From the book
Empedocles’ The Testimonia, Volume II
Empedocles of Acragas · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordThe witnesses use several footwear terms: embatai, krēpides, sandal, and the generic hypodēmata.
- In this workThe fuller costume account and Aelian’s brief notice make bronze footwear part of Empedocles’ striking appearance.
- In this editionThe edition treats agreement on footwear as firm corroboration, but dependence among the traditions is unresolved.
- A place to readLists bronze boots within the public costume.
Meaning
The witnesses use several footwear terms: embatai, krēpides, sandal, and the generic hypodēmata. Bronze is the stable material motif. Rendering every occurrence “sandal” smooths over lexical variation, though the narrative role is often the same.
Use in the book
The fuller costume account and Aelian’s brief notice make bronze footwear part of Empedocles’ striking appearance. Hippobotus’ crater story then converts one item into an incriminating trace: the fire casts it out after the body vanishes. The Suda repeats the exposed-sandal motif as settled narrative, whereas Strabo treats it as a story generated by the volcano’s spectacle. The detail’s material vividness makes it persuasive within a tale but does not make it independent archaeological evidence. No surviving shoe is presented or authenticated in the dossier. The narrative also turns a badge of distinction against its wearer: the unusual costume that helps create divine reputation supplies the clue that defeats concealment. That reversal explains the motif’s literary effectiveness without establishing its factual occurrence.
Places to read
- A 1 §§ 73–74 (biography)2Diogenes Laertius VIII 72–73. Lists bronze boots within the public costume.
- A 1 §§ 69–70 (legend)Diogenes Laertius VIII 69, reporting Hippobotus. Makes the ejected footwear expose the attempted disappearance.
- A 16 (reception)Strabo, Geography. Places the trace outside the crater while framing the account as storytelling.
- A 18 (biography)Aelian, Historical Miscellany. Gives the concise purple-and-bronze costume notice.
- A 2 (legend)The Suda. Uses the sandal term and repeats the account of the fire casting the footwear out.
Translation in this edition
The edition treats agreement on footwear as firm corroboration, but dependence among the traditions is unresolved. The lexical diversity and changed narrative functions should be preserved rather than combined into a single material description.