Xenophanes of Colophon: Fragments: A Text and Translation with a Commentary (Phoenix Presocractic Series)

Xenophanes of Colophon was a philosophical poet wholived in various cities of the ancient Greek world during the latesixth and early fifth centuries BC. In this book, James Lesherpresents the Greek texts of all the surviving fragments ofXenophanes' teachings, with an original English translation onfacing pages, along with detailed notes and commentaries and aseries of essays on the philosophical questions generated byXenophanes' remarks. Also included are English translations of allthe ancient testimonia relating to Xenophanes' life and teachings,and a discussion of how many of the testimonia pose the impedimentsto achieving a consistent interpretation of his philosophy.The Xenophanes who emerges in this account fully warrantsclassification as a philosophical thinker: moral critic andreflective student of nature, critic of popular religious beliefand practice, and perhaps the first to challenge claims toknowledge about divine matters and the basic forces at work innature. As with earlier works in the Pheonix series, this volumeaims to make an important portion of Presocratic writing accessibleto all those interested in ancient philosophy and the first phaseof European natural science. This new paperback edition contains anupdated bibliography.