Anaximan´der

an ancient Greek (Ionic) philosopher, was born at Miletus in 611 B.C. , and died 547. The fundamental principle of his philosophy is that the source of all things is an undefined substance infinite in quantity. The firmament is composed of heat and cold, the stars of air and fire. The sun occupies the highest place in the heavens, has a circumference twenty-eight times larger than the earth, and resembles a cylinder, from which streams of fire i ue. The moon is likewise a cylinder, nineteen times larger than the earth. The earth has the shape of a cylinder, and is placed in the midst of the universe, where it remains suspended. His philosophy is thus a step in advance of the theories of Thales, the conception of the Infinite, however vague, being superior to the idea of water constituting the first principle of all things. Anaximander occupied himself a great deal with mathematics and geography. To him is credited the invention of geographical maps and the first application of the gnomon or style fixed on a horizontal plane to determine the solstices and equinoxes.