From the book
Stobaeus, Volume I
John Stobaeus · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Thunder
βροντή
brontēBrontē is thunder, the audible phenomenon explained alongside lightning and the thunderbolt.
Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordBrontē is thunder, the audible phenomenon explained alongside lightning and the thunderbolt.
- In StobaeusAnaxagoras’ report makes thunder the noise produced when a hot portion of aether enters cold air.
- In this edition“Thunder” names the sound.
- A place to beginHot entering cold produces noise and brilliance.
- English renderings
- thunder
Meaning
Brontē is thunder, the audible phenomenon explained alongside lightning and the thunderbolt. Accounts distinguish sound from visible brilliance even when they assign both to a common process.
Use in the book
Anaxagoras’ report makes thunder the noise produced when a hot portion of aether enters cold air. Democritus’ account explains it through an irregular aggregate forcing its enclosing cloud downward. The accompanying lightning theory uses collisions and friction. These mechanisms should be compared as alternatives, not assembled into a single narrative.
Places to read
Translation in this edition
“Thunder” names the sound. “Thunderbolt” renders a different Greek noun and must not be substituted simply because English connects the two words.
Source note
Wachsmuth, volume I, printed pp. 232–233.
From the book
Empedocles’ The Testimonia, Volume II
Empedocles of Acragas · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Thunder
κτύπον (ktypon); σβέσιν (sbesin); θραῦσιν (thrausin)
Ktypos is a crash or striking noise.
Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordKtypos is a crash or striking noise.
- In this workThunder is the acoustic member of a combined account of storm phenomena.
- In this edition“Quenching of that air” follows the edition's interpretation of the compressed pronouns.
- A place to readAssigns the crash to sbesis and thrausis in the event caused by light entering a cloud.
Meaning
Ktypos is a crash or striking noise. Thrausis is breaking or shattering; sbesis normally denotes quenching or extinguishing. These verbal nouns describe the events from which Aëtius says the crash is produced.
Use in the book
Thunder is the acoustic member of a combined account of storm phenomena. Solar light entering a cloud forces out the opposing air, and the reported quenching and shattering produce a crash. Lightning is the flash, while the thunderbolt is described through the force of lightning. This distinction prevents the terms from becoming interchangeable labels for one undifferentiated phenomenon. The report does not explain the delay between seeing a flash and hearing thunder, calculate acoustic speed, or specify a vibrating medium in anything like a later wave theory. Its causal interest lies in connecting a sudden sound with disruptive material motion inside a cloud. The unclear word for quenching is important because it leaves the exact physical action less determinate than the neatly coordinated translation might suggest.
Places to read
- A 63 (testimony)Aëtius. Assigns the crash to sbesis and thrausis in the event caused by light entering a cloud.
- A 63 (apparatus)Diels, apparatus. Suggests “splitting” as a replacement for the obscure “quenching.”
Translation in this edition
“Quenching of that air” follows the edition's interpretation of the compressed pronouns. Since both the wording and causal attachment are difficult, the entry preserves the transmitted action and the conjecture instead of treating the proposed correction as certain.