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Tag Archives: Empedocles

Empedocles, the Eccentric Philosopher

By Jocelyn Hitchcock, Contributing Writer, Classical Wisdom Empedocles, born c. 490 BCE in Akragas, Sicily, is perhaps one of the more eccentric pre-Socratic philosophers. He himself claimed other-worldly powers, is credited by Aristotle as the inventor of rhetoric, and is thought to have originated the cosmogonic theory of the four elements: fire, air, water, and

The Most Unbelievable Deaths of the Ancient World

Written by Visnja Bojovic, Contributing Writer, Classical Wisdom Never have I thought as much about how difficult being a judge must be, as when I was completing this difficult task of choosing only a few among the cornucopia of surprising and absurd deaths attested by ancient sources! A lot of things in our lives revolve

Love and Strife: Empedocles’ Universe

By David Hooker, Contributing Writer, Classical Wisdom Who hasn’t looked up into a sky full of stars and wondered what our place is in this vast universe? What is the nature of this environment we find ourselves living in? Are there underlying substances to this “stuff” that makes up our world? For the contemplative among

The Humours of Hippocrates: Which one are you?

If you had assumed that the theory of ‘humours’ had been unanimously relegated to the ‘didn’t work’ shelf of ancient philosophy, then… perhaps you’d be wrong. It appears that Hippocrates’ concept of a four chemical system that affect behavior is enjoying a bit of a revival. Recently the New York Times posted an article called,

Evolutionary Theory in Ancient Greece & Rome

By Jacob Bell, Associate Editor, Classical Wisdom When we hear the word evolution, we almost immediately think of Charles Darwin. After all, Darwin came up with the theory of evolution, didn’t he? Well, yes… kind of. He certainly popularized the theory of evolution by natural selection, but the roots of such a theory can be

Empedocles, the Eccentric Philosopher

By Jocelyn Hitchcock, Contributing Writer, Classical Wisdom Empedocles, born c. 490 BCE in Akragas, Sicily, is perhaps one of the more eccentric pre-Socratic philosophers. He himself claimed other-worldly powers, is credited by Aristotle as the inventor of rhetoric, and is thought to have originated the cosmogonic theory of the four elements: fire, air, water, and