Thales of Miletus, one of the Seven Wise Men of Greece, was a pre-Socratic philosopher and scientist. He is traditionally considered the first Western philosopher and a founder of geometry and abstract astronomy. As a philosophical materialist, Thales theorized that water was the first principle of all things. He speculated that the Earth floated on water, and so proposed an explanation for earthquakes. A capable astronomer, Thales is said to have predicted what celestial phenomenon in 585 BCE? Discuss