From the book
Empedocles’ The Testimonia, Volume II
Empedocles of Acragas · Diotimos Editions · 2026
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At a Glance
- The wordProoimion is a prelude or opening composition; eis Apollōna identifies its divine addressee.
- In this workThe Life lists the Apollo prelude among additional poems associated with Empedocles’ poetic skill.
- In this editionThe apparatus to A 22–23 asserts identity with the burned hymn more firmly than the excerpts warrant.
- A place to readNames the prelude and the story of accidental destruction.
Meaning
Prooimion is a prelude or opening composition; eis Apollōna identifies its divine addressee. The term need not mean that the surviving physical poem began with this lost piece.
Use in the book
The Life lists the Apollo prelude among additional poems associated with Empedocles’ poetic skill. It reports that a female relative burned it accidentally, while deliberately burning the unfinished Persian poem. The relative’s identity varies between sister and daughter, with Hieronymus attached to the latter account. This is a concrete narrative of loss, but no lines of the prelude are quoted in the passage. Menander’s description of natural-philosophical hymns gives Apollo as an example of a deity explained as a natural power. The edition identifies his reference with the burned prelude; that is a possibility, not a demonstrated transmission path. A generic example of hymn interpretation is not sufficient evidence that Menander read this particular poem, much less that a complete text survived its reported burning.
Places to read
- A 1 §§ 56–58 (biography)2Diogenes Laertius VIII 57, reporting Aristotle, On Poets, and Hieronymus. Names the prelude and the story of accidental destruction.
- A 22–A 23 (reception)Menander Rhetor. Classifies natural hymns through interpretations of Apollo and other gods.
Translation in this edition
The apparatus to A 22–23 asserts identity with the burned hymn more firmly than the excerpts warrant. The lexicon distinguishes the attributed work from Menander’s genre example.