The question of Empedocles belongs to both a philosophical direction. Great philosophers - Empedocles. The doctrine of values ​​is called...

Empedocles of Agrigento

Empedocles from the city of Acraganta (Agrigenta) in Sicily is an ancient Greek philosopher, physician, politician, and head of the Democratic Party.

In the philosophy of Empedocles, the influence of the Pythagoreans and Parmenides is noticeable. In the poem “On Nature,” Empedocles developed the doctrine of the four eternal and unchanging elements - fire, air, water and earth. They fill all space and are in constant motion, moving, mixing and separating. All things are formed from a combination of these elements in various proportions, “like a wall made of bricks and stones.” Thus, a bone consists of two parts water, two parts earth and four parts fire. Empedocles rejects the idea of ​​the birth and death of things.

The combination and separation of elements is due to the existence of two forces - Love (philia) and Enmity (phobia), the alternating predominance of which determines the cyclical nature of the world process. These two forces have very definite physical qualities. Thus, “sticky Love” has all the properties of moisture, and “destructive Enmity” has all the properties of fire. During the period of the dominance of Love, the elements are fused together, forming a huge homogeneous ball - Sphairos, at rest; the predominance of Enmity leads to the isolation of elements.

In his philosophy, Empedocles expressed many brilliant ideas; for example, he wrote that light takes a certain time to spread. Empedocles' idea about the survival of biological species, which were distinguished by their expediency, was remarkable; His description of the origin of living beings during the period of the growing power of Love contains moments that anticipate the idea of ​​natural selection.

Empedocles paid considerable attention to problems of medicine, anatomy and physiology; he became the founder of the Sicilian medical school. Empedocles believed that it is impossible to master healing if you do not know and study the human body. In his theory of sensory perception, he expressed the idea that the process of perception depends on the structure of bodily organs. Empedocles believed that like is perceived by like, therefore the senses adapt to what is sensed. The sense organs, according to Empedocles, have peculiar pores through which “outflows” from the perceived object penetrate. If the pores are narrow, then the “outflows” cannot penetrate, and perception does not occur. Empedocles' theory of sensations had a great influence on subsequent ancient Greek thought - Plato, Aristotle, and atomists.

In his poem “Purifications” (of which about a hundred verses have come down to us), Emedocles outlined the religious and ethical doctrine of metempsychosis (transmigration of souls). There were legends about Empedocles among his contemporaries as a miracle worker of extraordinary power who was able to resurrect a woman who had previously been without breathing for a whole month. He had all sorts of talents and virtues, was an outstanding orator and even founded a school of oratory in Sicily. The death of Empedocles is also shrouded in legend; they said that he threw himself into the mouth of Mount Etna so that he could be honored as a god.

Aphorisms, quotes, sayings, phrases.

  • - It is better to be the subject of envy than compassion.
  • - The mind grows in people in accordance with the knowledge of the world.
  • - Nothing can come from nothing, and in no way can what exists be destroyed.
  • - If opposing opinions are not expressed, then there is nothing to choose the best from.
  • “The Akragants eat as if they will die tomorrow, and build houses as if they will live forever.
  • - Since ancient times, people have had wise and beautiful sayings; We should learn from them.

philosopher empedocles orator

Empedocles of Akragant (ancient Greek Ἐμπεδοκλῆς) (c. 490 BC, Agrigento - c. 430 BC) - ancient Greek philosopher, doctor, statesman, priest. Empedocles' works are written in the form of poems. He was a pluralist, recognizing the multiplicity of arche. He was a supporter of democracy.

His biography is difficult to separate from the legends on which the story of Empedocles cited by Diogenes Laertius is largely based. Some information about him is reconstructed from his own writings, known from fragments.

His activities took place in the Sicilian city of Acragante (Agrigente). There were legends about him as a miracle worker of extraordinary power, who was able to resurrect a woman who had previously been without breathing for a whole month. He mastered the art of eloquence and even founded a school of oratory in Sicily. While developing the doctrine of the transmigration of souls, Empedocles said about himself that he was previously a man and a woman, a fish, a bird, and an animal.

According to some reports, at one time Empedocles was a Pythagorean, but was expelled for publicizing the teachings of Pythagoras.

The legend of his death, associated with the idea of ​​turning a man into a god, became widespread. They say that he, anticipating death, threw himself into the mouth of Mount Etna. One of the explanations for suicide was an attempt to hide one’s death in order to be counted among the gods, arising from lifetime self-deification and hope for glory.

However, Empedocles' suicide is seen not only as an attempt to be considered a deity, but also as an attempt, arising from his philosophy, to actually become a god. According to legend, the gods really accepted him, but not completely - the philosopher’s bronze sandals were thrown out of the volcano.

The basis of Empedocles’ teaching is the concept of four elements that form the “roots” of things, the so-called arche.

These roots are fire, air, water and earth. They corresponded to Zeus, Hades, Nestis (the Sicilian deity of water) and Hera. They fill all space and are in constant motion, moving, mixing and separating. They are unchanging and eternal. All things seem to be made up of these elements, “just like a wall is made of bricks and stones.” Other gods were also derivatives of these 4 “roots”. These 4 “roots” of things are distributed most evenly in human blood. The “roots” of things are “passive” principles.

Empedocles' concept boils down to the following diagram. There is unity and plurality in the world, but not simultaneously, as in , but sequentially. A cyclical process takes place in nature, in which Love first dominates, connecting all elements - “the roots of all things”, and then Enmity reigns, separating these elements. When Love dominates, then unity reigns in the world, and the qualitative originality of individual elements disappears. When Enmity dominates, the originality of material elements appears, a multitude appears. The dominance of Love and the dominance of Enmity are separated by transitional periods.

The world process consists of these repeating cycles. In the process of all the changes that occur, the elements themselves do not arise or are destroyed, they are eternal.

In his philosophy, Empedocles expressed many brilliant thoughts, but at the time when Empedocles lived, they could not be confirmed empirically. Thus, he wrote that light requires a certain time to propagate, that is, the speed of light is very large, but still a finite value.

Even in the 4th century. BC e. considered this opinion to be erroneous. Empedocles, like the Eleatics, recognized the law of conservation - nothing comes from nothing. Also remarkable was Empedocles' idea of ​​the survival of biological species, which were distinguished by their expediency. In this one can already see the beginnings, albeit naive, of an approach to the theory of natural selection. Like Anaximander, he believed that the living came from the non-living, but the difference was that in the beginning parts of the body and organs appeared, then, as Love intensified in the world, they randomly connected, as a result of which two-headed, four-armed, etc. appeared. n. The most adapted organisms survived, and this was a certain expedient plan.

In medicine, Empedocles is one of the founders of the movement, whose representatives believed that it was impossible for anyone to know the art of medicine who had not first studied what a person is.

In his theory of sensory perception, Empedocles puts forward a profound idea that the process of sensory perception depends on the structure of bodily organs. Cognition is carried out in the following way: like is comprehended by like. For example, the sense organs adapt to what is perceived, but if the structure of the sense organ is such that it cannot adapt to what is perceived, then this object is not perceived. Or cosmic Love is known like human love.

The sense organs have peculiar pores through which “outflows” from the perceived object penetrate. If the pores are narrow, then the “outflows” cannot penetrate, and perception does not occur.

Empedocles' theory of sensations had a great influence on subsequent ancient Greek thought - Aristotle, atomists.

In the partially preserved poem “Purification,” he outlined the Pythagorean doctrine of the transmigration of souls, retribution and atonement.

He owns the poem “On Nature,” from which 340 verses have survived, as well as the religious poem “Purification” (otherwise known as “Redemption”; about 100 verses have survived).

ancient Greek philosopher, doctor, statesman, priest

495 - 430 BC.

short biography

Empedocles of Akragant(ancient Greek Ἐμπεδοκλῆς) (c. 490 BC, Agrigento - c. 430 BC) - ancient Greek philosopher, doctor, statesman, priest. Empedocles' works are written in the form of poems. He was a pluralist, recognizing the multiplicity of arche. He was a supporter of democracy.

He owns the poem “On Nature,” from which 340 verses have survived, as well as the religious poem “Purification” (otherwise known as “Redemption”; about 100 verses have survived).

His biography is difficult to separate from the legends on which the story of Empedocles cited by Diogenes Laertius is largely based. Some information about him is restored from his own writings, known from fragments.

His activities took place in the Sicilian city of Acragante (Agrigente). There were legends about him as a miracle worker of extraordinary power, who was able to resurrect a woman who had previously been without breathing for a whole month. He mastered the art of eloquence and even founded a school of oratory in Sicily. While developing the doctrine of the transmigration of souls, Empedocles said about himself that he was previously a man and a woman, a fish, a bird, and an animal.

According to some reports, at one time Empedocles was a Pythagorean, but was expelled for publicizing the teachings of Pythagoras.

The legend of his death, associated with the idea of ​​turning a man into a god, became widespread. They say that he, anticipating death, threw himself into the mouth of Mount Etna. One of the explanations for suicide was an attempt to hide one’s death in order to be counted among the gods, arising from lifetime self-deification and hope for glory. However, Empedocles' suicide is seen not only as an attempt to be considered a deity, but also as an attempt, arising from his philosophy, to actually become a god. According to legend, the gods really accepted him, but not completely - the philosopher’s bronze sandals were thrown out of the volcano.

Teaching

The basis of Empedocles' teaching is the concept of four elements that form the “roots” of things, the so-called arche. These roots are fire, air, water and earth. They corresponded to Hades, Zeus, Nestis (the Sicilian deity of water) and Hera. They fill all space and are in constant motion, moving, mixing and separating. They are unchanging and eternal. All things seem to be made up of these elements, “just like a wall is made of bricks and stones.” Other gods were also derivatives of these 4 “roots”. These 4 “roots” of things are distributed most evenly in human blood. The “roots” of things are “passive” principles.

These roots are fire, air, water and earth. They corresponded to Zeus, Hades, Nestis (the Sicilian deity of water) and Hera. They fill all space and are in constant motion, moving, mixing and separating. They are unchanging and eternal. All things seem to be made up of these elements, “just like a wall is made of bricks and stones.” Other gods were also derivatives of these 4 “roots”. These 4 “roots” of things are distributed most evenly in human blood. The “roots” of things are “passive” principles.

The source of the movement occurring in nature is not the “roots” themselves, since they are unchangeable, but two opposing forces - Love (Phileia), personifying unity and goodness, and Hatred (Neikos), personifying multitude and evil. They are “active” principles. These two forces have very definite physical qualities. Thus, “sticky Love” has all the properties of moisture, and “destructive Hate” has all the properties of fire. Thus, the whole world is a process of mixing and separating the mixed. If Love begins to dominate, then Sfairos is formed - a ball in which Hatred is on the periphery. When Enmity penetrates Sfairos, the elements move and they find themselves separated. Then the reverse process begins, which ends with the reconstruction of Sfairos - a homogeneous motionless mass with a spherical shape. In total there were 4 phases: 1) acosmic - domination and victory of Love (Sfairos); 2) cosmic - the transition from Love to Hate; 3) acosmic - domination and victory of Hatred; 4) cosmic - the transition from Hatred to Love. Humanity lived in phase 4.

Thus, Empedocles' concept boils down to the following scheme. There is unity and plurality in the world, but not simultaneously, as in Heraclitus, but sequentially. A cyclical process takes place in nature, in which Love first dominates, connecting all elements - “the roots of all things”, and then Enmity reigns, separating these elements. When Love dominates, then unity reigns in the world, and the qualitative originality of individual elements disappears. When Enmity dominates, the originality of material elements appears, a multitude appears. The dominance of Love and the dominance of Enmity are separated by transitional periods.

The world process consists of these repeating cycles. In the process of all the changes that occur, the elements themselves do not arise or are destroyed, they are eternal.

In his philosophy, Empedocles expressed many brilliant thoughts, but at the time when Empedocles lived, they could not be confirmed empirically. Thus, he wrote that light requires a certain time to propagate, that is, the speed of light is very large, but still a finite value. Even Aristotle in the 4th century. BC e. considered this opinion to be erroneous. Empedocles, like the Eleatics, recognized the law of conservation - nothing comes from nothing. Also remarkable was Empedocles' idea of ​​the survival of biological species, which were distinguished by their expediency. In this one can already see the beginnings, albeit naive, of an approach to the theory of natural selection. Like Anaximander, he believed that the living came from the non-living, but the difference was that in the beginning there were parts of the body and organs, then, as Love intensified in the world, they were arbitrarily connected, as a result of which two-headed, four-armed, etc. n. The most adapted organisms survived, and this was a certain expedient plan. In medicine, Empedocles is one of the founders of the movement, whose representatives believed that it was impossible for anyone to know the art of medicine who had not first studied what a person is.

EMPEDOCLUS(c. 492 - c. 432 BC) - ancient Greek philosopher, poet, doctor, politician and religious leader. Born in Acragante, Sicily. The biographical details reported in the history of philosophy of Diogenes Laertius are mainly ancient legends. Most of the information is drawn from his own writings - poems About nature And Cleansing, known from fragments. An aristocrat by birth, in politics Empedocles was a supporter of democracy and was known as a doctor. In philosophy he combined elements of Ionian natural philosophy ( About nature) with the Orphic-Pythagorean doctrine of the soul ( Cleansing).

As a thinker, Empedocles was influenced by the previous natural philosophical tradition (the Milesian school), Pythagorean philosophy and mathematics, as well as religious cults. His pluralistic system of principles, with the postulation of four basic elementary forms of matter, was a philosophical response to the criticism of monistic cosmogonies by Parmenides, like all later systems of this type. It was intended primarily to explain the observed diversity and mobility of nature (contrary to the thesis of Parmenides about a single immovable being).

In the teachings of Empedocles, the four traditional elements of Ionian physics were named as the principles of the cosmos - fire, air, water and earth, which he called “the roots of all things.” These principles are eternal and unchanging, yet changes in the visible world occur due to their combination with each other under the influence of two fundamental forces of attraction (Love, “Philia”) and repulsion (Enmity, “Neikos”). Thus, like Parmenides, Empedocles believed that the transition from non-existence to being (and back) is impossible, “birth” and “death” are just imprecise names behind which stands the mechanistic “connection” and “separation” of eternal elements. To designate the elements, as well as the driving cosmic forces, Empedocles uses mythological language: fire - Zeus, air - Aidoneus, water - Nestis, earth - Hera.

In cosmogony, Empedocles was a proponent of the theory of cycles, in which the dominance of “love” alternates with the dominance of “enmity.” A separate cosmogonic cycle has 4 phases: 1. the era of “love” - all elements are fused together, forming a homogeneous motionless “ball”; 2. “enmity” penetrates the “ball” and displaces “love”, separating heterogeneous elements and connecting homogeneous ones; 3. “love” returns, gradually connecting dissimilar elements and separating homogeneous ones; 4. The phase of the emergence of living beings, in turn, breaks down into 4 stages: 1) individual members unable to unite into an organism; 2) unsuccessful connections of members are monsters; 3) bisexual beings incapable of sexual reproduction; 4) full-fledged animals. According to this theory of the origin of species, each new stage “grows out of the earth.”

Empedocles’ theory of sensations had a great influence on subsequent Greek philosophy (especially on atomism): material “outflows” are continuously separated from the perceived object, penetrating into the “pores” of the sense organs. His theory of “pores and outflows” was universal in nature and also explained physical and physiological processes.

Part of the poem About nature was devoted to describing the sphere of the divine. According to Empedocles, God is not accessible to sensory knowledge, he can only be contemplated by the mind; the appearance of God is not anthropomorphic, he is “a spirit, holy and ineffable, running around the entire cosmos with quick thoughts.”

In the poem Cleansing Empedocles talks about the fate of living beings, expounds the doctrine of the fall of the soul, its reincarnation into the bodies of plants, animals and people as punishment and liberation from the “circle of births” after cleansing from defilement. The entity that participates in the circle of rebirths is not the soul (as with the Pythagoreans and Plato), but a “demon” (deity). Empedocles himself reports that he was previously a man and a woman, a fish, a bird, and an animal. According to legend, he ended his life by throwing himself into the mouth of Mount Etna.

Maria Solopova

Schools on the basis of reality, however, preserving in it everything that was obtained by the Italian philosophers. A man who lived in Sicily, in Acragantum, and rendered great services to this city by improving its government institutions, Empedocles was at the same time a scientist who possessed great knowledge in the natural sciences. He enjoyed the greatest respect among his fellow citizens not only for his political activities, but also for his technical work, such as for draining the swampy lowlands near Selinunte, for the construction of walls that stopped the cold wind rushing from the gorges, and enjoyed the greatest respect both as a doctor and like a sage. In his didactic poem “On Nature,” which had a high, poetic dignity, Empedocles, following the example of Heraclitus, outlined the theory of the origin of the universe, gave beautiful pictures of the earth’s surface, its products, the living creatures inhabiting it, and with a brilliant mind expressed thoughts that only in recent times, special sciences have come; for example, he said that mountains and rocks were raised by the power of fire. It is likely that Empedocles' studies in natural science gave rise to the legend that he threw himself into the crater of Etna, wanting to find out the cause of volcanic phenomena. In general, his name is surrounded by mythical splendor. In folk stories, fabulous legends have been preserved about how he cleansed the air from swamp fumes. The factual truth is probably that he channeled two rivers into the Selinunte swamps and that he broke through the rock located north of Akragant, so that through the gap the wind would fly into the lowlands to the south of the city and drive their vapors into the sea . This is more consistent with the topographical conditions of that area than Plutarch’s story that Empedocles saved Akragant from infections and made a barren field fertile, blocking with walls the gorges from which the wind blew onto the plain.

Philosophy of Empedocles

Empedocles, like the Eleatics, says that there is neither emergence nor disappearance: emergence is only a combination of substances, disappearance is only their separation; like the Eleatics, he says that being is eternal and unchangeable. But, speaking of being, he understands substance by this word; according to his concepts, matter is eternal and there are four primitive classes of it. In addition to simple everyday ones, he gave these four eternal elements mythological and allegorical names: fire is the all-pervading Zeus; air – life-giver Hera; the earth, the gloomy dwelling of rejected spirits, is Aidoneus; for the fourth element, water, Empedocles himself composed an allegorical name: Nestis. These four elements are governed by two driving forces: love and hatred or discord. Initially, the elements were in a state of harmony and calm, forming a ball, the “divine sphere”; from this calm they were brought out by the action of hatred: the struggle of hatred with love produces a series of connections and separations of different elements. This process of change led to the present order of the universe.

The transition from a primitive, blissful state to this process constitutes, according to the teachings of Empedocles, a falling away from the truth; changes occur according to the laws of nature; and originally bodies were formed only by the action of accidents: from these accidental results gradually developed an order, to some extent intelligent. To explain the origin of some bodies from others, Empedocles believes that all bodies consist of infinitesimal particles: each particle belongs to one or another of the four elements. The life force of the human body is in the blood; self-awareness arises from certain combinations of constituent particles; the same combination can be repeated many times; Empedocles' doctrine of immortality and rebirth is based on this. Man’s ability to cognize all kinds of objects comes from the fact that he consists of all the elements and that both driving principles operate in him, so that he is a microcosm, a small world in which the universe is reflected.

Moral teaching of Empedocles

The philosophy of Empedocles is not limited to the doctrine of the origin and development of the universe; it also has a theory of morality. From the fragments that have come down to us of his poem “On Nature” and another of his poems called “Songs of Purification”, it is difficult to determine the connection between his concepts of the universe and moral teaching. Empedocles' thoughts on the transmigration of souls and the purpose of life show that he was an enthusiast. The unchangeable decision of fate determined that those of the divine spirits (demons) who, in an eclipse of reason, desecrated themselves by murder or perjury, are expelled for 30,000 years from the world of the blessed and must spend this time wandering the difficult paths of earthly life in various forms of mortal beings. So he himself was cast out from the blissful home of the gods to earth because, carried away by a frantic strife, he committed murder. In sublime verses, he describes, based on the impressions of his own experience, how painful the state of sinful spirits is, wandering without rest in all parts of the universe, how disastrous is the fate of the soul, which has entered the area of ​​discord, illness and death, having put on the clothing of the body; entry into earthly life is a transition from life to the kingdom of death. The escaped murderer had to atone for his sin from the Greeks by repentance and purification; Thus, the spirit expelled from the kingdom of the blessed into earthly bodily life must be cleansed in order to return to its former, pure and high existence. It must be assumed that in the “Songs of Purification” there were commandments about by what means of repentance and purification the journey of the soul through a sad earthly life can be shortened; Probably, among the commandments about purification was the prohibition to kill animals and eat meat; but it must be thought that Empedocles’ laws of purification did not have such severity as Eastern asceticism, from which the Greeks turned away. Empedocles remembered that he lived on earth in the forms of different creatures: he was a bush, he was a fish, he was a bird, he was a man, he was also a woman; he hoped that “the forces that lead souls along their paths” would now lift him to divine dwellings, the return to which is open to the benefactors of people: prophets, poets and doctors. The great teaching about love, which creates the universe, was revealed to the poet by the muse, and it seems that it was revealed to him by her, as a sacrament, by thinking about which he can free himself from disastrous hatred and from all the corruption to which hatred has subjected his spirit. This beautiful description of the golden age was probably inspired by Empedocles' passionate desire to return from the realm of hatred to a blissful state of calm and harmony.

Empedocles as an astronomer

Like most other ancient Greek thinkers, Empedocles combined his philosophical speculations with studies in the natural sciences. In this area, he expressed many interesting hypotheses. Around the Earth, according to Empedocles, two hemispheres move in a circle - one completely made of fire, and the other made of air with a small admixture of fire. The second hemisphere, rotating, generates night darkness.

Empedocles considered the sun not a real object, but only a reflection of the elements of fire (like those that exist on water). The moon was formed from air, which was carried upward by fire and condensed in the sky in the same way as rain of water condenses into hail. The light of the Moon, according to Empedocles' theory, is only a reflection of the light of the Sun.

Empedocles considered Genesis to be similar in shape to a ball, but it is slightly elongated and more closely resembles not a sphere, but a lying egg. Due to this elongation, the horizontal extent of the Earth is greater than the distance from it to the sky.

The firmament, according to Empedocles, is not air, but a crystalline solid made of icy matter. Later Greek scientists derived from this teaching the theory of the universe as a collection of transparent concentric crystal spheres on which all the celestial bodies revolve around the Earth. However, Empedocles himself thought that only stars were attached to the “celestial crystal”, and the planets moved freely.

Empedocles was aware of the difference between the planets changing their position in the sky and the “fixed” stars. Empedocles rightly saw the reason for solar eclipses in the fact that sometimes the Moon obscures the Sun.

Empedocles as a physicist

Empedocles believed that light does not travel through space instantly, but at a certain finite speed. This opinion strongly contradicted the generally accepted theories of Greek physics, and was later rejected even by the great Aristotle. Experimental confirmation that light has a certain speed was obtained only by the 17th century Western scientist Olaf Roemer during observations of eclipses of Jupiter’s satellites at its greatest and smallest distances from the Earth. Having determined the speed of light, Roemer proved that in the dispute between two ancient scientific geniuses, it was not Aristotle who was right, but Empedocles.

Empedocles as biologist

In the field of biology, Empedocles propagated the fantastic hypothesis that animals and plants arose as combinations of individual organs, which at first existed independently, without their “masters,” floating freely in space. All living species arose from random combinations of such organs. The first complex creatures consisted of already fused parts, but still had integrity. Then wholeness arose, and, finally, living individuals ceased to be formed from impersonal organs, but began to give birth to each other. Their species were divided according to their “temperaments”: some sought to live in water, others - to breathe air and have more fire in themselves, and the third, heavy ones, remained on Earth.

Empedocles also developed the idea of ​​preferential survival of species that turned out to be expedient, which some compare with Darwin’s “natural selection.” According to the views of Empedocles, during periods of the dominance of Love, parts of animals appeared (at first completely by accident) - heads, arms, legs. Then they were also randomly and mechanically connected, making bizarre combinations, like man-bulls. But in the end, only those combinations that turned out to be viable survived. Aristotle wrote that, according to Empedocles, “the parts where everything [by chance] coincided as if they had been formed for a specific purpose ... were preserved,” while all others perished.

Epistemology of Empedocles

According to Empedocles' theory of sensory perception, we perceive like as like. Each of the sense organs adapts to what is sensed. The pores of some organs are wider, while others are narrower than what is sensed, so that for each type of sensation there is its own special, “corresponding” organ. Explaining the essence of vision, Empedocles says that there is fire inside the eye, and around it, in the form of shells, there is earth, water and air. In the act of vision there are two kinds of “outflows”: some are directed from an external object to the eye, and others, on the contrary, from the eye to the object. As a result, in every sensation subjective and objective principles are mixed.

Mental thinking, according to Empedocles, is similar to sensory sensation, for otherwise the former could not generalize the facts of the latter.

Literature about Empedocles

V. F. Asmus. Ancient philosophy. Chapter "Empedocles"

Syomushkin A.V. Empedocles. M., 1985

Kingsley P. Ancient philosophy, mysteries and magic: Empedocles and the Pythagorean tradition. Oxford, 1995 (in English)