From the book
Stobaeus, Volume I
John Stobaeus · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Circular motion
περιφορά
periphoraPeriphora denotes a circular course or revolution and can name the circuit itself.
Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordPeriphora denotes a circular course or revolution and can name the circuit itself.
- In StobaeusOne notice calls heaven the outermost circuit around earth.
- In this edition“Circuit” may describe a course or boundary rather than assert an additional rotation.
- A place to beginHeaven is described as the outermost circuit.
- English renderings
- circular motion; revolution; circuit
Meaning
Periphora denotes a circular course or revolution and can name the circuit itself. A fixed center need not imply an absence of movement.
Use in the book
One notice calls heaven the outermost circuit around earth. The Aristotelian report describes aether as unchanging in substance while moving in a circle around the center. Hermes’ dialogue uses the Bears to show movement that turns about the same point and is bounded by stillness. These passages distinguish the route of motion from the change of what moves.
Places to read
Translation in this edition
“Circuit” may describe a course or boundary rather than assert an additional rotation. The first notice does not say that earth itself revolves.
Source note
Wachsmuth, volume I, printed pp. 164, 200–201.
From the book
Empedocles’ The Testimonia, Volume II
Empedocles of Acragas · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Rotation
περιφορᾶς (periphoras); ῥύμηι (rhymēi); δίνη (dinē)
Περιφορά is carrying round or revolution; ῥύμη here is its force or rush.
Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordΠεριφορά is carrying round or revolution; ῥύμη here is its force or rush.
- In this workAëtius describes earth being squeezed exceedingly tightly by the force of rotation, so that water gushes out; subsequent exhalation produces air.
- In this editionThe vortex form occurs in the editorial discussion here.
- A place to readMakes rotational force squeeze water from earth.
Meaning
Περιφορά is carrying round or revolution; ῥύμη here is its force or rush. The edition identifies the process with δίνη, a vortex, in its commentary. The distinction matters because δίνη is not the actual word in the printed Aëtius quotation at A49.
Use in the book
Aëtius describes earth being squeezed exceedingly tightly by the force of rotation, so that water gushes out; subsequent exhalation produces air. Philo’s parallel account places compacted earth in the middle while lighter aether turns around it without ceasing. The reports agree on a moving cosmic arrangement, but their particular sequences and mechanisms are not identical.
Rotation is therefore explanatory, not merely scenic. It supplies the pressure that sorts or releases material, linking large-scale movement to the differentiation of the world. Nevertheless, a modern centrifugal or gravitational reconstruction would go beyond what the testimony specifies. The Greek says that earth is strongly compressed by the rotational rush; it does not give equations or a complete force analysis.
A30 also describes two hemispheres carried around the earth and motion beginning through a massing of fire. Those details are relevant parallels, but the passage’s damaged and displaced Greek cautions against welding them into an exact continuous mechanism with A49.
Places to read
- A 49 (testimony)Aëtius II 6,3. Makes rotational force squeeze water from earth.
- A 49 (testimony)Philo, De providentia II 60. Describes lighter aether revolving around centrally gathered earth.
- A 49 (apparatus)Modern editor, commentary on the cosmogonic sequence. Identifies the rotation with the vortex word δίνη as a contextual connection to Empedoclean language.
Translation in this edition
The vortex form occurs in the editorial discussion here. Philo’s Latin is mediated through Armenian and cannot establish exact original Greek motion vocabulary.