Xenophanes was born in Colophon which was in between Ephesus and Smyrna. He lived a long life and died in his 92. Xenophanes was the first Pioneer of Enlightment Age in Greek World according to Prof. Dr. Ahmet Arslan. Few centuries later sophists would follow him and give importance to Morality and Culture instead of Nature and Existence as Xenophanes. But think makes Xenophanes important is his argues on Gods and their nature.
He noticed the intersubjectivity that may be created by humans in Homeros and Hesiod tales. In his famous quote;
But if cattle and horses and lions had hands
or could paint with their hands and create works such as men do,
horses like horses and cattle like cattle
also would depict the gods' shapes and make their bodies
of such a sort as the form they themselves have.
...
Ethiopians say that their gods are snub–nosed and black
Thracians that they are pale and red-haired…
So, Greek Philosophy which was started as an alternative description of universe, reached at its highest point and clearly rejected the divine intervention and gods.
On the other hand, Xenophanes was not an atheist, there must be a god in universe in his philosophy. However his god was completely different from Zeus and the others. His god was one eternal being, spherical in form, comprehending all things within himself, was the absolute mind and thought, therefore was intelligent, and moves all things, but bears no resemblance to human nature either in body or mind. On the other hand in his several quotes he describes God as same as nature.
So Xenophanes was the pioneer of Monotheists and Pantheists.
His the other influential philosophy was on epistemology. He was the first culture philosopher, as later Epicurus would develop, he argued that the civilization is the result of humans not gods. Humans gather information and build civilization.
