Empedocles was the son of a man named Meton. The philosopher’s grandfather and son were also named Empedocles; it was common practice for the ancient Greeks to name sons and daughters for grandparents.
Empedocles was a student of Parmenides of Elea, and later became an adherent of Anaxagoras and Pythagoras. This intellectual apprenticeship, while hardly possible on chronological grounds, does accurately reflect the verses’ engagement with Parmenides’ theories of coming to be and passing away, and Empedocles’ familiarity with the Pythagoreans and Anaxagoras is not unlikely.
He has been described as “one of the most complex and colourful figures of antiquity”. Empedocles was physician and priest, philosopher, mystic and prophet, poet of a high poetic talent, a brilliant orator who has endeavored to associate religion with science, and has been involved in politics for the social benefit.
Empedocles not only considered the existence of the four' classical' elements as the cause of the beginning of the world, but he also supported the view of their unification, which results in the creation of the imaginary world of the Sphere. According to Empedocles, the Universe existed in the state of the Sphere before the explicit presence of the four elements and was the cause for the creation of everything.
According to the legend, Empedocles died by throwing himself into active volcano Etna in Sicily, trying to prove his immortality and his god-like nature.
Empedocles (490 BC–430 BC): Greek pre-Socratic philosopher
