Ridiculous Beliefs: Empedocles
Source: Wikipedia
Empedocles was an Ancient Greek philosopher who churned out many genius thoughts, which he penned in verse to stand the test of time. Among his more brilliant ideas, Empedocles was the first to speak about the four elements (he called them “roots”) that make up the world – fire, earth, water and air.
He also put forward ideas about light and vision that formed the basis of theories on light, vision and optics that followed including the fact that light travels at the speed of light; that air is a substance and that the Earth is spherical. Empedocles even posited a haphazard theory of evolution and natural selection that influenced Darwin’s theory; and Aristotle regarded him as the father of rhetoric. He also believed he was god and – as a faithful follower of the Pythagorean religion – in reincarnation.
Source: Wikipedia
To prove as much, Empedocles flung himself into an active volcano, Mt Etna. There are various literary contradictions and claims about the circumstances surrounding his death. Some say that he flung himself to his death so that people would believe he had turned into an immortal god, but his sandal spat back out. Others believe that he flung himself to his death prove his immortality and belief that he would be reincarnated as a god from the volcano’s fiery pit. Either way, the great philosopher met his demise with his beliefs of deity-dom.
