On the Triadic Physis of Things by Ion of Chios

Name: On the Triadic Physis of Things
Author: Ion of Chios

Period: Κλασική Classical

Dialect: Ἰωνική Ionic

Domain: Φιλοσοφία Philosophy

Genre: Πραγματεία Treatise

On the Triadic Nature of Things, a philosophical prose work by the 5th-century BCE poet and writer Ion of Chios, is known primarily through fragmentary quotations preserved by later authors. The original text, now lost, was composed in Ionic Greek and is sometimes referred to by the title Apospasmata, meaning "Extracts." The surviving passages indicate that the work advanced a cosmological theory based on the fundamental importance of the number three. Ion is reported to have asserted that all things are three in number and that nothing exists beyond or apart from these triadic principles. Later sources attribute to him the identification of these principles as Mind, Matter, and God, suggesting an early systematic attempt to explain the universe's composition through a structured metaphysical scheme. The work also engaged with contemporary intellectual traditions, as it contained the notable claim that the philosopher Pythagoras attributed some of his own doctrines to the mythical poet Orpheus. Written for an educated audience during a period of intense cosmological speculation, the treatise blended theological elements with emerging philosophical inquiry. It stands as a significant, though fragmentary, example of early Greek prose philosophy and doxography, illustrating the broad interdisciplinary interests of Classical literary figures and providing valuable insight into pre-Socratic intellectual currents beyond the works of the most famous philosophers.

Ion of Chios On the Triadic Physis of Things in Greek in PDF

Ion of Chios On the Triadic Physis of Things in Greek in MD

ΙΩΝΟΣ ΤΡΙΑΓΜΟΣ

Οὐαλέριος Ἁρποκρατίων Ἴων ἀναγράφουσι δὲ ἐν αὐτῶι τάδε· ἀρχὴ δέ μοι τοῦ λόγου· πάντα τρία καὶ οὐδὲν πλέον ἢ ἔλασσον τούτων τῶν τριῶν. ἑνὸς ἑκάστου ἀρετὴ τριάς· σύνεσις καὶ κράτος καὶ τύχη.

Λαέρτιος Διογένης Ἴων δὲ ὁ Χῖος ἐν τοῖς Τριαγμοῖς φησιν αὐτὸν ἔνια ποιήσαντα ἀνενεγκεῖν εἰς Ὀρφέα. Ἴων δὲ ὁ Χῖος ἐν τοῖς Τριαγμοῖς καὶ Πυθαγόραν εἰς Ὀρφέα ἀνενεγκεῖν τινα ἱστορεῖ. Ἐπιγένης δὲ κτλ. Ὀρφεύς: ἔγραψε Τριαγμούς, λέγονται δὲ εἶναι Ἴωνος τοῦ τραγικοῦ· ἐν δὲ τούτοις τὰ Ἱεροστολικὰ καλούμενα.

Πλούταρχος Ἴων μὲν οὖν ὁ ποιητὴς ἐν τοῖς δίχα μέτρου καὶ καταλογάδην αὐτῶι γεγραμμένοις φησὶν ἀνομοιότατον πρᾶγμα τῆι σοφίαι τὴν τύχην οὖσαν ὁμοιοτάτων πραγμάτων γίγνεσθαι δημιουργόν. ἔφη γὰρ οὐ φαύλως εἰπεῖν Ἴωνα περὶ τῆς τύχης ὅτι πολλὰ τῆς σοφίας διαφέρουσα πλεῖστα αὐτῆι ὅμοια ποιεῖ.

αὐτοφρόνων· Ἴων εἴρηκεν· αὐτοφρόνων καὶ ὁμοσπόνδων.

Λαέρτιος Διογένης φησὶ δὲ Δοῦρις ἐν τῶι δευτέρωι τῶν Ὥρων Σαμίων ἐπιγεγράφθαι αὐτῶι τὸ ἐπίγραμμα τόδε· τῆς σοφίης πάσης ἐν ἐμοὶ τέλος· ἢν δʼ ἔτι πλεῖον, Πυθαγόρηι τὠμῶι λέγε … ταῦθʼ, ὅτι πρῶτος ἁπάντων ἔστιν ἀνʼ Ἑλλάδα γῆν· οὐ ψεύδομαι ὧδʼ ἀγορεύων. Ἴων δʼ ὁ Χῖός φησι περὶ αὐτοῦ· ὣς ὁ μὲν ἠνορέηι τε κεκασμένος ἠδὲ καὶ αἰδοῖ καὶ φθίμενος ψυχῆι τερπνὸν ἔχει βίοτον, εἴπερ Πυθαγόρης ἐτύμως ὁ σοφὸς περὶ πάντων ἀνθρώπων γνώμας εἶδε καὶ ἐξέμαθεν ...

Κλεονείδης ὁ μουσικός ἐπὶ μὲν οὖν τοῦ φθόγγου χρῶνται τῶι ὀνόματι τόνος οἱ λέγοντες ἑπτάτονον τὴν φόρμιγγα καθάπερ Τέρπανδρος καὶ Ἴων. ὁ μὲν γάρ φησιν· «ἡμεῖς τοι ... ὕμνους», ὁ δέ· ἑνδεκάχορδε λύρα, δεκαβάμονα τάξιν ἔχοισα εἰς … συμφωνούσας ἁρμονίας τριόδους, πρὶν μέν σʼ ἑπτάτονον ψάλλον διὰ τέσσαρα πάντες Ἕλληνες σπανίαν μοῦσαν ἀειράμενοι ...

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