Hymnic Elements in Empedocles (B 35 DK = 201 Bollack) (English translation)

Abstract

The language of Homeric poetry has often been used to help solve problems in interpreting the poetic language of Empedocles. Conversely, the language of Empedocles may at times help solve problems in understanding Homeric poetry. In this investigation, I offer an example of such a solution, which raises an important question: is it possible that the poetry of Empedocles stems from a tradition that is at least partly independent of Homeric poetry and even cognate with it? The example in question centers on the poetic conventions of the humnos or ‘hymn’. I will argue that the hymnic elements that we find in one particular passage of Empedocles (B 35 DK = 201 Bollack) help explain the use of the word humnos in the epic of Homeric poetry.