Xenophanes was born in somewhere between 540-580 bc in Colophone, Iona,
Ancient Greece. 1His ideas and writings, primarily preserved in fragments and
quotations from later philosophers, offer valuable insights into his thought on the
concept of God and the ultimate reality (arche). Xenophanes (Stanford Encyclopedia of
Philosophy/Spring 2017 Edition) Xenophanes' philosophical journey is a reflection of his
intellectual curiosity and keen observations about the natural world, as well as a critique
of the polytheistic religious beliefs of his time.During this time, Xenophanes lived in a
polytheistic world, a time when the Greek world was steeped in polytheism, with gods
and goddesses attributed to various aspects of human existence and the natural world.
2Xenophanes | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (utm.edu)According to the internet
encyclopdia of Philosophy, Xenophanes “is most commonly remembered for his
critiques of popular religion, particularly false conceptions of the divine that are a
byproduct of the human propensity to anthropomorphize deities.” His philosophical
endeavors were shaped by the polytheistic religious climate of his era. Xenophanes
embarked on a quest to explore the ultimate reality that underpinned the diverse
polytheistic deities and to articulate a more unified concept of God. This paper aims to
provide a philosophical exposition of Xenophanes' ideas concerning the ultimate reality
and his contribution to the development of monotheism in ancient Greek thought.
Xenophanes' Quest for Ultimate Reality
Xenophanes began his philosophical journey by critiquing the prevailing
anthropomorphic representation of gods in ancient Greece. He noted that gods were
often portrayed in the likeness of humans, with human characteristics and flaws.
Xenophanes criticized these anthropomorphic depictions, emphasizing that if horses
had gods, they would likely imagine them as horses, and the same applied to other
animals. This observation laid the foundation for his exploration of an ultimate reality
beyond the anthropomorphic representations of gods.
According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (SEP), Xenophanes'
criticism of anthropomorphism was a key aspect of his philosophy. He argued that such
representations were limited and suggested that a more abstract and transcendent
concept of God was necessary to understand the ultimate reality.
