From the book
Empedocles’ The Testimonia, Volume II
Empedocles of Acragas · Diotimos Editions · 2026
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At a Glance
- The wordDiabasis is a crossing or passage; here the phrase names Xerxes’ crossing as a poetic subject.
- In this workThe Life attributes to Empedocles a poem on Xerxes’ crossing alongside a prelude to Apollo.
- In this editionThe translation’s title “Crossing of Xerxes” is a useful rendering of the descriptive Greek.
- A place to readNames the Persian poem and distinguishes its intentional destruction from the accidental burning of the prelude.
Meaning
Diabasis is a crossing or passage; here the phrase names Xerxes’ crossing as a poetic subject. Persika means Persian matters or the Persian poem, while ateleiōta marks its unfinished condition.
Use in the book
The Life attributes to Empedocles a poem on Xerxes’ crossing alongside a prelude to Apollo. The report of destruction distinguishes accident from judgment: the prelude was burned unintentionally, but the Persian work deliberately because it was incomplete. This anecdote broadens the transmitted image of Empedocles beyond doctrinal poetry, while simultaneously explaining why the broader corpus was unavailable. Its usefulness is bibliographical and biographical, not evidential for the lost poem’s exact argument, political standpoint, or length. The subject alone does not authorize assigning Empedocles a definite interpretation of the Persian invasion. The conflicting identification of the relative as sister or daughter also marks the story’s instability. It should be preserved as a report of an attributed work, not treated as a known manuscript-destruction event witnessed at first hand.
Places to read
- A 1 §§ 56–58 (biography)2Diogenes Laertius VIII 57, reporting Aristotle, On Poets, and Hieronymus. Names the Persian poem and distinguishes its intentional destruction from the accidental burning of the prelude.
Translation in this edition
The translation’s title “Crossing of Xerxes” is a useful rendering of the descriptive Greek. The excerpt does not prove a fixed authorial title or identify which surviving ancient source supplied every detail of the burning story.