Abstract
In the writings of Anaximenes of Miletus, the air is mentioned in various important contexts. Traditionally, it should imply a close connection with the notion of the soul.
Given the nature of surviving texts, however, one could well claim that Anaximenes did not in fact speak of the soul. The present study shows that based on the texts of other archaic thinkers, one could nonetheless assume a certain concept of a soul associated with the air even in Anaximenes.
Against the background of textual evidence, the author demonstrates that Anaximenes most likely adopted a notion of air as an expression of life and in supposing a close link between soul, breath, and breeze followed the Ionian tradition.