what is empedocles famous for
Empedocles is best known as the oldest exponent of the four-element theory of matterâearth, air (or aether), fire, and waterâwhich endured until the advent of modern chemistry, although with some serious modifications by later thinkers and despite strong criticisms from the ancient atomists.mpedocles presented his doctrines in the traditional poetic medium of hexameter verse, the format used by Homer and Hesiod two centuries earlier. This choice had precedents in Xenophanes (c. 570âc. 468 BCE) and Parmenides (fl. c. 490), who also used poetry to convey their ideas.