Xenophanes was a sophist from Colophon, a city in Ionia. His most important work is known as the Poem on Nature. In this poem, Xenophanes describes the gods of the ancient Greeks. The poem is full of paradoxes and contradictions
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Xenophanes was a sceptic and a rationalist who did not believe in any gods at all. He did not believe that any of the gods existed, did not think that they were immortal, did not think that they could be seen, touched, or felt by human beings, and did not think that human beings could have any contact with them. Xenophanes wrote verses about Zeus, Hera, Ares, Athena, Aphrodite, Poseidon, Apollo, Demeter, Hermes, Ares and many other gods.
He claimed to have seen Zeus with his own eyes and to have heard him speak. But he also claimed that he saw no god at all.