BornAbdera (Ávdhira, Greece), circa460 BCE
Died(Greece), circa370 BCE
Democritus’s intellectual interests spanned an enormous range, from the mathematical and physical nature of things to the ethical and social sphere.
Tradition holds that Democritus was born in the eightieth Olympiad (460–457 BCE) and lived to at least 90 years. Many sources give 460–370 BCE for his life span. It is reported that Leucippus , his teacher, was old when Democritus was at his height, and he tells us himself that he was a young man in Anaxagoras ’ old age, being 40 years his junior. Democritus was also a contemporary of Socrates.
Democritus was born into a wealthy family and chose to use his rather substantial inheritance to travel, study, and learn as much as possible. He traveled over much of the known world including Egypt, Persia, Babylon, and possibly even India. Everywhere he went, Democritus sought out men of learning and studied under their direction. According to Diogenes Laertius, as a young man...
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Mickelson, M.E. (2014). Democritus of Abdera. In: Hockey, T., et al. Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-9917-7_351
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