Poetry and Prose: Xenophanes of Colophon

Abstract

When most of the new intellectuals of the sixth and fifth centuries adopted the new medium of literary prose to express their opinions about natural philosophy, theology, and history, the philosopher Xenophanes of Colophon continued to voice his new ideas about divinity and nature in verse. Xenophanes does not remain bound to verse through habit or through his inability to compose serious work in the new medium of prose or through his dependence upon the Muses for his information. He is an enthusiastic reformer who is committed to correcting the Greeks' beliefs about divinity and nature, and during his time verse still provided advantages over prose for reaching a mass audience, in large part, because of its age-old performative nature.