Heraclitus

Heraclitus lived in Ephesus in 535/475 BC and was a Philosopher before Socrates. His father was Bloson. He was descended from a noble family. There isn’t much detail about his life but we know him from his thoughts and fragments. He is the most important philosopher of Ephesus and Ionian period. He was sometimes retreated in the Temple of Artemis which is one of the Seven Word Wonders today.

According to Diogenes, Heraclitus was an extraordinary person even when he was a child. When he was young, he said he hadn’t known anything and "I had explored myself", "There was no limit of the soul".

Heraclitus is the first philosopher that we have the most fragments. His work’s name is called "On Nature". According to Diogenes his work is derived of three parts. First part is about the Universe and the others are about politics and theology. This work consist of a plain text with the expressions reminiscent proverbs.

According to Heraclitus of Ephesus everything came from fire and is going back to fire again. He says fire will judge everything. Even the things derived of fire change, the fire itself never changes. It is always the fire of existence. Fire and elements turn to each other in a certain measure. This transition occurs the cosmic ordering.

 

His most famous quote is "You could not step twice into the same river; for other waters are ever flowing on to you". Ancient Ephesus City was located near Cayster River and this river was connected to the Aegean Sea. The silt brought in by the river and blocked the connection between Ephesus and the sea. Both the commercial life of Ephesus was affected and the swap that was occurred, caused malaria.