Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Editorial Introduction
- Contributors
- 1 Ancient Philosophy of Religion: An Introduction
- 2 Pythagoras
- 3 Xenophanes
- 4 Socrates and Plato
- 5 Aristotle
- 6 Epicurus
- 7 The Stoics
- 8 Cicero
- 9 Philo of Alexandria
- 10 The Apostle Paul
- 11 Plutarch of Chaeroneia
- 12 Sextus Empiricus
- 13 Early Christian Philosophers: Justin, Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian
- 14 Origen
- 15 Plotinus
- 16 Porphyry and Iamblichus
- 17 The Cappadocians: Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nazianzus, Gregory of Nyssa
- 18 Augustine
- 19 Proclus
- 20 Pseudo-Dionysius
- Chronology
- Bibliography
- Index
3 - Xenophanes
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Editorial Introduction
- Contributors
- 1 Ancient Philosophy of Religion: An Introduction
- 2 Pythagoras
- 3 Xenophanes
- 4 Socrates and Plato
- 5 Aristotle
- 6 Epicurus
- 7 The Stoics
- 8 Cicero
- 9 Philo of Alexandria
- 10 The Apostle Paul
- 11 Plutarch of Chaeroneia
- 12 Sextus Empiricus
- 13 Early Christian Philosophers: Justin, Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian
- 14 Origen
- 15 Plotinus
- 16 Porphyry and Iamblichus
- 17 The Cappadocians: Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nazianzus, Gregory of Nyssa
- 18 Augustine
- 19 Proclus
- 20 Pseudo-Dionysius
- Chronology
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Xenophanes was a poet and singer of epic verse who lived in various parts of the Greek world during the late sixth and early fifth centuries bce. A number of the surviving fragments of his poetry touch on the usual subjects of Greek sympotic verse: on proper conduct at symposia (21 B 1, 5, 22 DK [= Diels & Kranz 1951–2]), the measures of personal excellence (B 2, 3) and aspects of his life and interactions with various notable individuals (B 6–8, 10, 19–21, 45). But in seven other fragments (B 27–33) Xenophanes follows the lead of the Milesian philosopher-scientists in describing a number of natural phenomena as products of a set of basic physical substances and processes. And in a series of remarks concerning the stories about the gods told by Homer and Hesiod (B 11–12), the true nature of the divine (B 23–6), and the tendency of believers to conceive of the gods as like themselves (B 14–16), Xenophanes explored, so far as we know for the first time, questions central to the philosophy of religion.
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- The History of Western Philosophy of Religion , pp. 41 - 52Publisher: Acumen PublishingPrint publication year: 2009
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