The Death of Empedocles
By Patrick Salway

There are several myths about the death of Empedocles, the pre-Socratic Greek philosopher who Aristotle credits with defining the four elements of fire, air, water, and earth. Heraclides says Empedocles was considered divine during his lifetime for performing the Christ-like miracle of resurrecting a dead woman. As the legend goes, he never experienced a mortal death, but rather his entire body was taken up to heaven. Other writers in the ancient world were not so generous. In Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, Diogenes Laërtius cites various sources who say Empedocles threw himself into a volcano in an attempt to prove his godhood. However, the volcano spit out one of his sandals, exposing his fraudulent claim to immortality. Perhaps the most interesting account of Empedocles’ death comes from the second-century satirist Lucien of Samosa, who says the philosopher leaped into the fires of Mt. Etna and was carried to the heavens by a volcanic eruption that delivered him to the moon, where he survived by feeding on dew. As with other myths surrounding great thinkers and spiritual leaders of the ancient world, Empedocles’ death legend is best viewed as an allegory for his theories about life, reincarnation, and the immortality of the soul. Today, we can still derive meaning—even inspiration—from the story of his bizarre suicide. 
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