The elemental sphere will be restored, and the divided souls will meld back into One.Īristotle later expanded on Empedocles' ideas in his influential Metaphysics. Though Strife remains dominant in the world, eventually its power, too, will wane, and Love will be on the rise once again. The single immortal soul of Love was then divided into many, many souls (each containing some measure of Love and Strife), born and reborn into mortal bodies formed from the four elements. When Love was the dominant force, the four elements were balanced in a Sphere of Unity but as Strife became dominant, the sphere was broken and the elements were scattered. The universe, he believed, was comprised of two forces, Love and Strife, which waxed and waned in strength.

These four elemental 'roots,' wrote Empedocles, comprised not only the physical substance of all matter, but also the spiritual essences that quickened and animated all life forms. In his famous 'Doctrine of the Four Elements,' the Greek philosopher Empedocles (5th century BC) divided the world into four elements associated with four divinities: earth (Hera), air (Zeus), fire (Hades), and water (Persephone).

What do the 4 elements symbolize