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Empedocles

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Empedocles

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Empedocles (; ; , 444–443 BC) was a Greek pre-Socratic philosopher and a native citizen of Akragas, a Greek city in Sicily. Empedocles' philosophy is known best for originating the cosmogonic theory of the four classical elements. He also proposed forces he called Love and Strife which would mix and separate the elements, respectively.

AI overview

Empedocles was an ancient Greek philosopher from Sicily who lived around 444–443 BC and is famous for proposing that all matter consists of four classical elements. He also introduced the ideas of two opposing forces—Love, which mixes the elements together, and Strife, which separates them—to explain how the world changes and takes different forms.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Person · Open Library

Born
490 BCE
Died
430 BCE
Works
29

Top works

  • Carmina
  • [Kapharmoi
  • Empedocles
  • The Fragments of Empedocles
  • Empedocles Agrigentinus

via Open Library + Wikidata

Music · MusicBrainz

Type
Group
Origin
Belgium
Active from
2003
Active to
2005

via MusicBrainz · CC0

Listeners · Last.fm

Listeners
34
Total plays
357

Tags

latinized name

Similar artists

RaymzterOpgeduveldSpacekees & TerilekstTerilekstDAC

<a href="https://www.last.fm/music/Empedocles">Read more on Last.fm</a>

via Last.fm · Empedocles

Quotes

  • τέσσαρα γὰρ πάντων ῥιζώματα πρῶτον ἄκουε·Ζεὺς ἀργὴς Ἥρη τε φερέσβιος ἠδ’ ἈιδωνεύςΝῆστίς θ’, ἥ δακρύοις τέγγει κρούνωμα βρότειον.
  • ἄλλο δέ τοι ἐρέω· φύσις οὐδενός ἐστιν ἁπάντωνθνητῶν, οὐδέ τις οὐλομένου θανάτοιο τελευτή,ἀλλὰ μόνον μίξις τε διάλλαξίς τε μιγέντωνἐστί, φύσις δ’ἐπὶ τοῖς ὀνομάζεται ἀνθρώποισιν.
  • νήπιοι· οὐ γάρ σφιν δολιχόφρονές εἰσι μέριμναι,οἵ δὴ γίγνεσθαι πάρος οὐκ ἐὸν ἐλπίζουσινἤ τι καταθνήισκειν τε καὶ ἐξόλλυσθαι ἁπάντηι.
  • οὐδέ τι τοῦ παντὸς κενεὸν πέλει οὐδὲ περισσόν.
  • ἧι γὰρ καὶ πάρος ἔσκε, καὶ ἔσσεται, οὐδέ ποτ’, οἴω,τούτων ἀμφοτέρων κενεώσεται ἄσπετος αἰών.
  • …καὶ δὶς γάρ, ὅ δεῖ, καλόν ἐστιν ἐνισπεῖν.

via Wikiquote · CC BY-SA

Key facts

Philosopher.region
Western philosophy
Philosopher.era
Pre-Socratic philosophy
Philosopher.image
Empedokles.jpeg
Philosopher.caption
Empedocles of Agrigentum
Philosopher.name
Empedocles
Philosopher.birth_place
Akragas, Sicily
Philosopher.main_interests
Cosmogony, biology
Philosopher.notable_ideas
Classical four elements: fire, air, earth and water Love and Strife as opposing physical forces

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Citizenship
Akragas
Place of birth
Akragas
Image
Empedocles. Line engraving, 1580. Wellcome V0001766.jpg
Show 8 more facts
date of birth
0492-00-00
Commons category
Empedocles
date of death
0434-00-00
name in native language
Ἐμπεδοκλῆς
start of work period
0477-00-00
end of work period
0432-00-00
significant place
Akragas
Sources (9)

via Wikidata · CC0

Works in European collections

14 objects attributed to Empedocles, held across European museums, libraries & archives · via Europeana

~14 min read

Article

13 sections
Contents
  • Life
  • Death and legacy
  • Philosophy
  • Cosmogony
  • Psychology
  • Writings
  • Notes
  • References
  • Bibliography
  • Ancient Testimony
  • References
  • Further reading
  • External links

Empedocles (; ; , 444–443 BC) was a Greek pre-Socratic philosopher and a native citizen of Akragas, a Greek city in Sicily. Empedocles' philosophy is known best for originating the cosmogonic theory of the four classical elements. He also proposed forces he called Love and Strife which would mix and separate the elements, respectively.

Empedocles challenged the practice of animal sacrifice and killing animals for food. He developed a distinctive doctrine of reincarnation. He is generally considered the last Greek philosopher to have recorded his ideas in verse. Some of his work survives, more than is the case for any other pre-Socratic philosopher. Empedocles' death was mythologized by ancient writers, and has been the subject of a number of literary treatments.

Gallery (19)

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