Primavesi, Oliver
(2016):
Empedocles' Cosmic Cycle and the Pythagorean Tetractys.
In: Rhizomata: A Journal for Ancient Philosophy and Science, Vol. 4, No. 1: pp. 5-29
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Abstract
Empedocles posits six fundamental principles of the world: Love, Strife and the four elements (rhizomata). On the cosmic level, he describes the interaction of the principles as an eternal recurrence of the same, i.e. as a cosmic cycle. The cycle is subject to a time-table the evidence for which was discovered by Marwan Rashed and has been edited by him in 2001 and 2014. The purpose of the present paper is to show that this timetable is based on the numerical ratios of the Pythagorean tetractys.