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How did Leucippus and Democritus begin the materialist tradition in Western philosophy?

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Bronze bust of Epicurus with a full beard and draped clothing, displayed on a round inscribed base at the National Archaeological Museum of Naples. — Materialism Epicurus, bronze bust from a Greek original, c. 280–270 bce; in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples.

The materialist tradition in Western philosophy is widely considered to have begun with the 5th-century BCE philosophers Leucippus and his pupil Democritus.1

Leucippus originated the theory of atomism by challenging the Parmenidean view that "nothing" cannot exist. He proposed that empty space (the void) exists alongside filled space, which consists of an infinite number of indivisible particles called atoms.12

Democritus expanded this foundation into a comprehensive system to explain the visible world. He posited that all phenomena result from the motion, collision, and configuration of these atoms in empty space. His materialist framework extended to human experience, suggesting that the soul is composed of smooth, round atoms and that perception is caused by the interaction of atoms from external objects with those in the soul. By explaining change as the rearrangement of unchanging atoms rather than the transformation of hidden qualities, they established a mechanical, materialist approach to understanding the cosmos, ethics, and human culture.12