From the book
Empedocles’ Complete Fragments, Volume I
Empedocles of Acragas · Diotimos Editions · 2026
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At a Glance
- The wordAgalma, represented here by the plural agalmasin, can name an object of honour or delight; the edition renders it “images.”
- In EmpedoclesB1282 places pious images and painted figures among the ways people propitiate Cypris.
- In this edition“Images” and “figures” are the translation's choices.
- A place to readImages and painted figures are offered to Cypris.
Meaning
Agalma, represented here by the plural agalmasin, can name an object of honour or delight; the edition renders it “images.” The following phrase specifies painted zōia, rendered “figures.” It should not be silently narrowed to a modern category of paintings or expanded into a fixed medium such as wooden panels.
Use in the book
B1282 places pious images and painted figures among the ways people propitiate Cypris. The surviving line does not determine whether the two expressions name separate classes of gift or whether the second elaborates the first. In either case, made representations belong to the affirmative picture of bloodless worship, together with perfumes, incense, and honey.
B232's comparison with painters decorating votive objects makes a useful parallel: art is already a model for the formation of many visible shapes out of a few mixed ingredients. The ritual and physical images should not be merged into a single workshop scene, but both credit crafted representations with serious explanatory or devotional work. The text does not condemn images as deceptive merely because they are made; their piety or usefulness depends on their context.
Places to read
Translation in this edition
“Images” and “figures” are the translation's choices. They do not establish that every object depicts an animal, a divine statue, or a substitute sacrificial victim. The material and precise subjects remain unspecified.