Metrodorus of Lampsacus (the elder)

Not to be confused with Metrodorus of Lampsacus (the younger).

Metrodorus of Lampsacus
Μητρόδωρος Λαμψακηνός
Born	fl. 5th century BC
Died	464 BC
Era	Presocratic philosophy
Region	Ancient Greek philosophy
Main interests	Homeric scholarship, Allegorical interpretation
Notable ideas	Interpretation of gods as allegorical depictions of forces of nature.

Metrodorus of Lampsacus (Ancient Greek: Μητρόδωρος Λαμψακηνός, romanized: Mētrodōros Lampsakēnos; fl. 5th century BC) was a Pre-Socratic philosopher from the Greek town of Lampsacus on the eastern shore of the Hellespont. According to Diogenes Laertius, he was a contemporary and friend of Anaxagoras. He died in 464 BC.

The earliest surviving mention of Metrodorus is in Plato's dialogue Ion as one of the interpreters of Homer, along with Stesimbrotos of Thasos and Glaucon of Rhegium. who expanded upon Anaxagoras' theories of allegorical interpretation. The leading feature of Metrodorus' system of interpretation being that the deities and stories in Homer were to be understood as modes of representing physical powers and phenomena.

Similarities have also been drawn between Metrodorus' doctrines and the allegorical interpretations of an Orphic poem found in the Derveni papyrus since its discovery in 1962. Although Metrodorus' authorship of that particular work has been rejected by modern scholarship, his derivation of physical doctrines via allegorical interpretation may have influenced it.

References

• Der Kleine Pauly. vol. 3, col. 1280.
• Fuentes González, Pedro Pablo (2005). "Métrodore de Lampsaque". In Goulet, Richard (ed.). Dictionnaire des philosophes antiques (in French). Vol. 4. Paris: Editions du Centre national de la recherche scientifique. pp. 508–514. ISBN 978-2-271-06386-1. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Smith, William, ed. (1870). "Metrodorus of Lampascus". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.