Sparks and blazing fires: images of hýbris in Solon and Heraclitus

Abstract

Although historically associated with different traditions, Solon and Heraclitus lived in relatively close periods and their works present significant points of contact. In this article, I propose to explore some of these resonances taking two images as a starting point, one present in the 13W fragment of Solon and the other in the B 43 fragment of Heraclitus, in which the hýbris is associated with a spreading fire. Based on the treatments given to the notion of hýbris, it is also possible to observe other significant points in the works of these authors, such as the approach to the precariousness of human cognition and the exhortation for a reflective posture, which in both are also related to the sphere of political thought.