ABSTRACT
It is possible that the School of Elea was founded solely by Parmenides; it is certain that he represents its fundamental doctrine in its most characteristic form, that Zenon of Elea only illustrated some of its consequences, that Melissos of Samos modified it without changing its spirit, and that, before Parmenides, the germ of the doctrine already existed in Xenophanes of Colophon. There is, therefore, every reason for not breaking up the traditional group of the “Eleatic race,” as Plato calls them, and for following the example of Aristotle in this matter. At least morally, Xenophanes is the father of Eleaticism, since he originated the doctrine of the oneness of being. 1
