Xenophanes, the gods, and the reinvention of poetic authority

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  • March 22, 2019
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  • Smith, Derek Heath
    • Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Classics
Abstract
  • This thesis explores the nature and authority of the theological comments made by Xenophanes of Colophon. In my first chapter I discuss the critical and positive fragments of Xenophanes’ work and attempt to both construct a consistent theological account and discover the methods by which he arrives at his conclusions. After adopting James Lesher’s position that Xenophanes is rejecting the possibility of divine communication, I explore the consequences of this radical pronouncement in my second chapter: if Xenophanes, unlike his poetic predecessors, does not have access to the gods through divine inspiration, how can he speak authoritatively about divine matters? In this chapter I begin by discussing the gods, truth, and authority in the works of Homer and Hesiod before analyzing these concepts in the fragments of Xenophanes. In my third chapter I attempt to pinpoint the significance of Xenophanes’ position by comparing his thoughts with those of two (roughly) contemporary poets, Parmenides and Pindar.
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  • In Copyright
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  • Smith, Peter M.
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  • Open access
Date uploaded
  • October 19, 2010

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