Xenophanes of Colophon: Fragments (Phoenix Supplementary Volume) (Paperback)

~ J.H. Lesher (Translator)

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Product Description

Xenophanes of Colophon was a philosophical poet who lived in various cities of the ancient Greek world during the late sixth and early fifth centuries BC. In this book, James Lesher presents the Greek texts of all the surviving fragments of Xenophanes' teachings, with an original English translation on facing pages, along with detailed notes and commentaries and a series of essays on the philosophical questions generated by Xenophanes' remarks. Also included are English translations of all the ancient testimonia relating to Xenophanes' life and teachings, and a discussion of how many of the testimonia pose the impediments to achieving a consistent interpretation of his philosophy.

The Xenophanes who emerges in this account fully warrants classification as a philosophical thinker: moral critic and reflective student of nature, critic of popular religious belief and practice, and perhaps the first to challenge claims to knowledge about divine matters and the basic forces at work in nature. As with earlier works in the Pheonix series, this volume aims to make an important portion of Presocratic writing accessible to all those interested in ancient philosophy and the first phase of European natural science. This new paperback edition contains an updated bibliography.

Language Notes

Text: English, Greek (translation)
Original Language: Greek --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: University of Toronto Press; 1 edition (November 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802085083
• ISBN-13: 978-0802085085
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #717,527 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "But mortals suppose that gods are born...", January 8, 2007

By	Steve Reina (Troy Michigan) - See all my reviews

Living about a century before Herodotus, Xenophanes of Colophon (a now defunct Ionian city) said some pretty prescient stuff.

Among his gems are:

"But mortals suppose that gods are born
wear their own clothes and have a voice and body."

"Ehtiopians say that theirs gods are snub nosed and black;
Thracians that theirs are blue eyed and red haired."

And finally:

"But if horses or oxen or lions had hands
...
horses would draw the figures of gods as similar to horses,
and the oxen as similar to oxen..."

In each quotation Xenophanes said things that actually came to be confirmed by recent scientific studies on religious ideation performed by the likes of Pascal Boyer, Justin Barrett, Stuart Vyse and their ilk.

Unfortunately, like so many ancient writers (like notably Manetho the second century BCE priest of Thoth who wrote the Egyptian version of the biblical Exodus) we only know Xenophanes through his brief but insightful snippets in which he was quoted by other writers.

Perhaps fate may someday grant us a more complete copy of his writings but until then this slender volume does great justice to pull together what remains of this great pre Socratic thinker.