Pherecydes of Syros

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Pherekydes of Syros ( Greek Φερεκύδης Pherekýdēs ; * between 584 and 581 BC on the island of Syros ) was an ancient Greek mythographer and cosmologist in the time of the pre-Socratics .

life and work

The earlier controversial question of Pherecyde's lifetime has now been resolved, since the birth can be dated to the 49th Olympiad (period 584-581 BC). He was a somewhat younger contemporary of the Seven Wise Men . According to ancient - probably credible - tradition, he was the first Greek prose writer. His relationship with Anaximander , who probably wrote a text a little later, is unclear . Furthermore, there is no credible information about his life; only legends have survived.

Pherecydes wrote a book about the gods that has not survived. The first words are quoted by the doxographer Diogenes Laertios (3rd century AD), to whom it was still accessible. Much can be deduced from later sources and a papyrus fragment.

Doctrine of Gods and Cosmology

Pherecydes assumed that three deities exist forever: Zas ( Zeus ), Chronos and the earth deity Chthonie. Whether Pherecydes equated the god of time Chronos with the god Kronos , whom he mentions elsewhere, or meant two different gods, or a mix-up of the two in the handwritten tradition, is disputed. The main question is whether, within the framework of the Greek mentality of the 6th century BC, It was conceivable to assign such a role to a god who embodied the abstract principle of time. Chronos produced three elements from his own seed: fire, air (wind) and water. The secondary, not eternal deities emerged from the elements.

Zeus married the earth deity who was now named Gē ( Gaia ); that was the first wedding and the archetype of all weddings. Zeus unveiled his bride, entrusting the earthly world by handing her a custom-built by himself cloth (robe) on which the Earth and the primordial ocean "Ogenos" ( Okeanos ) were woven. Only through this garment did the physical world acquire its familiar shape. The robe not only represented the surface of the earth, it was it; in this mythical thinking, image and thing were the same.

In addition, Pherecydes told of a battle between two gods and their armies, which concerned the possession of heaven; As the leader of the heavenly powers, Kronos fought against the earth-born serpent god Ophioneus (Ophion) and his descendants. The battle ended with a victory for Kronos, Ophioneus and his fellow combatants were hurled into the ocean, where they remained permanently. Then the individual deities received their shares (areas of responsibility).

Soul teaching

The Roman writer Cicero reports that Pherecydes was the first to hold the view that the soul is immortal. According to a communication by the scholar Porphyrios , Pherecyde's doctrine of the transmigration of souls was associated with the concept of survival after death . This information from the sources is considered credible in research; Pherecydes is the first author known by name to present such a concept of the soul in a textbook. However, the continued existence of the soul after the death of the body was a matter of course for Homer .

reception

The Pherecytes legends of antiquity classified as unbelievable by today's research include the following claims:

  • He is said to have set a solstice marker.
  • He is said to have made prophetic statements and, among other things, predicted an earthquake.
  • He is said to have been killed by the Spartans , whereupon the kings there, following an oracle, kept his skin.
  • He is said to have been a pupil of Pittakos .
  • He is said to have been the teacher of Pythagoras of Samos (an assertion that is probably connected with the agreement between the two in the doctrine of the soul). When he was terminally ill on the island of Delos , Pythagoras is said to have cared for him there and then arranged for his burial. The historical starting point of this legend is some kind of relationship between Pherecytes and Pythagoras.
  • He is said to have corresponded with Thales ; the alleged correspondence is forged.

According to the Viennese philologist Karin Zeleny , the famous painting The Three Philosophers by the Renaissance painter Giorgione , created around 1506, shows Pythagoras, Pherecydes and Thales, where Pherecydes is depicted as an oriental, as his nickname Syrios ("of Syros") means Syrian origin was misunderstood. Zeleny's hypothesis, however, met with skepticism.

literature

  • Constantinos Macris, Richard Goulet: Phérécyde de Syros . In: Richard Goulet (ed.): Dictionnaire des philosophes antiques , Vol. 5, Part 1, CNRS Éditions, Paris 2012, ISBN 978-2-271-07335-8 , pp. 296-300
  • Hermann S. Schibli: Pherekydes of Syros . Clarendon Press, Oxford 1990, ISBN 0-19-814383-4 (contains pp. 140–175 a compilation of the Greek and Latin source references and fragments with English translation, addenda p. 178f.)

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ Hermann S. Schibli: Pherekydes of Syros , Oxford 1990, pp. 1f.
  2. ↑ On the priority of Pherecytes see Hermann S. Schibli: Pherecydes of Syros , Oxford 1990, pp. 2–4; the sources according to which he was the first prose author are compiled there.
  3. ↑ Kurt von Fritz : Pherekydes (Mythograph) . In: Pauly-Wissowa RE 19/2, Stuttgart 1938, Sp. 2025-2033, here: 2028f .; Hermann S. Schibli: Pherekydes of Syros , Oxford 1990, pp. 27ff., 136-139.
  4. ↑ Luisa Breglia: Ferecide di Siro tra orfici e Pitagorici . In: Marisa Tortorelli Ghidini (ed.): Tra Orfeo e Pitagora , Napoli 2000, p. 179ff.
  5. ^ Hermann Fränkel : Poetry and Philosophy of Early Hellenism , 3rd Edition, Munich 1969, p. 280; Hermann S. Schibli: Pherekydes of Syros , Oxford 1990, p. 50ff.
  6. ↑ Cicero, Tusculanae disputationes 1,16,38.
  7. ↑ Porphyrios, De antro nympharum 31; Text and English translation by Hermann S. Schibli: Pherekydes of Syros , Oxford 1990, p. 174f. (No. 88).
  8. ↑ Hermann S. Schibli: Pherekydes of Syros , Oxford 1990, pp. 104-127.
  9. ↑ See also Kurt von Fritz: Pherekydes (Mythograph) . In: Pauly-Wissowa RE 19/2, Stuttgart 1938, Sp. 2025-2033, here: 2025f .; Geoffrey S. Kirk: Pherecytes of Syros . In: Geoffrey S. Kirk, John E. Raven, Malcolm Schofield: Die vorsokratischen Philosophen , Stuttgart 1994, pp. 59-61.
  10. ↑ On the unreliability of this tradition, see Richard Goulet: Phérécyde, disciple de Pittacos ou maître de Pythagore? In: Richard Goulet: Études sur les Vies de philosophes dans l'antiquité tardive , Paris 2001, pp. 137–144.
  11. ↑ Kurt von Fritz: Pherekydes (Mythograph) . In: Pauly-Wissowa RE 19/2, Stuttgart 1938, Sp. 2025-2033, here: 2027f .; Hermann S. Schibli: Pherekydes of Syros , Oxford 1990, pp. 11-13.
  12. ↑ Peter Daniel Moser: Again on the "Three Philosophers". Has the Giorgione code in the Kunsthistorisches Museum really been cracked? In: Otto Neumaier (ed.): What can be learned from mistakes in everyday life, science and art , Vienna 2010, pp. 157–192.
personal data
SURNAME Pherecydes of Syros
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Φερεκύδης (Greek)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Greek mythographer and cosmologist
DATE OF BIRTH between 584 BC BC and 581 BC Chr.
PLACE OF BIRTH Syros
DATE OF DEATH 6th century BC Chr.