Between images and concepts: Pherecydes of Syros and figuration in Archaic Greek thought

Abstract This article critically examines the frequent claim that Pherecydes of Syros deliberately composed his treatise to be read figuratively. More specifically, it is argued that mythopoeic images from the sixth century BCE ought to be distinguished from Classical and Hellenistic allegories lest later categories and distinctions be anachronistically projected onto an archaic thinker. Since this study shows how mythopoeic images are used to fill conceptual gaps in abstract discourse, and how philosophical vocabulary arises in the process of metaphorization, its findings might have implications beyond the context of Pherecydes’ contribution to the development of the allegorical tradition.