From the book
Stobaeus, Volume I
John Stobaeus · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Prophet and seer
μάντις
mantisMantis is a seer or diviner, a person who discloses or interprets divine indications.
Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordMantis is a seer or diviner, a person who discloses or interprets divine indications.
- In StobaeusThe Ajax excerpt reports a seer’s warning that those who think beyond human measure fall under grave divine misfortune.
- In this edition“Seer” is precise and avoids merging distinct Greek titles under prophet.
- A place to beginA seer warns against thinking beyond human measure.
- English renderings
- seer; diviner; prophet
Meaning
Mantis is a seer or diviner, a person who discloses or interprets divine indications. It need not imply the office denoted by prophētēs in another source.
Use in the book
The Ajax excerpt reports a seer’s warning that those who think beyond human measure fall under grave divine misfortune. The seer communicates an interpretation of conduct and its consequences. The word identifies the speaker’s religious role rather than validating the warning by itself.
Places to read
- I.3.20A seer warns against thinking beyond human measure.
Translation in this edition
“Seer” is precise and avoids merging distinct Greek titles under prophet.
Source note
Wachsmuth, volume I, printed pp. 55–56. The warning is reported within a tragic speech and retains that dramatic setting.
From the book
Empedocles’ Complete Fragments, Volume I
Empedocles of Acragas · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Seers
μάντεις (manteis); μαντοσυνέων (mantosyneōn)
Manteis are seers or diviners.
Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordManteis are seers or diviners.
- In EmpedoclesSeers head the list of final human roles at B146, followed by hymn-singers, physicians, and chieftains.
- In this editionThe verse lists several roles without ordering them as successive stages.
- A place to readSeers are among the last human roles before growth into gods.
Meaning
Manteis are seers or diviners. B112's related noun refers to the oracular guidance sought by some of those who approach the speaker. “Prophet” is a possible lookup term, but may bring later institutional assumptions not specified in these fragments.
Use in the book
Seers head the list of final human roles at B146, followed by hymn-singers, physicians, and chieftains. Their placement gives divinatory expertise an honoured place in the passage toward divine status. It does not establish a formal priesthood, an initiation procedure, or the kind of signs a seer interprets.
B112 supplies a more active setting: people follow the crowned speaker, some needing oracles and others seeking a healing word against illness. His public role therefore connects specialized knowledge with practical requests from a community. The fragment reports the poetic speaker's reception and claims; it is not proof that particular predictions came true. Reading the two passages together makes the honoured final roles intelligible without inventing a biography for every member of the category.
Places to read
- B 146.1–3Seers are among the last human roles before growth into gods.
- B 112.7–12Some followers approach the speaker in need of oracular guidance.
Translation in this edition
The verse lists several roles without ordering them as successive stages. “Seer” should not be generalized into an assertion that every person with divinatory claims attains divinity.