# Anaximenes of Miletus

> The last of philosophy's first trio—Thales said water, Anaximander said infinity, and Anaximenes said air. Everything you see, he argued, is just breath at different densities: squeeze it into stone, thin it into fire.

*Greek Ionian Pre-Socratic philosopher (c.586–c.526 BC)*

**Canonical URL:** https://fame.am/person/anaximenes-of-miletus

## Identity
- **Profile type:** Academic ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q39631))
- **Category:** Academics
- **Country:** Turkey
- **Born:** -585
- **Died:** -525
- **Status:** deceased
- **Gender:** male

## Bio

Anaximenes worked in Miletus around 585–525 BC, likely taught by Anaximander, closing out the city's run as the birthplace of Western philosophy. Where his predecessors hunted for the universe's basic element, he landed on air—the arche from which all matter springs. His system was elegant: condensation turns air into wind, cloud, water, earth, stone; rarefaction thins it toward fire. He pictured a flat Earth floating on air, the Sun a disk circling overhead, hidden at night by distant peaks. None of his writings survived. Later thinkers—Heraclitus, Anaxagoras, Diogenes—carried his ideas forward, but modern accounts tend to rank him below Thales and Anaximander, the names that opened the door.

## Fame
- **Popularity score:** 67.1 / 100
- **Momentum:** 15.0 / 100  (trend: STABLE)
- **Historical depth:** 24.3 / 100
- **Now attention:** 0.3 / 100
- **Source confidence:** 60.0 / 100
- **Profile completeness:** 70.0 / 100
- **Country rank:** #139
- **Category rank:** #224

## Topics
#Academics, #Academic, #Philosophy, #Astronomy, #Literature, #Ancient History

## Sources
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q80612)
- [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaximenes_of_Miletus)
- [Pantheon 2.0](https://pantheon.world/profile/person/Anaximenes%20of%20Miletus)
- [اناكسيمينس](https://arz.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%83%D8%B3%D9%8A%D9%85%D9%8A%D9%86%D8%B3)
- [Anaksimen](https://az.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaksimen)
- [Анаксымэн](https://be_x_old.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D0%BD%D0%B0%D0%BA%D1%81%D1%8B%D0%BC%D1%8D%D0%BD)
- [Анаксімен](https://be.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D0%BD%D0%B0%D0%BA%D1%81%D1%96%D0%BC%D0%B5%D0%BD)
- [Анаксимен](https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D0%BD%D0%B0%D0%BA%D1%81%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%B5%D0%BD)
- [মিলেতুসের আনাক্সিমেনিস](https://bn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A6%AE%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%B2%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%A4%E0%A7%81%E0%A6%B8%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%B0_%E0%A6%86%E0%A6%A8%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%95%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%B8%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%AE%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%A8%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%B8)
- [Anaksimen](https://bs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaksimen)
- [Anaxímenes](https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anax%C3%ADmenes)
- [ئاناکسیمینیس](https://ckb.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A6%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%A7%DA%A9%D8%B3%DB%8C%D9%85%DB%8C%D9%86%DB%8C%D8%B3)
- [Anaximenés](https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaximen%C3%A9s)
- [Anaximenes](https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaximenes)
- [Anaximenes](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaximenes)
- [Αναξιμένης](https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%91%CE%BD%CE%B1%CE%BE%CE%B9%CE%BC%CE%AD%CE%BD%CE%B7%CF%82)
- [Anaksimeno el Mileto](https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaksimeno_el_Mileto)
- [Anaxímenes](https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anax%C3%ADmenes)
- [Anaximenes](https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaximenes)
- [Anaximenes](https://eu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaximenes)
- [آناکسیمنس](https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A2%D9%86%D8%A7%DA%A9%D8%B3%DB%8C%D9%85%D9%86%D8%B3)
- [Anaksimenes](https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaksimenes)
- [Anaximène](https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaxim%C3%A8ne)
- [Anaxímenes de Mileto](https://gl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anax%C3%ADmenes_de_Mileto)
- [Anaximenes na Miletus](https://ha.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaximenes_na_Miletus)
- [Wikiquote](https://el.wikiquote.org/wiki/%CE%91%CE%BD%CE%B1%CE%BE%CE%B9%CE%BC%CE%AD%CE%BD%CE%B7%CF%82)
- [Wikiquote](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Anaximenes_of_Miletus)
- [Wikiquote](https://fr.wikiquote.org/wiki/Anaxim%C3%A8ne)
- [Wikiquote](https://it.wikiquote.org/wiki/Anassimene_di_Mileto)
- [Wikiquote](https://li.wikiquote.org/wiki/Anaximenes)

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