Pherekydes of Syros

In the sixth century B.C., Pherekydes of Syros, the reputed teacher of Pythagoras and a contemporary of Thales and Anaximander, wrote a book about the birth of the gods and the origin of the cosmos. Considered one of the first prose works of Greek literature, Pherekydes’ book survives only in fragments. Drawing on these fragments, as well as the ancient testimonies, Schibli here reconstructs the theo-cosmological schema of Pherekydes. From the mythopoeic creation account, colorful narratives of a divine marriage and a battle of the gods, and his remarks on the soul, Pherekydes emerges as a figure who moved between myth and philosophy, and as an important witness to early Greek thought in its various manifestations.