Heraclitus (Greek:Ἡράκλειτος; fl. 1st century AD) was agrammarian andrhetorician, who wrote a Greekcommentary onHomer which is stillextant.
Little is known about Heraclitus. It is generally accepted that he lived sometime around the 1st century AD.[1] His one surviving work has variously been calledHomeric Problems,[1]Homeric Questions,[2] orHomeric Allegories.[3]
In his work, Heraclitus defendedHomer against those who denounced him for his immoral portrayals of thegods.[2] Heraclitus based his defense of Homer onallegorical interpretation.[2] He gives interpretations of major episodes from theIliad and theOdyssey, particularly those that received the greatest criticism, such as the battles between the gods and the love affair betweenAphrodite andAres.[2]
Many of his allegories are physical, claiming that the poems represent elemental forces; or ethical, that they contain edifying concealed messages.[3] An important example of physical allegory is Heraclitus' interpretation of the love affair between Aphrodite and Ares. He argues that Aphrodite and Ares representLove and Strife, the forces responsible for the mixture and separation of theelements inEmpedocles' philosophy, which were "united together after their ancient rivalry (philoneikia) in one accord".[4] Because "everything was joined together (harmosthenai) tranquilly and harmoniously", Heraclitus argues, "[it] was reasonable for all the gods to laugh and rejoice together at this because their individual inclinations were not at variance over immoral acts, but were enjoying peaceful accord".[4] He also interprets the affair as an allegory for the art ofmetalworking. His work contains a good deal of philosophical knowledge, especiallyStoicism.[1]
