Empedocles
~494–434 BCE · Greek (Sicily) · Classical Greece
Known for: Claimed to be a god, invented the four elements, and jumped into a volcano to prove his divinity
Empedocles proposed that all matter is composed of four elements — earth, water, air, and fire — combined and separated by the forces of Love and Strife. This framework dominated Western science for 2,000 years.
He claimed to be a god and, according to legend, leaped into Mount Etna to prove his immortality. The volcano spat back one of his bronze sandals.
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