Empedocles

Circa 490-430 b.c.e.

Philosopher, statesman, poet

Sources

Beginnings . Like Pythagoras, the charismatic Empedocles was a magnet for legends; unlike Pythagoras, though, he might well himself have actively done all he could to encourage them. Born into an aristocratic family in Acragas, Sicily, around 490 b.c.e., he seems to have vigorously supported the democratic faction in the politics of his home city. The proximity of Acragas to Croton and Elea in southern Italy brought him into contact with both Parmenides and the Pythagoreans, and strong traces of their influence are evident in his own work.

Showman. A flashy and flamboyant showman, Empedocles is said to have traveled extensively through the western Mediterranean, dressed in expensive purple robes, bronze boots, and a golden crown. He professed extraordinary power over the natural world, as well as the means to perform miraculous cures. While Aristotle hailed him as the inventor of rhetoric, Galen regarded him as the founder of Italian medicine. Nothing remains of his writings except for brief sections from two poems, On Nature and Purifications.

Four Elements. Empedocles maintained that all matter is composed of Fire, Air, Water, and Earth, and these four ingredients, in turn, are governed by Love and Strife. In addition, Empedocles believed in the transmigration of souls, declaring that those who have sinned must wander the earth in various mortal bodies for thirty thousand seasons and perform purifying acts such as abstaining from eating animal flesh. According to legend, Empedocles died after jumping into the volcanic crater atop Mount Etna in an attempt to convince others of his divinity.

Sources

Jonathan Barnes, The Presocratic Philosophers, volume 2 (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1979).

Helle Lambridis, Empedocles: A Philosophical Investigation (Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1976).