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Epimenides ofKnossos (orEpimenides ofCrete) (/ɛpɪˈmɛnɪdiːz/;Ancient Greek:Ἐπιμενίδης) was a semi-mythical 7th- or 6th-century BCGreekseer andphilosopher-poet, fromKnossos orPhaistos.
While tending his father's sheep, Epimenides is said to have fallen asleep for fifty-seven years in aCretan cave sacred toZeus, after which he reportedly awoke with the gift of prophecy (Diogenes Laërtius i. 109–115).Plutarch writes that Epimenides purifiedAthens after the pollution brought by theAlcmeonidae, and that the seer's expertise insacrifices and reform of funeral practices were of great help toSolon in his reform of the Athenian state. The only reward he would accept was a branch of the sacred olive, and a promise of perpetual friendship between Athens andKnossos (Plutarch,Life of Solon, 12;Aristotle,Ath. Pol. 1).
Athenaeus also mentions him, in connection with the self-sacrifice of theerastes anderomenos pair ofAristodemus and Cratinus, who were believed to have given their lives in order to purify Athens. Even in antiquity there were those who held the story to be mere fiction (The Deipnosophists, XIII. 78–79). Diogenes Laërtius preserves a number of spurious letters between Epimenides andSolon in hisLives of the Philosophers. Epimenides was also said to have prophesied atSparta on military matters.
He died in Crete at an advanced age; according to his countrymen, who afterwards honoured him as a god, he lived nearly three hundred years. According to another story, he was taken prisoner in a war between the Spartans and Knossians, and put to death by his captors, because he refused to prophesy favourably for them.Pausanias reports that when Epimenides died, his skin was found to be covered withtattooed writing. This was considered odd, because the Greeks reserved tattooing forslaves. Some modernscholars[who?] have seen this as evidence that Epimenides was heir to theshamanicreligions ofCentral Asia, because tattooing is often associated with shamanicinitiation.[citation needed] The skin of Epimenides was preserved at the courts of theephores inSparta, conceivably as a good-luck charm.
According to Diogenes Laërtius, Epimenides metPythagoras in Crete, and they went to theCave of Ida.[1]
Several prose and poetic works, now lost, were attributed to Epimenides, including atheogony, an epic poem on theArgonautic expedition, prose works on purifications and sacrifices, acosmogony, oracles, a work on the laws of Crete, and a treatise onMinos andRhadymanthus.
Epimenides'Cretica (Κρητικά) is quoted twice in theNew Testament. Its only source is a 9th-centurySyriac commentary byIsho'dad of Merv on theActs of the Apostles, discovered, edited and translated (into Greek) by Prof.J. Rendel Harris in a series of articles.[2][3][4]
In the poem, Minos addressesZeus thus:
Τύμβον ἐτεκτήναντο σέθεν, κύδιστε μέγιστε, |
They fashioned a tomb for you, holy and high one, |
The "lie" of the Cretans is that Zeus was mortal; Epimenides considered Zeus immortal. "Cretans, always liars," with the same theological intent as Epimenides, also appears in theHymn to Zeus ofCallimachus. The fourth line is quoted (with a reference to one of "your own poets") inActs of the Apostles,chapter 17, verse 28.
The second line is quoted, with a veiled attribution ("a prophet of their own"), in theEpistle to Titus,chapter 1, verse 12, to warn Titus about the Cretans. The "prophet" inTitus 1:12 is identified byClement of Alexandria as "Epimenides" (Stromata,i. 14). In this passage, Clement mentions that "some say" Epimenides should be counted among the seven wisest philosophers.
Chrysostom (Homily 3 on Titus) gives an alternative fragment:
TheEpimenides paradox refers to a saying attributed to Epimenides: "All Cretans are liars."[a] This statement creates a paradox ofself-reference similar to theliar paradox. This quote is referenced in theNew TestamentEpistle to Titus, which indirectly alludes to Epimenides as a "prophet" of the Cretans.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Epimenides".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 9 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 694.
Laërtius, Diogenes."The Seven Sages: Epimenides" .Lives of the Eminent Philosophers. Vol. 1:1. Translated byHicks, Robert Drew (Two volume ed.). Loeb Classical Library.
