Epimenides

Epimenides of Crete (Ἐπιμενίδης ὁ Κρής, Epimenídes ho Krḗs; /ɛpɪˈmɛnɪdiːz əv ˈkriːt/) was a semi-legendary 6th-century BCE philosopher, poet, and sage, often wrapped in the mystery and folklore characteristic of ancient seers. His life and works are shrouded in myth, making the separation of historical fact from legend particularly challenging. He is often placed within the same mystical tradition as Orpheus and Pythagoras, emphasizing a connection to the divine and the mystical rather than the purely rational or philosophical methods later developed by figures such as Plato and Aristotle.

One of the most famous legends about Epimenides involves his miraculous 'sleep' - he was said to have fallen asleep in a cave as a young man and awoke 57 years later, emerging with the gift of prophecy and other divine insights. This story, while likely apocryphal, symbolizes his deep connection to the divine and the otherworldly wisdom he was believed to possess. Epimenides' reputation as a seer and purifier was well-known throughout Greece; he was purportedly invited to Athens to perform rituals of purification after the city was afflicted by plague and civil strife. His efforts in Athens are sometimes linked with the establishment or reform of religious cults and practices, highlighting his influence on the spiritual life of the city.

He is credited with authorship of works in verse that dealt with religious rites and cosmology, though none of these works have survived in their entirety. Fragments attributed to him suggest a focus on the nature of the gods and the soul, indicating his importance in the development of Greek spiritual and mystical thought. The Cretan paradox (or the Paradox of the Liar), famously associated with Epimenides, encapsulates the complexity of his legacy; he is quoted as saying, "All Cretans are liars," in which a sentence says of itself that it is false, thus being true if it is false and false if it is true.

In one story, he died on Crete at an advanced age; according to his countrymen, who afterwards honored him as a god, he lived nearly three hundred years. According to another story, he was taken prisoner in a war between the Spartans and Knossians, and put to death by his captors, because he refused to prophesy favorably for them. Pausanias reports that when Epimenides died, his skin was found to be covered with tattooed writing. This was considered odd, because the Greeks reserved tattooing for slaves. Some modern scholars have seen this as evidence that Epimenides was heir to the shamanic religions of Central Asia, because tattooing is often associated with shamanic initiation. The skin of Epimenides was preserved at the courts of the ephores in Sparta, conceivably as a good-luck charm. Epimenides is also reckoned with Melampus and Onomacritus as one of the founders of Orphism.