Xenophanes

Xenophanes of Colophon (c. 570–475 BCE) was a Greek poet and philosopher from Ionia whose surviving fragments illuminate an early shift from mythic to rational inquiry. He traveled widely and wrote in verse about religion, knowledge, and the nature of the divine.

He is best known for his critique of the anthropomorphic gods of Homer and Hesiod. Xenophanes argued that the gods do not resemble humans in form or behavior and that people tend to fashion deities in their own image. He pointed to cultural variations in religious pictures, noting that different peoples imagine gods in accordance with their own appearances and norms.

In addition to religious critique, Xenophanes advanced a proto-rational epistemology. He suggested that the true nature of the divine is unknown or beyond human understanding and warned against claiming certain knowledge of the gods or the world. Some fragments imply a conception of a single, supreme being who is not like mortals, a view that influenced later monotheistic and monistic tendencies, though exact interpretations remain debated.

Xenophanes' work helped shape early Greek thought by challenging traditional belief and encouraging critical inquiry. His emphasis on examining religious images and questioning ordinary assumptions is seen as a bridge between mythic tradition and the more systematic approach that characterizes later pre-Socratic philosophy, particularly the Eleatic school.