Leaping into Etna
Legend says Empedocles jumped into Etna to prove he had become a god — but the volcano threw back one of his bronze sandals and gave him away.
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Empedocles
Author of the "four roots" and Love & Strife
Remembered for a Single Line · Small Roles, Famous Names
Four elementsLove & StrifeNatural philosophy
Who they are
Empedocles (c. 494–434 BC) held that all things are made of four "roots" — earth, water, air, fire — combined and separated by two forces, Love and Strife. Philosopher, physician and self-styled prophet, he is said to have leapt into Mount Etna to prove his divinity.
Primary sourcesFragments On Nature and PurificationsAristotle, Metaphysics
Key stories
Relationships
Disciple
Echoes today
Below are how modern works borrow or reinterpret this name or story — not the original material. The two differ, so keep them apart.
The four elementsEarth, water, air and fire dominated Western views of nature until modern chemistry.