophers. He believed that air was the main thing that created and controlled everything. He thought air was a divine and intelligent force.

Air as the Source of Everything

Like another philosopher named Anaximenes, Diogenes thought air was the origin of all things. He believed other substances were formed from air. This happened as air became thicker (condensed) or thinner (rarefied).

He also added ideas from his time, like those of Anaxagoras. Diogenes said that air, the first force, was intelligent. He wrote: "It seems to me that what has thought is what people call air. And by this, everyone is controlled and has power over everything. For this seems to me to be god. It has reached everything and arranges everything and is in everything. And there is not a single thing that does not share in it."

Diogenes believed the universe was made of air. This air was endless and eternal. As it changed, it created different forms of matter. He also thought there were countless worlds and empty spaces. He believed nothing could come from nothing or disappear completely. He also thought the Earth was round and was shaped by warm air spinning around.

Understanding the Human Body

One of Diogenes' most important surviving writings is about the human body. Aristotle included a part of it in his book History of Animals. This writing describes how blood vessels are spread throughout the human body.

This part of his work is special. It shows a real attempt to describe the physical world in a scientific way. This is something we often only hear about indirectly from other early philosophers.

What Diogenes Wrote

Sadly, none of Diogenes' complete works have survived. Most of what we know comes from a later philosopher named Simplicius. Simplicius quoted long parts of Diogenes' work. He did this in his own writings about Aristotle's Physics.

It's not clear to experts today if Diogenes wrote several books. He might have written "On Nature," "On the Nature of Man," "Meteorology," and "Against the Sophist." Or, he might have written just one big book called On Nature that covered all these topics.

Diogenes' Influence

Many experts believe that some of Diogenes' ideas influenced the play The Clouds by Aristophanes. In this play, Socrates is shown in a way that seems to borrow from Diogenes' views.

Interestingly, a type of meteorite is named after Diogenes of Apollonia. This is because he was one of the first to suggest that meteorites came from outer space. He said: "With the visible stars revolve stones which are invisible, and for that reason nameless. They often fall on the ground and are extinguished, like the stone star that came down on fire at Aegospotami."

See also

In Spanish: Diógenes de Apolonia para niños