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Chris Eckerman

This note argues that, at Olympian 13.106, Pindar/the performer references his obligation to fulfill expectations of reciprocity. Pindar/the performer says that he will fulfill his obligation to discharge his debt because he is thinking... more
This note argues that, at Olympian 13.106, Pindar/the performer references his obligation to fulfill expectations of reciprocity. Pindar/the performer says that he will fulfill his obligation to discharge his debt because he is thinking and working within the framework of the χρέος-motif. This note uses comparanda, Pindaric and other, as well as the flow of the narrative in order to support the argument.
Scholars have long recognized that Lucretius alludes to Empedocles' four-root theory at 1.1-5 and 1.6-9, and they have suggested that, in doing so, Lucretius shows respect for Empedocles, either as a philosophical predecessor, as a... more
Scholars have long recognized that Lucretius alludes to Empedocles' four-root theory at 1.1-5 and 1.6-9, and they have suggested that, in doing so, Lucretius shows respect for Empedocles, either as a philosophical predecessor, as a literary predecessor, or as both. I argue, alternatively, that Lucretius deprecates Empedocles' four-root theory. I suggest that, through the use of polemical allusion, Lucretius makes the argument that Epicurean physical theory gets the constituents of nature correct and that four-root theory does not (1-5) and that Epicurean atomic theory worsts four-root theory as a philosophical competitor (6-9). Moreover, cohesive systems of imagery allow the reader to deduce that Venus serves as a metaphor for atoms at the beginning of the proem and as a metaphor for Epicureanism shortly thereafter. Beginning the poem with an attack against four-root theory may be read not only as an attack against Empedocles but also as an attack against several prominent philosophical schools that promoted four-root theory. Thus, Lucretius opens his poem with a fervent endorsement of Epicurean physiologia in relation to competing philosophical schools.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests: