Perceiving Parmenides: A reading of Parmenides of Elea's philosophy by way of the proem

This paper operates under two premises: first, that Parmenides' philosophy is rooted in his time and place; and, second, that a reading of the fragments as a whole will provide a substantial and accurate analysis. Through comparative analysis the nature of the Hesiodic and Homeric influence on Parmenides will be examined. The paper will also consider the significance to the poem of contemporary philosophic, notably Pythagorean, and religious elements, specifically in relation to Heracles and the Eleusinian mysteries. It will be seen that Parmenides' achievement is a statement of the singular and unique nature of the divine, spoken of through mythic allusions and imagery, and identified with a synthesis of being and nous. In the end Parmenides outlines a true philo-sophia, a statement of how one ought to live. Such a statement will resonate in Plato, Plotinus, and others, and lay the basis for the heart of Greek philosophy.