From the book
Stobaeus, Volume I
John Stobaeus · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordMētēr is mother.
- In StobaeusThe cosmological description calls life-bearing earth the mistress and mother of animals.
- In this edition“Mother” retains the personifying image instead of flattening it into material alone.
- A place to beginEarth is called mother of the animals it bears.
- English renderings
- mother
Meaning
Mētēr is mother. Its metaphorical application can designate a sustaining or generative source.
Use in the book
The cosmological description calls life-bearing earth the mistress and mother of animals. Motherhood emphasizes earth’s relation to living things within a model that places it motionless at the center. The image does not by itself make earth identical with every named mother goddess.
Places to read
- I.40.1.2Earth is called mother of the animals it bears.
Translation in this edition
“Mother” retains the personifying image instead of flattening it into material alone.
Source note
Wachsmuth, volume I, printed pp. 255–256. The stationary central earth is part of this account’s cosmology, which differs from other models preserved in the volume.