Pherecydes of Syros
Pherecydes of Syros (in
Greek: Φερεκύδης) was a Greek thinker from the island of
Syros, of the
6th century BC. Pherecydes authored the
Heptamychia, one of the first attested prose works in Greek literature, which formed an important bridge between mythic and
pre-Socratic thought.In this piece, Pherecydes taught his philosophy through the medium of mythic representations. Although it is lost, the fragments that survive are enough to reconstruct a basic outline.
Aristotle in
Metaphysics (section 1091 b 8) thus characterized Pherecydes' work as a mixture of
myth and
philosophy.
Pherecydes gives a history of the world that proceeds by rationalizing the Greek pantheon. The king of the gods is not
Zeus but
Zas ("he who lives"). His father is
Chronos ("time") rather than
Kronos, from whom water, earth, air and fire spring. The antagonism between father and son seems to have been omitted. Chronos and Zas fight a war against
Ophion or
Ophioneus ("the snake man"), and Zas celebrates his victory by weaving a robe for Chthonie, who is transformed into
Ge ("the surface of the earth").
Pherecydes' contribution to the early Presocratic thought is (1) the denial of ex nihilo creation; (2) cosmos self-creation; (3) the eternal nature of the first principles.
Both
Cicero and
Augustine thought that Pherecydes of Syros first taught the immortality of the soul.
Diogenes Laertius writes that some considered Pherecydes to have been the teacher of
Pythagoras. He is occasionally counted among the
Seven Sages of Greece.
Pherecydes of Syros should not be confused with
Pherecydes of Leros.
*
Excerpt from Diogenes biography of Pherecydes
