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Hesiod's Epistemological Response: Xenophanes

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2. Epistemological reception (I): Xenophanes The first known philosophical author who uses Homeric examples in his epistemological theory is Xenophanes, a sharp critic of Homer’s and Hesiod’s anthropomorphic depiction of the world. His style of writing is very epic-like since many of his fragments are written in hexameter verse. Moreover, his conceptual apparatus bears many similarities to the language of Homer and Hesiod. These traits are the reason why most modern scholars describe him as a kind of mediator between myth and philosophy. Xenophanes’ criticism is directed against the epic interpretation of two epistemic topics: the difference between men and gods and the problem of absolute knowledge. His arguments concerning the first topic …show more content…

This answer can be found in Plato’s distinction between the constantly changing physical world (presumably described by Homer, Heraclitus and the others) and the eternal world in Timaeus – as well as in the description of human and divine in Phaedrus. The divine level of knowledge is disconnected from the one of humans due to the difference between two types of knowledge: the knowledge of the changing physical world and the pure divine “knowledge absolute in existence absolute” (cf. Parm. 247e). The communication with gods is only accessible to those who receive visions (φάσματα) thanks to divine inspiration and the prophets who use their intelligence to interpret the meaning of these visions (Tim. 71e–72a). This is a wholly different picture compared to Homer’s idea of a direct communication between man and god which is based on the principle of perceptual and epistemological uniformity, connecting the human and the divine level of existence. The Platonic interpretation of communication through divine visions (the only ‘Homeric’ element in his argument) will be further developed and modified by Porphyry and in the theurgy of Iamblichus who once more recurs to Homeric examples of human and divine

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