Traditio Praesocratica
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Edited by:
Research into ancient scholarship had long wanted as complete as possible a critical edition of early Greek natural philosophers. As the title Traditio Praesocratica indicates, the aim of this new edition of individual volumes is not to reconstruct connections between works, but rather to document the transmission of early Greek philosophy, as preserved in the traditions of the various classical and late antique philosophical schools, in chronological order. This includes the Latin and Syro-Arabian traditions up to the early medieval period. The original texts are presented together with a German translation, supplemented where necessary with an introduction and notes. A detailed introduction is dedicated to the doxographic peculiarities for the Pre-Socratic concerned.
It is planned to publish a revised edition with English translations some two or three years later entitled Traditio Praesocratica. Textual evidence on early Greek philosophy and its continuation. Parallel to the volumes on individual philosophers, the series Studia Praesocratica will present commentaries, monographs and edited volumes on early Greek philosophy and its doxography.
Topics
Archelaos von Athen, eine oft übersehene Figur der Philosophiegeschichte, wird in den meisten erhaltenen Zeugnissen als Schüler des Anaxagoras und Lehrer des Sokrates beschrieben. Einige dieser Berichte deuten darauf hin, dass er die Naturphilosophie mit ethischen Fragestellungen verband – eine Möglichkeit, die sein Verhältnis zu Sokrates grundsätzlich noch interessanter macht.
Der fünfte Band der Reihe dokumentiert die Überlieferung zu Archelaos von den frühesten Zeugnissen (vielleicht von Sophokles) bis in die frühe Neuzeit, unter Einbeziehung griechischer, lateinischer und arabischer Quellen. Die 129 Zeugnistexte sind chronologisch angeordnet und durch Anmerkungen ergänzt, die ihren Überlieferungskontext beleuchten. Besonders hervorzuheben ist die arabische Rezeption des Archelaos, in der er als Wegbereiter alchemistischer Ideen erscheint.
Dieser Band richtet sich an alle, die sich sowohl für die Rekonstruktion als auch für die Rezeption der frühen griechischen Philosophie interessieren. Mit seiner sorgfältigen Dokumentation bietet er eine möglichst vollständige Grundlage, um die vielfältigen Überlieferungen zu Archelaos und deren Nachwirkung in verschiedenen literarischen und kulturellen Kontexten besser zu verstehen.
The editors of the Traditio Praesocratica series have set themselves the goal of presenting the traditional knowledge of the so-called pre-Socratic philosophers as completely as possible in text and translation. The reception-historical perspective of the endeavour explains the chronological arrangement of the testimonies - in comparison to most other existing collections on the pre-Socratics - in their respective transmission context.
In the fourth volume of the series (after Thales, Anaximander and Anaximenes as well as Xenophanes) the Greek, Latin and Arabic surviving testimonies from the fourth century BC to the end of the Middle Ages on the life and teachings of the three western Greek philosophers Alcmaion, Hippon and Menestor are reproduced in chronological order and with a German translation. While Alkmaion of Kroton attracted attention in the subsequent history of reception primarily due to his theories on the physiology of the senses, possibly based on empirical evidence, Hippon (of Metapont?) repeatedly attracted the interest of later authors due to his epithet 'the godless'. Menestor of Sybaris, on the other hand, is known almost exclusively from Theophrastus' botanical works, who saw in him an occasionally quotable predecessor of his own corresponding research. All testimonies (Alkmaion about 100, Hippon about 90, Menestor about 5) are provided with brief contextual information on the respective author and the work in which the testimony is found. In addition, the testimonies are accompanied by thematically orientated 'similes', which are intended to provide a better orientation of the transmission and reception contexts. Detailed indices conclude the volume.
The study of pre-Socratic philosophy is thus provided with a further basic volume that enables a comprehensive view not only with regard to the reconstruction of the life and teachings of the thinkers in question, but also and above all with regard to their reception.
For the first time, this volume offers comprehensive access to the ancient and medieval reception of the major pre-Socratic philosopher Xenophanes of Colophon (ca. 580–480 BCE). It includes a complete collection of all Greek, Latin, Syrian-Arabic, and Armenian records of his life and teachings along with a German translation and Similienapparat, which reveals concordance between different texts.
The edition of the works of the three sixth-century BC Milesian philosophers, Thales, Anaximander and Anaximenes, follows the chronological arrangement (from Plato and Aristotle to Albertus Magnus) of the underlying concept of the new edition of Pre-Socratic philosophers - that is to document their transmission and the intentions behind the various traditions. The Greek, Latin, Syrian, Arabic, and Hebrew textual evidence is presented together with a German translation. The texts are supplemented by explanatory footnotes, a critical apparatus (if applicable) and, above all, an apparatus listing similia to support the understanding of the branches of transmission. The evidence for Thales is composed of a total of some 600 references and texts (vol. 1), for the other two Milesians of about 250 each (vol. 2). Extensive indices ensure that the volumes are easy to use.
In accordance with the purpose of the series Traditio Praesocratica, the present volume, the first in the series, contains the most complete collection ever assembled of the documentary evidence on Thales of Miletus. Approximately 600 texts, dating from the sixth century BCE to the fourteenth century CE, are presented in chronological order, both in the original language (Greek, Latin, Arabic and Persian) and in a facing English translation. The original-language texts are reprinted (with corrections) from Georg Wöhrle's edition (2009). Several texts discovered since the publication of the 2009 edition are included. The English translations were made by Richard McKirahan from the original texts. Differences between the German and the English translations are noted. An index of names and extensive glossaries and word indexes of the texts and translations are provided.
The edition of the works of the three sixth-century BC Milesian philosophers, Thales, Anaximander and Anaximenes, follows the chronological arrangement (from Plato and Aristotle to Albertus Magnus) of the underlying concept of the new edition of Pre-Socratic philosophers ‑ that is to document their transmission and the intentions behind the various traditions. The Greek, Latin and Syro-Arabian textual evidence is presented together with a German translation. The texts are supplemented by explanatory footnotes, a critical apparatus and, above all, an apparatus listing similia to support the understanding of the branches of transmission. Extensive indices ensure that the volumes are easy to use. The first volume documents the evidence for Thales: a total of some 600 references and texts.
