Empedocles θεός: The Poetics of Divinity in Empedocles and His Reception

This thesis provides a commentary on select fragments of Empedocles and looks forward to his reception in Latin poetry, especially epic—what Philip Hardie calls Empedoclean epos. The commentary showcases the intersection of philosophy and poetry in Empedocles’ work. I focus on Empedocles’ multifaceted concept of divinity, which illuminates the imbrication of his philosophical and poetic ideas. Through this focal point of divinity, the commentary explores topics such as analogy, poetic authority, and metapoetics. The commentary serves as a springboard for exploration of reception by highlighting some of Empedocles’ most influential poetic ideas. The final chapter examines Empedocles’ place in a tradition of Latin epic and his reception in Ovid’s speech of Pythagoras (Met. 15.60–478)