From the book
Stobaeus, Volume I
John Stobaeus · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Red
ἐρυθρός
eruthrosErythros is red.
Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordErythros is red.
- In StobaeusThe Pythagorean report includes red among the principal colors.
- In this edition“Red” should remain distinct from “flame red” where the Greek changes its term.
- A place to beginRed belongs to the reported fourfold color classification.
- English renderings
- red
Meaning
Erythros is red. Nearby terms can identify fiery, golden, or scarlet shades without sharing exactly the same range.
Use in the book
The Pythagorean report includes red among the principal colors. In the Timaeus quotation, red mixed with black and white produces purple, while a distinct term, pyrrhos, names a fiery red in another mixture. Maintaining the lexical distinctions allows readers to follow the source’s sequence.
Places to read
Translation in this edition
“Red” should remain distinct from “flame red” where the Greek changes its term.
Source note
Wachsmuth, volume I, printed pp. 148, 151. Modern shade boundaries are not assumed; the renderings primarily preserve contrasts made within the ancient account.
From the book
Empedocles’ The Testimonia, Volume II
Empedocles of Acragas · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Red
ἐρυθρὸν (erythron)
Erythron is the neuter of the adjective for red.
Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordErythron is the neuter of the adjective for red.
- In this workAëtius names white, black, red, and yellow and says they are equal in number to the elements.
- In this editionDo not supply an earth–red or other root–colour equation from the order of the list.
- A place to readNames red third in the four-colour list, equal in number to the elements.
Meaning
Erythron is the neuter of the adjective for red. It occurs here as one member of Aëtius's fourfold colour enumeration, rather than as a separately developed physiological or symbolic term.
Use in the book
Aëtius names white, black, red, and yellow and says they are equal in number to the elements. That numerical correspondence is the full explicit connection supplied in this notice. The source does not assign red to a particular root, give a proportion producing it, or explain its corresponding visual passage.
Red is nevertheless worth retaining as its own lookup term because its presence marks a genuine difference between the doxographic list and Theophrastus's two explicitly associated colours, white and black. It should not be absorbed silently into “mixed colours,” since this notice does not say that red is mixed. Conversely, its inclusion cannot by itself repair the gap which Theophrastus finds in the recognition of grey and other mixed colours. What survives is a taxonomic item with limited explanatory context.
Places to read
- A 92 (testimony)Aëtius. Names red third in the four-colour list, equal in number to the elements.
- A 86 §§ 16–17 (polemical)Theophrastus, On the Senses 17. Supplies a contrasting problem about colours beyond white and black, without naming red.
Translation in this edition
Do not supply an earth–red or other root–colour equation from the order of the list. The printed sentence states equality of number, not an itemized pairing.