Herakleitos by Guy Davenport
"Herakleitos" by Guy Davenport presents an imaginative narrative centered on the ancient Greek philosopher Herakleitos, known for his doctrine of change and the concept of flux. The story follows Knaps, a stranger from Arkadia, who unexpectedly visits Herakleitos in Ephesos and is welcomed into his home where he encounters a blend of ordinary and extraordinary experiences. The narrative explores the interaction between Knaps and Herakleitos, highlighting their differing perspectives—Knaps represents a secular, skeptical viewpoint, while Herakleitos embodies a profound appreciation for paradox and the cosmic significance of life.
Throughout the story, Knaps observes and participates in various rituals, including music and dance, which serve to deepen his understanding of Herakleitos's philosophical insights. As Knaps records the philosopher's thoughts, he becomes increasingly captivated by Herakleitos's ideas, which emphasize that appearances can be deceiving and that deeper truths often lie beneath the surface. The story culminates in a shared experience at the temple of Artemis, where both characters offer gifts, symbolizing a bridge between the secular and the sacred. This encounter leads to Knaps's transformation, as he gains a renewed sense of wonder and reverence for nature, reflecting the enduring impact of Herakleitos's wisdom.
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Herakleitos by Guy Davenport
First published: 1974
Type of plot: Mythological
Time of work: 500-400 b.c.e.
Locale: Ephesos
Principal Characters:
Herakleitos , the Greek philosopherKnaps , his visitor and studentSelena , his female housekeeperTmolos , his mute slave
The Story
Knaps, stranger to Ephesos, materializes one late summer morning at the home of Herakleitos, the thinker, whom Knaps presumes to visit without asking first. Knaps receives a gracious welcome from Herakleitos and his two companions, housekeeper Selena and slave Tmolos. Propriety and proper measure are important to Herakleitos; accordingly, Knaps, after sharing their breakfast, will be expected to observe the usual morning routine, including music and dancing performed by the three, the strangeness and intricacy of which Knaps can only gape at. Herakleitos explains: "Were I to visit you in your rocky Arkadia, I should not expect you to discompose your day." The philosopher of flux and perpetual change silently observes and relishes the barbaric fashion of Knaps's hairstyle. Each is strange to the other, the difference being Herakleitos's at-homeness with contrariness and variety, out of which he has fashioned his famous thoughts.
Knaps's first impression of Herakleitos is of a man blending the exotic and the conventional. The strange musical performance is then followed by a session of philosophy, which Herakleitos initiates by crushing a leaf of sage and smelling his fingers, a religious observance. Herakleitos's "prayers"—whether before a session of thinking or at dinner—Knaps finds beside the point. When asked by the philosopher about the honor given Artemis in Arkadia, Knaps's home, the grave young man politely debunks the goddess: "There are country people who shout at the full of the moon." He admits to finding Artemis no more than a comfort for dull minds and women.
Knaps's secularity serves as a springboard for Herakleitos. Knaps is so philosophical that he has dismissed all customary acknowledgment of the mysterious or magical—Herakleitos pointing out the cosmic significance of Knaps's name he dismisses as a whim of his parents. Because Knaps is skeptical, and gently so, rather than cynical, he is no match for Herakleitos, whose penetrating vision repeatedly exposes the strangeness and harmony hiding beneath the obvious surface of nearly everything about which a mind can think. The old thinker's sense of paradox in nature, and in the way a mind works, soon reduces Knaps to a silent secretary, papyrus and quill at the ready. Herakleitos's utterances he records with proverb-like succinctness. Asked if he does not find it remarkable that a thread drawn absolutely tight should still be composed of curly fibers, Knaps writes: "Spun wool, . . . straight thread." For the duration of the story Knaps is an auditor, and gradually a disciple. He dances with Herakleitos, Selena, and Tmolos in the morning music rituals, even teaching the three new friends a wild partridge dance from his home region.
As summer changes to fall, Knaps accumulates a load of the sage's statements, which Herakleitos seems never at a loss to deliver while keeping each one in tune with his central theme: That which seems to be is often the opposite of what is. Thus, he intuits the motion in stone without the benefit of modern physics. Herakleitos's science is oracular, poetic, and very moving to Knaps's sense of wonder. Mesmerized, Knaps records:
Justice is contention.
At the end of the story, Knaps accompanies Herakleitos, Selena, and Tmolos to the temple of Artemis. As Herakleitos offers his book of philosophy to the multibreasted image whose garments are adorned with bears, cows, lions, bees, flowers, and frogs, Knaps offers a carved wooden horse. The secular Knaps is born again to the awe of nature through the witness to her by the philosopher, whose concentrated attention is the most convincing kind of worship.
Bibliography
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