Abstract
The present work investigates the interrelations between Pindar and various Presocratic philosophers, namely Xenophanes, Heraclitus, Empedocles, and Parmenides. Herewith, Pindar shall be compared to each thinker following a thematic principle: the critique of traditional accounts of the gods will emerge as a term of comparison for Pindar and Xenophanes (Chapter 1); the concept of σοφία will nuance the ways in which Pindar and Heraclitus relate and recast their conception of wisdom (Chapter 2); death and visions of the afterlife will cast light upon affinities and differences between Pindar and Empedocles (Chapter 3); and, finally, the poetics of competition will inform the relationship between Pindar and Parmenides (Chapter 4).Given that Pindar and the Presocratics often worked in a shared geographical area—and occasionally in close chronological proximity—it is apposite to investigate whether they also shared attitudes and ideas. On the one hand, I shall argue that, by contrast with many Pindaric scholars, Pindar engages in critical and innovative thought, which is comparable to that of the Presocratics. On the other hand, I shall highlight the ways in which the first philosophers engaged with traditional tropes and avenues of expression (including poetry), thereby giving a more contextualised approach to their enterprise.
Finally, we shall see how Pindar and the Presocratics were, at the same time, part of a common intellectual milieu: while being anchored in a certain intellectual tradition, they were simultaneously exposed to—and involved in—the cultural ferment of their time. From a disciplinary perspective, then, the present work implores scholars of both Pindar and the Presocratics to relax their adherence to rigid disciplinary categories, embracing a more flexible mode of inquiry, whereby philosophy and literature are no longer two disparate arenas of study.
| Date of Award | 1 Aug 2021 |
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| Original language | English |
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| Supervisor | Shaul Tor (Supervisor) & Pavlos Avlamis (Supervisor) |