From the book
Empedocles’ Complete Fragments, Volume I
Empedocles of Acragas · Diotimos Editions · 2026
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At a Glance
- The wordMegistō is a feminine name associated with greatness; the catalogue qualifies her as much-garlanded.
- In EmpedoclesThe catalogue carries Greatness from the end of its sixth line into the juxtaposition with Squalor at the start of the seventh.
- In this editionThe title follows the edition's “Greatness” and “Squalor.”
- A place to readMuch-garlanded Greatness is followed by Squalor across the line break.
Meaning
Megistō is a feminine name associated with greatness; the catalogue qualifies her as much-garlanded. Phoryē is rendered “Squalor.” The pair sets an honoured or imposing presence beside a degraded one, although the surviving words give no narrative cause for either condition.
Use in the book
The catalogue carries Greatness from the end of its sixth line into the juxtaposition with Squalor at the start of the seventh. Garlands provide the positive figure with a visible mark of distinction. They may be compared with the flourishing garlands of the speaker's honoured appearance in B112, without asserting that the same ceremony or status is intended.
The names alone do not establish a class hierarchy, an ethical judgment on material poverty, or a formula by which ritual adornment secures divine ascent. Such interpretations would turn the descriptive contrast into a doctrine not preserved here. The pair is most informative as part of the catalogue's range: alongside natural processes and movements, the poet personifies conditions of splendour and abasement.
Places to read
- B 122/123.6–7Much-garlanded Greatness is followed by Squalor across the line break.
- B 112.4–6The speaker’s garlands provide a comparison for visible honour, without identifying the personification.
Translation in this edition
The title follows the edition's “Greatness” and “Squalor.” The epithet “much-garlanded” belongs to Greatness, not to both names or to the entire catalogue.