# Fame.am profile — machine-readable export
# Canonical URL: https://fame.am/person/melissus-of-samos
# Generated: 2026-09-01T12:47:03.640Z

schema: https://schema.org/Person
url: "https://fame.am/person/melissus-of-samos"
name: "Melissus of Samos"
slug: "melissus-of-samos"
description: "He commanded a war fleet and argued that nothing in the universe ever truly changes, moves, or divides — reality is one frozen eternal block, and always has been."
tagline: "5th-century BC Greek Eleatic philosopher"
image: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Melissus_Nuremberg_Chronicle.jpg"
gender: "male"
category:
  name: "Academics"
  slug: "academics"
profileType:
  name: "Academic"
  slug: "academic"
  entityType: "https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q39631"
birthDate: "-490"
deathDate: "-430"
livingStatus: "DECEASED"
scores:
  popularity:           56.61
  momentum:             10
  historical:           24.068472
  currentAttention:     30.76923076923077
  sourceConfidence:     60
  profileCompleteness:  60
  trendDirection:       "STABLE"
ranks:
  global:   null
  country:  null
  category: null
tags:
  - name: "Academics"
    slug: "academics"
  - name: "Academic"
    slug: "academic"
  - name: "Philosophy"
    slug: "philosophy"
  - name: "Ancient History"
    slug: "ancient-history"
sources:
  - url: "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q233711"
    title: "Wikidata"
    type:  "WIKIDATA"
  - url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melissus_of_Samos"
    title: "Wikipedia"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://pantheon.world/profile/person/Melissus%20of%20Samos"
    title: "Pantheon 2.0"
    type:  "DATABASE"
  - url: "https://az.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meliss"
    title: "Meliss"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9C%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B8%D1%81"
    title: "Мелис"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://bn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A6%AE%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%B8%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B8"
    title: "মেলিসাস"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://bs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melisus"
    title: "Melisus"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melissos_de_Samos"
    title: "Melissos de Samos"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melissos_ze_Samu"
    title: "Melissos ze Samu"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melissos"
    title: "Melissos"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melissos"
    title: "Melissos"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%9C%CE%AD%CE%BB%CE%B9%CF%83%CF%83%CE%BF%CF%82_%CE%BF_%CE%A3%CE%AC%CE%BC%CE%B9%CE%BF%CF%82"
    title: "Μέλισσος ο Σάμιος"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meliso_el_Samoso"
    title: "Meliso el Samoso"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meliso_de_Samos"
    title: "Meliso de Samos"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://eu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melisos_Samoskoa"
    title: "Melisos Samoskoa"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%85%D9%84%DB%8C%D8%B3%D9%88%D8%B3"
    title: "ملیسوس"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melissos"
    title: "Melissos"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%A9lissos"
    title: "Mélissos"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://gl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meliso_de_Samos"
    title: "Meliso de Samos"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%A1%D7%95%D7%A1"
    title: "מליסוס"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://hr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melis"
    title: "Melis"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Szamoszi_Melisszosz"
    title: "Szamoszi Melisszosz"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melissos"
    title: "Melissos"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://is.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melissos"
    title: "Melissos"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melisso_di_Samo"
    title: "Melisso di Samo"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://el.wikiquote.org/wiki/%CE%9C%CE%AD%CE%BB%CE%B9%CF%83%CF%83%CE%BF%CF%82_%CE%BF_%CE%A3%CE%AC%CE%BC%CE%B9%CE%BF%CF%82"
    title: "Wikiquote"
    type:  "WEBSITE"
  - url: "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Melissus_of_Samos"
    title: "Wikiquote"
    type:  "WEBSITE"
  - url: "https://it.wikiquote.org/wiki/Melisso_di_Samo"
    title: "Wikiquote"
    type:  "WEBSITE"
  - url: "https://pt.wikiquote.org/wiki/Melisso_de_Samos"
    title: "Wikiquote"
    type:  "WEBSITE"
  - url: "https://vi.wikiquote.org/wiki/Melissus_x%E1%BB%A9_Samos"
    title: "Wikiquote"
    type:  "WEBSITE"

# bio (long form, separated for readability)
bio: |
  Melissus of Samos lived in the 5th century BC and became the third and final voice of the Eleatic school, following Parmenides and Zeno. He led the Samian fleet during the Samian War, then turned his attention to systematic philosophy. His treatise expanded on Parmenides' claims: reality is ungenerated, indestructible, indivisible, changeless, and motionless. Melissus pushed further, insisting that what exists must be wholly unlimited and infinitely extended in all directions. Since existence has no boundary, he concluded, it must also be one. The position is severe and strange — a universe with no motion, no multiplicity, no becoming — but he built the case with care.