Ecphantus the Pythagorean
Ecphantus the Pythagorean | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| Died | c. 4th-century BCE |
| Era | Ancient Greek philosophy |
| School | Pythagoreanism |
Notable ideas | heliocentric theory |
EcphantusorEcphantos(Ancient Greek:Ἔκφαντος) orEphantus(Έφαντος) was anAncient Greekpre-Socraticphilosopher. He is identified as aPythagoreanof the 4th century BCE fromSyracuse,Magna Graecia,but the details concerning his life are historically obscure; he may have not been a historical person, but rather a fictional character invented byHeraclides of Pontusfor use in his philosophical dialogues.[1]He also may have been the same figure as the attested Ecphantus ofCroton.[citation needed]Ecphantus was also of Syracuse. He developed a theory about constellations moving.
According toEusebius,Ecphantus, likeHeraclides of Pontus,was a supporter of theheliocentric theory:he believed that the Earth turns around its centre from west to towards east, like a wheel, as if it has an axis, the state.[2]Ecphantus also maintained that there is only one Cosmos (Universe) governed by providence (πρόνοια).
Notes
[edit]- ^"Some scholars have argued thatHicetasand Ecphantus, both of Syracuse, were not historical figures at all but rather characters in dialogues written byHeraclides of Pontus."From theStanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy,article"Pythagoreanism".
- ^Eusebius,Praeparatio evangelica,Book 15, chapter 58, section 3, line 1, Ἡρακλείδης ὁ Ποντικὸς καὶ Ἔκφαντος ὁ Πυθαγόρειος κινοῦσι μὲν τὴν γῆν, οὐ μήν γε μεταβατικῶς, ἀλλὰ τρεπτικῶς τροχοῦ δίκην ἐνηξονισμένην, ἀπὸ δυσμῶν ἐπ' ἀνατολὰς περὶ τὸ ἴδιον αὑτῆς κέντρον.
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