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PRESOCRATICS ND PLATO

Festschrift at Delphi

in Honor of Charles Kahn

Papers presented at the

Festschrift Symposium inHonor of

Charles KahnOrganized by the HYELE Institute for Comparative Studies

European Cultural Center of Delphi

June 3rd- 7 th 2009

Delphi Greece

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Presocratics and Plato festschrift at Delphi in honor of Charles Kahn

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organized by the Hyele Institute for Comparative Studies European Cultural

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Heracl itus on the Sun

nrique Hulsz Piccone

In the first part of this brief approach to the solar fragments I will

propose a different reading of B6 recovering the truly Heraclitean

idea that the sun is always new which I will interpret along

more Platonic than Aristotelian lines as having a metaphysical

import (rather than being merely a piece of physical doctrine) The

second part revisits briefly Column IV of the Oerveni papyrus

questions the unified version of B3 and B94 and keeping closer

to Plutarchs version of the latter finally suggests a less physicalistic

scenario as a better-fitting context for the text of the solar fragments

themselves bringing them together through BI6s cryptic reference

to an ever-shining analogue of the sun

PART THE SUN IN FLUX

Among Heraclitus fragments [OK] B6 ( The sun is newevery day ) has been long recognized as authentic Possibly just a

paraphrase and not a verbatim citation2 it is transmitted by Aristotle

I am referring to modern editors and interpreters at least since Ingram

Bywater whose work is earlier than Hermann Dielss (our fragment 6 corresponds

to number 32 in his edition Heracliti Ephesii Reliquiae (Oxford 1877) t is

crucial to have in mind that all Heraclitus fragments have come to us only

through doxographical tradition which is indirect by definition2 Cf M Marcovichs classification Heraclitus Editio Maior (MeridaVenezuela 1967 from now on referred to as HEM which specifies the status

of each fragment according to its probable degree of accuracy by the variablesof quotation [ cita J (C) paraphrase (P) and reminiscence (R) See also S

Mouraviev Heraclitea III3Bi ii iii (Sankt Augustin Academia Verlag 2006)

whose version differs from Diels-Kranz (DK) only in word order and who takesnotice of and differs from my own poin t of view cf below note 13) t should

not be forgotten that in the ancient tradition the difference between indirect

is cf



Enrique Hulsz Piccone

who refers explicitly to Heraclitus by name at the end of a passage

in the second book of his Meteorology Most recent interpretationshave read it as a relatively straightforward statement of physical

doctrine taking for granted that a cosmological (astronomical

and meteorological) scenario must be the appropriate one rather

than seeing it as an illustration of a general truth or even as a

critical reflection on the temporality of human life and experience

Almost all have agreed what the extent of the quotation is 3 t will

be instructive to remember here Kirks cautious but optimistic

conclusion at the end of his long and detailed discussion When

all is said we still do not know the exact purpose of the declaration

that the sun is new every day but the number of possible purposes

has been substantially limited 4 and contrast it with Marcovichs

remarkable confidence The meaning of the fragment seems to

be clear enough ifwe bring it together with Theophrastus account

on Heraclitus meteorology 5 an opinion further supported by

interpreting the saying as an intended attack on the popular beliefin the suns divinity

To begin with I reproduce the Aristotelian passage in full

This is why all of those who came before are ridicu-

lous too for they supposed that the sun is nurtured

by the moist And some say that this too is why

solstices happen For the places of the solstices arenot always capable of providing nourishment for

the sun But it is necessary that this happens or the

Kahn Anaximander and the Origins Greek Cosmology (Indianapolis Hackett

1994) 172 One should not dismiss Proclus version (in Tim Vol 3 311 42nd

veoc e p ~ [ J e p 7 1 ~ A ~ O C new every day is the sun which differs only in word

order from Aristotles the version preferred in DK Cpound Agustin Garda Calvo

Heraclito Razon Com un [HRC] (Madrid Lucina 1985) 190-192

3 There are some exceptions to this generalized tendency A Garda Calvo

HRC Marcel Conche Heraclite Fragments (Paris PUF 1986) Jean Brun

Heraclite ou e philosophe de eternel retour (Paris Seghers 1969) ad B3 among

others The line I will pursue is actually considered by G S Kirk Heraclitus

The Cosmic Fragments (Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1978)266 but

dismissed implicitly

4 Kirk Cosmic Fragments 264-279

5 Marcovich HEM 316 and 318



Heraclitus on The Sun

sun would be destroyed Because the visible fire as

long as it has nourishment to that extent it livesand the moist is the only nourishment for fire As

if the moist that goes upwards could reach to the

sun or as if its ascent was like that of the flame

when this is produced Because they assumed that

the flame is alike they supposed it likely that the

same would happen in the case of the sun But this

is not so For flame is produced by the continuousinterchange of the moist and the dry and it is not

nurtured (because so to speak it never stays the

same) but in the case of the sun its impossible that

this would happen since if it were nourished in

the way they say it is its evident too as Heraclitus

says that the sun is not only new every day hut

always new continuously 0111-01 o t ~ xoct I 1 i A I O ~au 00 XOC17OC7tep p o c x l e ~ t o ~ ltPlJOW V O ~ Eqgt n H TJIIoEP fl E ( J ~ L v tlll laquoEl E O ~ r J U l e x w ~ ) 6

Interpreters have stressed the need to take the whole passage as

a unity to make good sense of Heraclitus words so-for the sake

of the passages internallogic-Aristotles presentation of the saying

has been sometimes considered to imply that Heraclitus himselfmust be included among those who believed that the sun (a) is

fiery and (b) is nurtured by moisture Now this claim could in

principle be challenged wholly or partially especially since neither

6 Aristotle Meteorology B 2 354b33ff

7 Harold Cherniss Aristotle s Criticism o Presocratic Philosophy [ACPP] (Baltimore The John Hopkins University Press 1935) 134 with n541) maintained

that Aristotles reference to Heraclitus and his followers is exclusive (a thesisthat seems excessive) Marcovich (HEM 312-318) accepts that an allusion toHeraclitus is intended (315) as do Kirk (HCF 265-266) and R Mondolfo

Eraclito Testimonianze e mitazioni (Firenze La N uova Italia 1972 119-123

with n156) but they all leave other possibilities open Inclusion ofAnaximanderAnaximenes Xenophanes Antiphon and perhaps Alcmaeon does not precludethis notion from being a common bdief in the air so to speak in pre-Aristotelian times Hippocratic treatises also provide evidence for the view that the moist

feeds the hot Now whether Heraclitus hdd a similar view or not is ofcourse





eraclituson The un

he scholiasts take on the relevant point is quite straightforward

Heraclitus the Ephesian a physicist said that the

sun as it comes to the Western sea sinks in it and

is extinguished then it goes under the earth and

as it reaches above the Eastern horizon it kindles

again and this happens forever9

More is going on here than meets the eye First it is noteworthythat the scholiasts point of view is considerably more explicit than

Platos and brings with itself the whole Aristotelian-Theophrastean

physicalistic interpretation of Heraclitus he epublic passage is

centered on the key words extinguished ( amp 1 t o c r ~ i I V u V t ~ ~ ) and

kindled ( l ~ ~ 1 t t o v t c x ~ ) which imply only that the fiery Heraclitean

sun was cyclically quenched and re-kindled (but not necessarily that

the sun dives into the sea or that it continues unlit under the earth onits way back to the East) So even if there was in Heraclitus lost book

some statement to the effect that the sun dies out and is re-kindled

it is still doubtful whether it really belonged in an astronomical

meteorological model ofexplanation such as the scholiast describes

A second relevant observation is that Platos allusion to the

sun-theme is subtly framed lO to fit within a proportional triadic

relationship between cosmos polis and individuals which looksquite Heraclitean and which Plato appropriates as the backbone

of the alternate utopian philosophic model Platos allusion

to B6 is quite oblique but he seems to intentionally recall the

language of fragments B30 and B26 (which deal respectively with

the fiery cosmos eternally going out and again re-kindling and

the proportional relationship of the waking man the sleeper and

the dead) he brief reference to the Heraclitean sun anticipates

the famous set of analogical images the Platonic sun the divided

9 H p O C X A e V t O ~ 6 E lt p i O ~ o ~ lt p u O ~ x o ~ WV EAeyeV on 6 A ~ O ~ V fj ounxjj~ ~ A O C O 0 7 J E A ~ O O V x ~ t x ~ ~ o u ~ V ~ l h j j O ~ i v V J ~ ~ e h ~ O ~ e A ~ O O V 0 U1tO y1jvx ~ t ~ amp V ~ O A ~ V lt p ~ o c O ~ ~ E O C 1 t e ~ 1 t O C A ~ V x ~ t 00 0 ~ ~ y L y v e ~ ~ 10 It is not often remarked that the verbs Plato playfully uses here X1tW and

EOC1tW in the double sense of touching being in contact with set fire to



Enrique HGlsz Piccone

line and the cave So it seems that Platos information is likely to

be true which provides a meaningful complement to the new sun( ~ A W e viae) ofB6 In the case of the scholiast the function of the

sun-symbolism within Heraclitus philosophical framework could

still have been missed A fragment from Democritus might also

echo Heraclitus B6 in a non-cosmological contextl suggesting a

connection with B1712 and so could perhaps be a useful counter

point to the physicalistic perspective on the Heraclitean sun

Up to now a minimalistic estimate of the actual extent of B6

(6 ~ A W e vEae europ ~ f 1 E P 1 l euroOt[v) has been the predominant trend

among scholars a reading thought to be backed by the so-called

internal logic ofAristotles argument l3 Taken on its merits however

the argument is not a particularly good one The notion attributed

to Heraclitus taking the whole passage as a unity (and leaving

aside for the moment the details of the conjectured mechanics

of the process) is that assuming that the fiery sun is born as it

is kindled at dawn and dies out as it is quenched at nightl4 it

11 DK 68B158 (Plutarch De Latenter Vivendo 5 p 1129pound) verx trp ~ - l e p 1 J ~rppoveonee ocvamppw7tm (Men have new thoughts every day)

12 DK 22B17 ou yocp rppoveoucn CmrxuCrx 7tOAAOL o x o O o ~ t y x u p e u O ~ v ouoe

-lrxampovCee y ~ v w O x o u O ~ v ewuCo O ~ oe o o x e o u O ~ (Many dont understand suchthings as those they encounter nor do they know them once they have learnedbut think themselves they do) Cf also DK 22B72 6 J ~ - l c X A ~ o C r x o ~ t J v e x w e

O - l ~ A O U O ~ lt A 6 y w ~ C w ~ C oc OArx o ~ o ~ x o u v n gt C o h w ~ o ~ r x r p e p o v C r x ~ xrxt ore xrxamp

~ - l e p r x v t y x u p o u O ~ C rxu C rx rxuCoie ~ e v r x r p r x L v e t r x ~ (That which they meetmost frequently ltthe logos that governs alb from this they differ and the thingsthey meet every day these seem foreign to them)

13 f M Q U f a v Heraclitea IILBiii (2006) 14 Certains auteurs [ J incluent u -lovov et ampAJampd veoe Ouvexwe (contexte dAristote) dans la citation cequi semble confirme Pyen Plotin (ampd x r x ~ v o v y L v e O amp r x ~ ) Cette opinion ne resistetoutefois pas it l a n a l y s ~ du contexte aristotelicien OU la conception dun soleilen r e n o ~ v e l e m e n t permanent joue Ie role de reductio ad absurdum dune application s i ~ t a n e e s6leil de la theorie (quAristote critique) dun solei de feunourrissant dexhalaisons humides et de la theorie (aristotelicienne)

selon laquelle la Hamme serait un echange perpetuel entre Ihumide et Ie sec14 Both Kirk and Marcovich thought it likely that B6 was preceded or followedby some such assertion about the suns extinction and rekindling This is stageone in Kirks interpretation of Aristotles argument stage 2 is represented by the

O x c X r p r x ~ theory stage 3 by the amp v r x amp u - l L r x O ~ e theory These are followed by the onlyexplicit piece of reasoning in the Meteorology passage climaxing in the quotationgiven in note 6 above David Sider has proposed a different reconstruction Heraclitus in the Derveni Papyrus in Studies on the erveni Papyrus [SDPJ (OxfordClarendon Press 1977) 129-148 on which see further below note 43




canbesaid that it is VeuroOe eurocp ~ f J euro P 1 l neworyoungatdawn

becauseregularlyquenchedandreignitedaccordingtofixedtemporal

successiveperiodsThe earlierthinkersmentioned byAristotle

denouncedforhavingsupposedthesun is nourishedbymoisture

have sometimes been thought toincludeHeraclitusbut this is

doubtfulAnd anyway even if we dosetaside theattributionof

the nourishingof thesun on moisture (alongwith theJingleor

doubleexhalation [ r i v c x f ) u f J L c x O ~ e ] doctrine)to H e r a ~ f u u s w e a ~stillleftwiththenotionthatthesunis fiery and b e ~ a u s e of thisitis newnotonlyeveryday(atdawn) but alwaysSoaccordingto

theusualreadingAristotlewouldbecharging e r a c l i t ~ withnot

beingradicalenoughForwhenhesaidthesun is new v e [ y - d ~ Yheshouldhaverealizedthat thisis agrossunderstatementofwhat

is metaphysicallyneededwithin hisown frameworkwhich-as

interpretedby Aristotle-would be an extremeform of theall

thingsflow ( 1 t ~ V t c x p e ~ ) therheontologicalmodelPointingto

HeraclitusshortcomingsAristotlewouldbe putting forwardhis

own criticism correctingthesayingwith whatHeraclitusshould

havesaid that thesun is alwaysnew (ridVeuroOe

Thereis someindication(intherelevantdoxography though

notintheauthenticfragmentsthemselves) that suchaconception

of adailydifferentsun washeldbyXenophanesHis reported

viewwas that afierysunl5 is generatedliterallyeveryday (xcxf)

h ~ O t l ) v ~ f J euro p c x v ) fromsmallsparks in theclouds so an entirely

differentsunshinesoverandwarmseachmorningtheearthbelow

theoldonebecominglostfrom our viewinthe infinitedistanceit

travels in astraightline beingsubstitutedbyan entirelynewone

thenextday16 Xenophanes thesisentailsthesuccessive existence

of an infinitenumberof suns eachirreducibletotheotherseach

sun correspondingto eachday canthusbe saidto benew(that

is other thanordifferentfrom theothers)Heraclitus few

relevantso-calledphysicalorcosmicfragmentsareundoubtedly

hardtoassessbut onemightquestionthelikelihoodof aprimarily

cosmologicaland doctrinalinterpretation of histhinkingrather



nrique Hli lsz Piccone

than simply take for granted that the details of just that sort of

account have not reached us That he stated nothing clear1 7 about

these matters represents a more credible possibility

We know from the fragments themselves that Heraclitus was

extremely critical of the reputedly wise men from the distant past and

from his own time and that he explicitly denied that Xenophanes

understood anything even if he qualified as a polymath (B40)18

That Heraclitus held a similar belief in infinite suns (parallel to the

sequence of days) is an unlikely hypothesis not just because of his

manifest disdain ofXenophanes but also in virtue of something that

is implied in his criticism of Hesiod who according to B57 did not

even know Night and Day for they are one 19 In B106 Hesiodsignorance concerns not only the uni ty of Night and Day but also

the single nature (cpUOt0 common to all days20 This suggests that

the Heraclitean sun (recognized as the cause ofdaylight B99) 1 too

is one and the same every day and it has a distinctive cpuOtc of its

own The upshot is that Heraclitus thought of the sun as a single and

persistent being which retains its selfhood through its change just

as he thought of the same river as a flux of ever different waters22

The Aristotelian passage implicitly suggests several possible

Heracleitean theses The most basic assumption I label

17 Cf eg DL 98 altxltpwe S ouSev euro x t W e t lt X ~ (he doesnt set forth anythingclear) ibid 911 mpt Se t1je y ~ e ouSev a 1 t o lt p lt x L v e t lt X ~ 1tOpoundltx t Le euronv aAAouSe 1tept twv axltxltpwv (he doesnt show anything clear about what sort of

thing is the earth nor about the bowls)

18 DK 22B40 1 t O A U P lt x ~ t L I ) voov ou S ~ S 6 t a x e v HaLoSov yiXp v euro S L S lt X ~ E xltxL

TIuampltxyop1JV ltxotpounde tE Eevoltpdtvedt tE xltxL EXltXtltXLOV (Much learning doesntteach intelligence For it would have taught Hesiod and Pythagoras and againXenophanes and Hecataeus)

19 DK 22B57 S ~ M a x lt X A O e Se 1tAELat6gtV HaLoSoe toQZGV euro 1 t L a t ~ t lt X ~1tAeLatltX dSivltXL (Jane ~ p i p l ) v xltxL eultppOVl)V oux euro y L ~ M c r X e V Ecru YOCpEV

(Teacher of most men is Hesiod They think he knew plenty he who dilt-nt

recognize day and night for they are one)

20 DK 22B106 c X y v o o Q v t ~ ltpUcrLv ~ p i p lt x e cX1tdtcrl)e pLltxlt oucrltxv ( [HesiJ)d] ignored that the nature of any day is one)

21 DK 22B99 et ~ A t O e ~ V evexltx tWV (lA-WV (latpwv ~ ( p P O V I ) XV (Ifthere were no sun for the sake of the other stars it would be night)

22 DK 22B12 1tOtltXPOLcrL tOLcrtJ lt X U t O L c r ~ v euro P ~ lt x L v o U c r L V hepltx xltxL Etepx

6SltxtltX eurotLppeL (On those who step into the same rivers other and other waters

flow )

10-




(0) The sun is fire or fiery or made of fire

Other theses extend this fundamental idea(1) The sun feeds on moisture

2) Solstices are explained on this basis

(3) The (false) grounds for this view are

(3a) A supposed analogy of sun-fire with everyday

ordinary fire and

(3b) an assimilation of the ascent of atmospherical

vapor on the one hand and the upward movement

of flame in combustion on the other

After a denial en bloc of the truth ofall this Aristotle concludes

critically that

(4) Heraclitus in saying the sun is new merely every

day failed to reach the necessary conclusion that it

would have to be always new (that is not the same

at any moment)

Some comments are in order First that Heraclitus and his

alleged followers (but who are they) are alluded to in the reference

to all those earlier thinkers who assumed the sun was nourished

by the moist m x Y - r ~ ~ o O o ~ -rbJY 7 r p 6 - r ~ p o y l ) 7 r D C l ~ O Y -rOY ~ W Y- r p e q l e O amp C l ~ rc1gt uypc1raquo seems to be unanimously accepted It should

be noted though that strictly speaking this remains an inference

for neither Aristotle nor any of the preserved fragments actually

states just that On the further assumption that the moist is the only

nourishment for fire (-ro 0 uypov rc1gt 1tUpt - r p O q l ~ v e t v C l ~ J6vov)

we arrive at the conclusion that the sun lives at the expense of (sea)

moisture which ascends and feeds the fire ofwhich the sun is made

(As to the extinction during night-time the doxographical report

t1tt Jepouc in Diogenes Laertius links night and the dark exhala

tion [IX 11]) The Heraclitean fragments that seem to be echoed

are B31 (both parts) B36 and (for the idea of nourishment) B114

Strangely enough none of them deals with the sun but instead

respectively with the turnings of fire 1tUPOC -rP01tClL) the cycle

-




of birth and death of soul ( ~ u X ~ ) and the nurturing of all human

laws (VO JOL) on the single divine one common to all (the Logos as

lex naturae The unity-in-opposition theory construed as a narrowphysicalistic explanation is also in play although only obscurely

hinted at in Aristotles interpretation The grounding of this in

Heraclitus seems very vague but it might further reflect B60 and

B126 A somewhat slighter anomaly would seem to be that the

moist requires as contrary the dry (not the sun) Insistence on the

exclusive relationship between contraries (each thing has only one

contrary) is reminiscent of Plato but not of Heraclitus

Secondly as to solstices being explained in this way (that is solelyon the view that the sun is nurtured by moisture) by Heraclitus

in particular this point seems especially far-fetched Perhaps the

closest we can get to solstices in Heraclitus is B94 (The Sun will

not overstep its measures [tJ-eurotpoc)) and BlOO23

In the third place 3a and 3b seem to be entirely due to Aristotles

own conjecture Perhaps there is a fusion here of other sources-

Heraclitus B16 and B54 immediately come to mind not exclud

ing views in other authors The theory implied in 3b could be ahistorical antecedent of Aristotles own exhalation doctrine but it

is more likely than not that there was no such thing in Heraclitus

view in spite of the commonplace physicalistic interpretation of

the way up and down o M ~ avw xoc tw) of B60 Heraclitus own

approach to such meteorological phenomena (in B31 B36) seems

hardly usable for restoring Aristotles credibility Some form ofvapor

( i h t J - ~ ) however is quite possible in Xenophanes

And last with all this in mind we may appreciate that Aristotlesfinal move (charging Heraclitus with not being radical enough) can

do without the assumptions just listed as 1-3 The only premise really

needed is that the sun is fiery Aristotles dissent from Heraclitus

which is the immediate basis for actually mentioning him by name

and quoting him need not be interpreted within a meteorological

framework and makes perfect sense when limited to the very basic

notion of the sun as fiery Besides the well-known metaphysical

23 DK 22BlOO (Plutarch Quaestiones Platonicae 8 4lO07D) c ) p o c ~ oct 1tIxvtoc

ltPEPOU(H (the seasons bringers of all things)

2-




hostility to the allegedly Heraclitean Universal Flux for Aristotle

himself (according to at least one interpretation) 24 the sun is made

of ether (ocUtYjp) not fire and is neither hot nor dry A simpler

reading of the final statement presents itself if one assumes (with

Heraclitus) the suns fiery nature then one should go on to say

(as does Heraclitus) that the sun is not only new every day (as

Xenophanes said) but it is always new Read in this way Aristotles

final point turns out to be not a criticism but the actual report of

Heraclitus extreme but self-consistent (even if false) view

It could be conjectured that Heraclitus is reacting to Xenophanes

and expressing in his own coinage the true view brings out the suns

nature by calling it always new This recalls t i d ~ ( l ) o V ( ever-living )

from B30 and farther still the ever real logos A y o ~ EWV o c ~ e L of the Proem) t is well to remember that B99 proves Heraclitus

awareness of the sun being the true cause of night (by absence) and

(by presence) of day too f the nature of all days is one B106) it

would be natural enough for Heraclitus to think of the sun as being

endowed with a permanent identity So the Heraclitean sun is as

the fiery eternal cosmos ( x o O f J O ~ ) the same for all or as in B89

one and the same (for those who are awake)

It is not so easy to assess with confidence what the limits of

Aristotles quotation are f his rendering ofHeraclitus is close we

could expect an expanded original along these lines ou fJOVOV v i o ~Ecp ~ f J i p Y l EO nV ~ ) w ~ ti)) tid i o ~ (xoct w u t o ~ ) ( the sun is not

new only every day but it is always new and the same ) A simpler

alternative could be perhaps ) ~ o ~ v i o ~ Ecp ~ f J i p Y l EO t Lv tict v i o ~(xoct wuto) ( the sun is new every day always new and the same

My preferred conjecture would be something like ~ ) w ou fJovov

vio Ecp ~ f J i p Y l ti)) tict vio EO t Lv (the sun is not only new every

day but it is new always ) What is most important is not to pass

silently over Heraclitus characteristic style of which there could

4 Already known to Plotinus who alludes to t o 7tefL7t t ov crwfLlX see below

note 26 For Aristotles theory of a 7tpw t ov crwfLlX cf e caelo 269bff

3-




be traces in Plato25 Plotinus26 and LucretiusY My point is that

a reasonable version of B6 should include the formula rid veo

These last two words just by themselves actually make an excellent

synthesis ofHeraclitus philosophy as a whole and describe perfectly

the suns CPUcrL which mirrors the whole xocrfLo So I conclude

that Heraclitus basic assertion is that the sun is forever the same

precisely in that it is always new persistently changing every day and

at every given moment just as the flux of the river constitutes its

dynamic identity and just as the xocrfLo itself is ever-living fire

so Heraclitus presentation of the nature of the sun symbolically

harmonizes sameness and difference

PART 2 THE SIZE OR THE LIMITS OF THE SUN

HOW GOOD IS THE EVIDENCE OFTHE DERVENI PAPYRUS

In 1981 almost twenty years after the Derveni papyrus

was discovered Walter Burkert gave a short paper in the Chieti

Symposium Heracliteum in which he presented the text reconstructed

by Parassoglou and Tsantsanoglou and made publicly known the few

lines in column IV containing the Heraclitus quotation28 Until then

the dominant approach to these two Heraclitean solar fragments[DK 22] B3 and B94 was to treat them separately Of course the

fact that both deal (although in very different ways) with Helios

25 Symposium 207d3 m I X t I X A e L 1 t E ~ Enpov vtt toO 1tIXAIXWU

( always leaves behind a different new creature instead of the old one 207 d7

l X ( m ) ~ X I X A E i t I X ~ ampAAIX vEo ampEt y ~ y v 6 f J E V O ~ ( Its called the same but it be

comes always new ) Cpound also Cratylus 409b5-8 Neov 16 1tOV XlXt EVOV dd eO n1tEpt -djv O E A ~ V Y j V toOto to p w ~ [ 1XUXACJl yocp 1tOV dd X U t ~ V 1 t E P ~ ~ W V veov

dd1 t L ~ amp A A E ~

( The light about the moon is always new and old [

] for in itscourse around it the sun always sheds on an ever new light )

26 Ennead II 1 2 lO-13 lvyxwpwv xlXt e7tt t01hwv o Y j A o v 6 t ~ tijl

HPIXXAELtCJl oC etpYj ampEt xlXt tov A ~ O V y L v E a ~ I X ~ 1 p ~ a t o t E A E ~ fJEV Y XP OUOEV

O V 1tpliyfJ1X dYj d nc IXIJtOO t XC ) 7 t o ~ E a E ~ C toO 1tEfJ7ttou 7 t l X p l X o e C l X ~ toawfJIXtoc ( He [sc Plato] evidently agrees with Heraclitus who also said that the

sun is always coming into being For Aristotle there would be no problem if oneadmits the theories of the fifth body )

27 De natura rerum V 662 (semina ardoris) quae fociunt solis novasemper lumina gigni

28 W Burkert Eraclito nel Papiro di Derveni due nuove testimonianze tti

del Symposium Heracliteum vol I (Rome Edizioni dell Ateneo 1983 31-42

14-



eraclituson The Sun

naturally invited a connection but as the texts ofB3 (from Aetius)

and B94 (one among several versions in Plutarch) were presented in

Diels-Kranz mere juxtaposition did not seem appealing to editors

commentators and interpreters With the partial publication of the

Derveni papyrus things took a different direction A new line of

interpretation relied on the possibility that the author of the papyrus

intended the quotation as a continuous unity29 But even after

the official publication which benefitted greatly from applying

multi-spectral imaging to the remains finally came out in 2006

the papyrus bad physical shape still left enough room for almost

total uncertainty about some parts within the quotation itself (a

fact that has led to several versions which differ in their proposed

conjectures and supplements)

In Gabor Beteghs version lines 7-9 of column IV read

~ A ~ [ O ~ ] ~ o u xcxtoc cpuow cXIamppw[1t1ltou] ~ o p o ~ 1 t o M ~ [eat ] 7

t o ~ [ ~ o u p o u ] ~ oux 0 1 t C p ~ amp A A W V e [ ]pouae[ 8

[ t ] y [ ~ ~ a e t c x ] ~ E p v u e [ ~ ] v v t ~ e u p ~ a o ~ [ a L L x 1 l ~ t1tLxoupO ] 9

The sun according to nature is a human foot in width 7

not transgressing its boundaries If 8

oversteps the Erinyes the guardians ofJustice will find it out30 9

29 Cpound D Sider (1997) Heraclitus in the Derveni Papyrus who referst a paragraph at the beginning of line 7 indicating a quotation (at least inintention) reinforced by the apparent lack of space for ~ A ~ O t in lines 8 and9 and suggesting that B3+B94 formed a connected thought in Hs originaltext (131) but see G Betegh The Derveni Papyrus Cosmology Theology andInterpretation (Cambridge Cambridge University Press 2004) 326n3 ALebedev did overstate his case when he wrote Any serious edition ofHeraclitusto come will cite B3 and B94 only as testimonia under the most complete andauthentic verbatim quotation of PDerv (Heraclitus in P Derveni Zeitschrififor Papyrologie und Epigraphik 79 (1989) 42) S Mouraviev (2006) and ABernabe De Tales aDemocrito Fragmentos Presocrdticos 2nd ed (Madrid Alianza2001) have followed this general line of interpretation in their editions ofHeraclitus treating B3 and B94 as a single continuous fragment

30 Gabor Betegh The Derveni Papyrus 10-11

5-



Enrique HQlsz Piccone

There are some other possibilities (not exhaustive) First the

long awaited official reading by Kouremenos Parassoglou and

Tsantsanoglou

~ A ~ [ O ~ ]ou X(xt IX cpuow ampI-9pw[mJCou] e o p o ~ 7 t o 0 6 ~ [eurorn] 7

t o f 1 [ i y e - 9 o ] ~ oUx U 7 t e P ~ ~ A A W V d ~ [ o t ( X ~ o u ] p o u ~ e [ u p o u ~ ] 8

[EoG d ~ E J ] ~ E p ~ v u e [ ~ ] v ~ v euro ~ e u p ~ c r O I [ c r ~ L l L x 1 J ~ eurotLxoupm] 9

The sun in the nature of is a human foot width 7

not exceeding in size the proper limits of its width 8

or else the Erinyes assistants of Dike will find it out 31 9

Jankos version

~ A ~ [ O ~ Ewu]WG X(Xt IX c p u c r ~ v ampySpw[7teLou] e o p o ~ 7 t o 0 6 ~ [ecrn] 7

t o ~ [ ~ o u p o u ] ~ OUX U 7 t e P ~ ~ A A W V d Y[IXp t ~ e u ] p o u ~ e[wutoG 8

[ euro ] ~ [ ~ ~ c r e t ( x ] ~ E p ~ v u e [ ~ ] v ~ v e ~ e u p ~ c r o l [ c r ~ L l L x 1 J ~ e 7 t L x o u p o ~ ] 9

The sun in accord with its own nature is in breadth the size 7

of a human foot

and does not surpass its limits for if it surpasses its own 8breadth at all

(the) Erinyes (the) allies ofustice will discover it32 9

L Schonbecks proposal

~ A ~ [ O ~ v i o ] ~ o u X(Xt IX c p u c r ~ v amplSpw[7tdou] e o p o ~ 7 t o 0 6 ~ [eurorn] 7

tQQ[crxotou] OUX U 7 t e p ~ ~ A A W V d ~ [ o t ( X ~ o ] p o u ~ Mcp ~ J i p ( J (ampet)] 8

[ c p ] ~ [ e ~ d J ] ~ E p ~ v u e [ ~ ] vw euro ~ e u p ~ c r o l [ c r ~ L l L x 1 J ~ e 7 t L x o u p o ~ ] 9

31 Theokritos Kouremenos George M Parassoglou Kyriakos TsantsanoglouThe Derveni Papyrus Edited with Introduction and Commentary [TDP] (FlorenceLeo S Olschki 2006) (Greek text of lines 7-9 apud Lakss review in Rhizai2007 vol IV 1 153-162 at 155)

32 Richard Janko The Derveni Papyrus an interim text ZPE 141 (2002)1-62 and The Derveni Papyrus (Diagoras of Melos Apopyrgizontes Logoi)A New Translation Classical Philology Vol 96 No1 (Jan 2001) 1-32 Greektext of col IV apudMouraviev (2006) This is also Bernabes reading Poetae epicigraeci testimonia etfragmenta (Berlin Walter de Gruyter 2007) Pap Derv colIV 188-192)

6-




The new sun is not by nature the width of a human foot 7

from darkness not ever surpassing its proper limits every day 8

it shines if not the Erinyes Justices helpers will find him out33 9

Finally Mouravievs alternative reconstruction of the passage

and his French translation34

~ A [ O ~ 8 o8]e 00 Xoctoc cpuO v ampySpw[1tdou] e o p o ~ 1 t o M ~ 7

[lucetmouet]

t Q ~ [ ~ o u p o u ] ~ ouJ t ) 1 t e p ~ O C A A W V d y[ocp e ~ e u ] p o u ~ 8

e [ ~ L - r l L L x 1 J ~[ e ] ~ [ L x o u p o ] ~ E p v u e [ ~ ] v v e ~ e u p ~ 0 0 4 [ 0 middot e1tLOxo1touO yocp] 9

ltCegt Soleil dont par nature la largeur (est) dun pied 7

dhomme duit I avance (raquo

sans outrepasser ses limites car sil ltsortait de sa largtgeur () les 8

Furiesltservantes de Justicegt Ie recaptureraient 9

Car elles veillent 35

The importance of the discovery has perhaps been somewhat

exaggerated36 at least concerning Heraclitus (as opposed to

Orphism) Nevertheless the papyrus is certainly one of the oldest

kstimonia on Heraclitus possibly even predating Platos writings

(of which the Derveni author does not show any knowledge) The

identity of the Derveni author is still very much a matter of debate

and conjecture37 but there is no doubt he is commenting on an

33 Loek Schonbeck Heraclitus Revisited Pap Derveni col I lines 7-11

ZP 95 1993 20

34 Serge Mouraviev Heraclitea HAl (Sankt Augustin Academia 1999 con-tained also in Supplementum Electronicum n 1 [CD 2001]) ch 1256-59

35 My translation This sun here whose size by nature is of a human foot

ltshinesmoves (raquo not overstepping its limits for i f he ltwent beyond hisgt size() the Erinyes Justices servantsgt would catch him

36 For instance R Janko wrote The Derveni papyrus is the most important

teXt relating to early Greek literature science religion and philosophy to havecome to light since the Renaissance BMCR 20061029 Review of TDPJ

37 The papyrus itself has been dated about the middle of the fourth century

BCE but the actual writing could have taken place decades earlier or even in

7-




Orphic poem and that he shows the influence of Anaxagoras and

Diogenes ofApollonia (whom however he does not actually quote)

Although the acquaintance of the commentator with Heraclitustext confirms the authenticity ofB3 and B94 it is not obvious at all

that both fragments must have formed a single continuous passage

in the original and the possibility that they have been joined by

the commentator himself (prompted by the common thread of the

sun-theme) cannot be set aside

In Aetius version DK 22B3 consists merely of three words

e ) p o ~ 1 t o M ~ ocv-9pCll1tdou which betray a dactylic rhythm38 and

could be connected to the enunciation of the subject (6~ A O ~ )

and the verb ~ O n The version from the papyrus (line 7) differs in

word order o c ~ - 9 p C l l 1 t d o u e ) p o ~ 1 t o M ~ ) and includes the adverbial

phrase XIX tOC cpuO v by nature used elsewhere in Heraclitus (BI

BI12) The papyrus has a lacuna at this crucial point immediately

after ~ A ~ [ O ~ ] where no less than six readings have been put

forward (tau epsilon zeta xi gamma and sigma) for the faded

letter preceding the more clearly legible omicron and ypsilon OT)

If these are read either as a relative pronoun (00 Mouraviev) or as

a genitive ending of a reflexive pronoun such as e C l l u ] ~ o ) (Janko)

the assertion would appear to take on a stronger more dogmatic

sense the suns size is by nature that of a human foot 39 However

we would get the opposite meaning if the same letters were read as

a negation (ou) the sun is ot by nature the size of a human foot

the last years of the fifth century Several hypotheses have been put forwardabout the identity of the Derveni commentator C H Kahn proposed someonelike Euthyphro (Was Euthyphro the Author of the Derveni Papyrus SDP55-63) D Sider suggested someone in the circle of Metrodoros of Lampsacus(Heraclitus in the Derveni Papyrus SDP 137-138) R Janko (The DerveniPapyrus (Diagoras of Melos Apopyrgizontes Logon) A New TranslationClassical Philology Vol 96 No1 Qan 2001) 1-32) defended the authorship of

Diagoras the atheist Gabor Betegh thinks he may have been a religious expertand an Orphic The Derveni Papyrus 87) W Burkert considered Stesimbrotos(Der Autor von Derveni Stesimbrotos TIepL TeAetWV ZPE 62 (1986) 1-5)

38 This feature has been interpreted both as a reason for doubting its authentic

ity and as a good basis for attributing it to Heraclitus39 A dogmatic interpretation already implied in Diogenes Laertius IX142 )

~ A ~ 6 ~ ecrn to f L euro y e O ~ o t o ~ lt p o c L v e t o c ~ (The sun is the size it appears to be)

8-




(Burkert Schonbeck) 40 The conjecture x6cr]fJou (Lebedev) after

~ A ~ [ O C in line 7 (preceded by his supplement [ o c p x euro ~ ] at the end of

line 6 yielding the sun rules by nature the universe) is interest

ing but more risky One conjectured supplement in particular for

the lacuna at the start of line 7 is appealing given the reading of

B6 sketched above ~ A ~ [ O C veo]c 00 (Schonbeck)41 This would

yield something like the new sun is not by nature the size of a

human foot which if correct would strengthen the likelihood

that the commentator is paraphrasing freely and fusing not two

but three different Heraditean passages (one could go all the way

with Schonbecks conjectured reconstruction and read e[cp ~ f J e p 1 J( d)] at the end ofline 8) If the negative reading is right we could

further interpret e0pOC as width and speculate whether Heraclitus

could be critically reacting to previous theories such as Anaximenes

view on the flatness of the earth and the heavenly bodies-the sun

in particular which he described as riding on air fiery and

flat like a leaf 42 Or alternatively we could wonder if Heraclitus

was raising the question of the elementary fallacy of judging the

sun to be a small object because one can cover it with ones foot 43

But regardless ofhow one chooses to deal with these questions and

whether one is tempted to credit Heraclitus with a naive thesis on the

sizewidth of the sun or not it is hard to see how this notion could

40 A possibility emphatically denied by Lebedev the reading ou XOC CIX ~ u n vis out of the question (Heraclitus in P Derveni Zeitschrift for Papyrologie undEpigraphik 79 [1989] 46)

41 L Schonbeck Heraclitus Revisited (Pap Derveni col I lines 7-11)

Zeitschrift for Papyrologie undEpigraphik 95 (1993) 7-22 at 17-20

42 C DK 13A7 (Hippo Ref I 7) e r t o x e ~ c r S o c ~ C W ~ O C euro P ~ DK 13A15 (Aet II202) (Aet 22 1) A1tAOC CVV we mhocAov Cov ~ A ~ O V (= DK 13B2a)

43 In his reconstruction of the Heraclitean context of the solar fragments DSider (1997) abandons this non-literal line of interpretation and takes B3s state

ment as equivalent to the idea of the sun being of a fixed size he then connectsB94 to B43 (about quenching ) ~ p ~ e ) interpreting that the suns transgression is

the so-called moon illusion which was then punished by the coming of nightand followed by B6 To this it may be objected (1) that what B94 actually statesis that the sun shall nor overstep or surpass its limits and (2) that the moonillusion would apply also to dawn not only to sunset (cf Betegh The DerveniPapyrus 328n4 the Erinyes should quench the sun already at dawn)

9-




be the same as or equivalent to the reference to the boundaries or

limits ( O ) p o ~ ) the sun does not transgress or overstep

In lines 8 and 9 there are significant differences from Plutarchs

text which reads H A ~ O ~ (tXP oux 1 t e p ~ ~ O e t c u f L e t p ~ middot e ~ Se f L ~ E p ~ l u e - f L ~ I 1bcl)- l 1 t L x o u p o ~ l ~ e u p ~ O o u O w ( The sun will not

overstep his measures if he did the Furies servants of Justice

will find him out )44 Apart from the syntax the use of the verb

u 1 t e p ~ ~ L l w ( overstep ) instead of the verb 1 t e P ~ ~ A A W ( pass over

exceed ) some wordplay involving oupou--eupou- and a slight

variation in word order in the final clause perhaps the most notice

able change in the papyrus reading is the use of the ionicism o u p o ~( boundaries ) instead of f L E t P ~ ( measures ) and even that makes

little difference in meaning The general sense in most reconstruc

tions of line 8 seems sufficiently close to the pre-Derveni reading

whether one reads to [J[e(eampo]- oUX U 1 t ~ p ~ ~ A A W I d ~ [ 6 t ~ - ou]pou-

e[upou-] (KPT) or to0[- O)pou]- OUX U 1 t ~ p ~ ~ A A W I d ([tXp eu]

pou- l[wutou (Janko Bernabe) oT t o0[- oupou]C oUX U 1 t ~ p ~ 6 A A 6 l l middotd ([tXp l ~ eu]pouc l [ ~ b l ~ 1Lx1JC (Mouraviev) For on any of these

readings the essential meaning still is the sun will not transgress

or overstep its limits or boundariesStructurally B94 (Plutarchs version) consists of two different

and complementary assertions First we have a categorical proposi

tion Helios will not overstep the measures (or the boundaries )

and then a hypothetical negative clause which reinforces the point

if not the Erinyes Justices servants will find him out From

the point of view of form Plutarchs version seems more likely to

be authentic In point of content it is not immediately clear what

exactly the reference of L e t p ~

(or opou-) is (the same is true for therestored O)POU- in the papyrus)-whether it refers to the increasing

44 DK 22B94 comes from Plutarch De exilio 11 604A There is a different ver

sion in De lside et Osiride 370D3-1O in oratio obliqua with two variants 0POU1

( boundaries ) instead of JCtPIX ( measures ) and KAOOloc1 ( Spinners ) instead

o f E p ~ l U E 1 H p O C X A E ~ t 0 1 [ J cp1JOL [ J A ~ O l OE J ~ J 7 t E P ~ ~ O E O l I X L tOU1

1 t p o O ~ X O l t I X 1 OPOU1 d OE [ L ~ KAOOloc1 [ L ~ I tlLXI)1 emxoupou1 e E u p ~ O e ~ I( Heraclitus says the sun will not go beyond its proper boundaries if not theSpinners servants of Justice will find him out ) KAoo1toc1 is an emendation of

the manuscripts presumably corrupt YAWttIX1 ( tongues ) For other possibilities see D Sider Heraclitus in the Derveni Papyrus 143n42

2 -



bull

r


sitt of the circle of the sun itself (the so-called moon illusion

which happens when the sun is nearer the horizon) rather than to

the cnreme southern and northern points marking the solstices But

the main idea is common to both Plutarch and the Derveni author

and dear enough illustrated here by the suns constant abiding of

the orderings of Justice Heraclitus cosmos is governed by law45

In spite of Lebedevs vehement assertion it is quite unlikely that

tOr Heraclitus the sun even if viewed as a god is the ruler of the

xOom-46 He may be the cause of day and night as B99 implies

bm as B94 itself makes clear he is presented not as a king but as

an obedient subject in a realm where Justice (LlLxlJ who is identi

fied with E P ~ in B80) reigns supreme The bold personifications

cLNXlj the Furies ( E p w u e ~ ) and the sun CHAW) which have

ocbcr parallels in the authentic fragments47 look somewhat paler

and diluted in the Derveni version

So to conclude this brief approach the evidence provided by

the Derveni papyrus on Heraclitus text is very problematic to say

the least It does not seem to add much to what we already knew

from other later sources but merely serves as confirmation of the

authenticity of the same old solar fragments In particular the

contention that B3 and B94 formed a single continuous passage

remains possible but even the most authoritative versions of the

reconstructed text of the papyrus do not seem to make good sense

of the passage as a unity

~ I borrow this phrase from Kahns treatment ofAnaximanders fragment

4Ii A Lebedev Heraclitus in P Derveni Zeitschri t for Papyrologie un~ i t 79 (1989) 39-47 at 43ff The notion of the sun as supreme rulerof the cosmos may be perhaps attributed to the Derveni commentator but as

ldledcv himself acknowledges The initial words [OCPXeL] ~ A ~ [ O lt xocr ]pou

lUi qoow are not attested elsewhere in a verbatim quotation (43) The alleged~ e v i d e n c e n in the Heraclitean tradition is not always focused on the sun but

on fire and it has little weight against the fragments themselves in which we

find that it is nOAefJ0lt who is called the king of all (1tIXvtwv ~ o t c r L A e U lt B53)though A1Wv is also depicted as such (B52) which might suggest they are thesame

The classic instances include (besides the two just referred to in the previousDOte) nOAe Lolt ~ E p L lt and L1Lx t) in BSQ and Kepotuv6lt in B64 all of themoonsistently characterized by their governing functions

2 -




Although the point is overstated I sympathize with Lebedevs

claim that Heraclitus view of the Sun has nothing to do with

natural science48 The idea that the character ofHeraclitus thoughtas a whole is fundamentally misrepresented by physicalistic interpre

tations of the crucial fragments is nothing new Although the histor

ical impact ofAristotles interpretation ofHeraclitus as a p u O ~ x 6 is

huge modern tributaries of this view seem to be running rather dry

nowadays Some recent interpreters (Betegh Finkelberg Mouraviev)

have pursued physical-eschatological lines of interpretation which

remain open but it would be hard to consider any results as conclu

sive at least in what concerns Heraclitus sun Much ado has beenmade about Orphic influence on Heraclitus but the opposite and

complementary possibility (a Heraclitean influence on later Orphic

writers such as the Derveni commentator) has not been sufficiently

explored As for the general nature of Heraclitus views on the

sun I would say they are more metaphysical I mean ontologi

cal because they concern the suns nature or genuine being) than

physical without denying they have some relevance in the latter

field Looking at our three fragments once again they do not seemto cohere with one another in a dogmatic fashion as if they were

parts ofa wider astronomical theory But the way Heraclitus presents

the sun and especially the idea that its movement and change are

rationally grounded on its own nature and on universal regularity

certainly provide a solid basis for physical science At least relying on

the fragments themselves (rather than on doxographical reports and

interpretations) it does not seem that Heraclitus is very interested

in the detailed mechanics of cosmic processes Instead he is rather

conspicuously committed to finding out and expressing the p u O ~ ofthings and the workings ofA6yo as the single unifying universal law

His interests lie in what could be called the ontological framework

that is the necessary basis for human knowledge and human action

I will end by quoting Heraclitus once more I propose that there

is another solar fragment of sorts that we ought to take into account

What Heraclitus says here is enigmatic but it is also undoubtedly

relevant and suggestive for my chosen theme

48 Lebedev Heraclitus in P Derveni 44

-



eraclituson The Sun

How could anyone be unaware of that which never

sets49

This question suggests the strange image of a source of light

more constant than the sun a hyper-sun so to speak to L ~ SOvov

Ttote what never sets which constitutes an unmistakable contrast

ing reference to the setting sun B16 also connects again by way

of a contrast this absolute presence with lethargic human experi

ence so it sounds like a warning not to overlook the evident Now

reproaching most men for their epistemic negligence and contrasting

this with the sufficiency of the absolute divine point of view is a

recurrent theme in the fragments so perhaps the A6yoc interpreted

as the law of the fiery cosmos itself is the object of the allusion and

the intended symbolic counterpart of the Heraclitean sun50 The

contrast is more complex and intricate than it would seem at first

sight since it not only suggests a cluster of referents which stand for

ontological rationality (A6yoc xoO Loc ~ u O t c ) but it may also imply

an analogous link between human nature and the Heraclitean sun

And this brings us right back to some of the contents of our three

basic texts B3 can be aptly described as a voicing ofa measurement

of the sun according to an all-too-human standard B94 states Helios

49 DK 22B16 t0 f L ~ oOvov 1ton 1t(ic ampv nc A l amp O ~ if there is some ambiguity

n the sense ofAowamplvOl one could alternately translate How could anyone everbe hidden from that which doesnt set Cpound Hesiod Erga 267-268 1t lVtCl ~ o w vlLO o ~ amp o L A f L o C xClL 1t lVtCl V O ~ C I C l C xClL vu tl0 Clt x eampEA7JCI E m o E p x E t C l ~ aMi E

A ~ L(The eye of Zeus seeing all things and understanding alllooksupon these things too if he wants to and fails not to notice) Cpound Homer II

III277

50 In the Cratylus Socrates voices a humorous and anonymous objection to thecontention that justice (O[XClWV) is in fact ~ A L O C (413b4) for then there wouldbe nothing just among men after the sun has set (ouov O[XClLOV [ J euroV t o ~ c bamppW1tmc eurotELOOCV 6 A W C ov-n 413c1) This looks like an echo of BI6 andimplies a connection between A ~ O C and justice This objection is embedded ina longer passage (412e-413d) which focuses on a seemingly Heraclitean collection of ideas (featuring cosmic change effected by a single and constant agentqualified as AE1ttOtCltOV andtlXLCItov (lightest and swiftest 412d5) anddescribed as passing through all things OLOC t00 oVtOC L E V C l ~ 1tClVtOC 412d6)and concludes after explicit identification of justice and fire that this is hard tounderstand (t00t0 o OU p ~ O L O V eCInv d O E V C l ~ 413c2)

On the face of B94 together with B43 it is clear that Helios (unlike humanbeings) is not prone to U ~ p L C

3-




submission to Justice (who must stand for objective and univer-

sal rationality) within the framework of an analogy between the

cosmic and the human and B6 by stressing continuous alterationfocuses on the permanent identity of the suns nature as a universal

paradigm Under the light ofB16 a pattern ofproportional relation

ships begins to take shape human incomprehension the sun as

mirror of the cosmos and the all-encompassing unifying law My

last point will seem far-fetched to some I grant that in any case

it would take at least another paper to develop it more fully but

I will take the risk of insisting on a possible connection of all this

with the famous Platonic image of the sun in the Republic 52 For if

there really is such a connection it might turn out (in spite of the

dominant trend of interpretation) that Platos Heracliteanism is not

after all limited to the flux of Becoming but reaches deep into the

theory of Forms And Platos use of this Heraclitean image might

prove useful for a better understanding of its earlier philosophical

use in the fragments themselvesY

52 This very connection has been suggested on a different basis and with dif

ferent implications by A Lebedev ( Heraclitus in P Derveni 44) for whom

Heraclitus sun is rather comparable with the Sun metaphor of Platos Politeia(the humorous remark about H p l X x ) e v d o ~ ~ ~ o ~ in epublica 498b seems tobe a masked recognition of Platos debt)

53 I wish to express my gratitude to Charles Kahn and all participants at the

Delphi Symposium for their observations comments and objections I am

especially indebted to Richard Patterson and an anonymous reader whose

suggestions have helped to clarify the final version of the text

4-





PRESOCRATICS ND PLATO

Festschrift at Delphi

in Honor of Charles Kahn

Papers presented at the

Festschrift Symposium inHonor of

Charles KahnOrganized by the HYELE Institute for Comparative Studies

European Cultural Center of Delphi

June 3rd- 7 th 2009

Delphi Greece

Edited by

RICHARD PATTERSON VASSILIS KARASMANIS

and ARNOLD HERM NN

P RMENIDESPUBLISHING

as Vegas I urich IAthens






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Documents

Hülsz Piccone, Enrique_Heraclitus on Sun_2012_Presocratics and Plato. Festschrift at Delphi in Honor of Ch. K._pp. 3-24