From the book
Stobaeus, Volume I
John Stobaeus · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Navel
ὀμφαλός
omphalosOmphalos is the navel and can refer to the umbilical connection in embryological contexts.
Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordOmphalos is the navel and can refer to the umbilical connection in embryological contexts.
- In StobaeusThe Timaeus locates a third kind of soul between diaphragm and navel and attributes that kind to plants.
- In this edition“Navel” suits the boundary; “umbilical cord” clarifies the nourishing connection where context requires it.
- A place to beginThe navel marks the lower boundary of a psychic region.
- English renderings
- navel; umbilical connection
Meaning
Omphalos is the navel and can refer to the umbilical connection in embryological contexts.
Use in the book
The Timaeus locates a third kind of soul between diaphragm and navel and attributes that kind to plants. The gestational report uses the word for the connection nourishing the embryo. The first provides a bodily boundary; the second describes a nutritive connection.
Places to read
Translation in this edition
“Navel” suits the boundary; “umbilical cord” clarifies the nourishing connection where context requires it.
Source note
Wachsmuth, volume I, printed pp. 294, 296. The plant passage grants perception and desire while denying opinion, reasoning, and intellect; it should not be replaced by a different later plant psychology.
From the book
Empedocles’ The Testimonia, Volume II
Empedocles of Acragas · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Navel
τοῖς ἐμβρύοις (tois embryois); συγκέκριται (synkekritai)
The Greek excerpt begins with a verb meaning is compounded; its subject, the navel, is supplied in brackets by the translation.
Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordThe Greek excerpt begins with a verb meaning is compounded; its subject, the navel, is supplied in brackets by the translation.
- In this workSoranus describes the umbilical structure as composed of four vessels, two venous and two arterial, carrying blood-like and breath-like material for fetal nourishment.
- In this editionThe English subject “[The navel]” is contextual supplementation.
- A place to readIntroduces the umbilical vessels and their nutritive function, then attributes liver insertion to Empedocles.
Meaning
The Greek excerpt begins with a verb meaning is compounded; its subject, the navel, is supplied in brackets by the translation. Embrya are embryos or developing offspring. A lexicon should not manufacture a Greek word for navel absent from this quoted passage.
Use in the book
Soranus describes the umbilical structure as composed of four vessels, two venous and two arterial, carrying blood-like and breath-like material for fetal nourishment. Only then does he attribute a specific claim to Empedocles: these vessels are implanted into the liver. Phaedrus instead places their destination in the heart. The distinction between Soranus' descriptive setup and the named disagreement is central. The passage securely makes Empedocles a participant in an account of fetal connection and nourishment, but it does not explicitly ascribe every preceding vessel count and classification to him. The navel's significance here is relational, connecting a developing body to a nutritive source and an internal organ. No detailed maternal anatomy or complete developmental mechanism is provided.
Places to read
- A 79 (testimony)Soranus, Gynaecology. Introduces the umbilical vessels and their nutritive function, then attributes liver insertion to Empedocles.
Translation in this edition
The English subject “[The navel]” is contextual supplementation. The edition's praise of the account as nearly correct should not be used to erase the difference between Soranus' own anatomy and the proposition assigned to Empedocles.