37
text fragments of his books have reached the Twenty-first century , even as this may not seem very many to those not versed in works of this great age .
Pherecydes was born in Syros in what is now a Greek island in the Cyclades . History records him as having been one of the Seven Wise Men of Ancient Greece , that he had studied in Egypt and had acquired some of his knowledge from the Phoenicians 64 . Although little is known regarding his life , fortunately his ideas are better documented . First to write in prose rather than verse , he taught on the origin of the world , the immortality of the soul and its transmigration , and on the fundamental nature of matter 65 .
In order to present Pherecydes as the first philosopher , two changes to his modal historical representation are needed . Firstly , and most obviously , it is necessary to demonstrate that he predated Thales . Secondly , his status as a mythologist , or at best a quasi-philosopher , must be replaced with his true historical identity as a philosopher .
For the first of these tasks , attempting to establish a date for Pherecydes ’ birth , the work published in 1792 by Enfield is extremely helpful 66 . Entitled The History of Philosophy from the Earliest Period , it presents a remarkably detailed overview of the entire history of philosophy up to that date in a little under 700 pages . Regarding Pherecydes , Enfield states that he ‘ flourished ’ in the first year of the 45 th Olympiad 67 , which , translated into the more familiar form for the year , places him in 600 BCE . This is based upon the first Olympiad having taken place in 776 BCE , and 44 periods of four years having elapsed between the first and 45 th Olympiads , making 176 years . Subtracting 176 from 776 BCE gives the date 600 BCE . If we make the reasonable assumption that this was at the mid-point of his 85-year life 68 , then the date of his birth would be approximately 642 BCE .
Turning to the second task , in order to demonstrate that Pherecydes was a philosopher ( and also one of sufficient merit for Thales and Pythagoras to have ‘ borrowed ’ his work ) it is necessary to recognise both that he used the ‘ symbolical ’ method of teaching and to fully understand its meaning in this context . In describing abstract principles and fundamental aspects of time and matter , Pherecydes , in common with others of the same era , used the names of gods as personifications of the concepts he wished to communicate . Burnet ’ s Early
64
Guthrie p . 31
65
Ibid . p . 10
66
Enfield 1792
67
Ibid . p . 385
68
Ibid . p . 386