Between Poetry, Philosophy and Medicine: Body, Soul and Dreams in Pindar, Heraclitus and the HippocraticOn Regimen.

Abstract

The paper explores the interrelations between Pindar, Heraclitus and the Hippocratic author with regard to ideas of the body, the soul and dreams. I shall consider Pindar’s fr.131b as an overlooked testimony of the poet’s interest in a non-Homeric conceptualization of the soul. I will suggest reading Heraclitus’ fragments B26 and B21 together and offer a new interpretation of the latter. Furthermore, I will compare Pindar’s fr. 131b with the Hippocratic On Regimen (4. 86, 87) and Pindar’s fr. 133 with On Regimen (4. 92) respectively, in order to highlight unnoticed similarities.