Confucius · Pindar Were Confucius and Pindar alive at the same time? Yes. Confucius and Pindar were alive at the same time, from 517 BC to c. 479 BC. Confucius5th-century BCE Chinese philosopher and politicianBorn c. 551 BC · died c. 479 BCPindar5th-century BC Greek lyric poetBorn 517 BC · died 437 BC AnaximanderCyrus the GreatConfuciusAeschylusPindarSophoclesPericlesHerodotusSocratesHippocrates Confucius and Pindar 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.