Anaximander · Confucius Were Anaximander and Confucius alive at the same time? Yes. Anaximander and Confucius were alive at the same time, from c. 551 BC to c. 546 BC. AnaximanderPre-Socratic Greek philosopherBorn c. 610 BC · died c. 546 BCConfucius5th-century BCE Chinese philosopher and politicianBorn c. 551 BC · died c. 479 BC SolonAesopAnaximanderCyrus the GreatConfuciusDarius IAeschylusSophoclesPericles Anaximander and Confucius in bold, with some of their best-known contemporaries. Drag across to see the age each reached in any year. Faded ends mark uncertain dates.