10 Weirdest Ways Famous Ancient Greeks Died
4. Empedocles — Believed He Was God, Threw Himself In A Volcano
Modesty was not one of the philosopher Empedocles' virtues, as evidenced best by his extravagant claims to be a god, followed by a very overconfident swim in the lava of Mount Etna to prove it.
Perhaps the most exuberant of the early, pre-socratic philosophers, Empedocles lived in Sicily and developed, amongst other theories, the classical conception of the four elements (fire, water, earth, air) and an idiosyncratic idea about reincarnation. Perhaps his admitted genius matched with followers marvelling at his intellectual feats first gave him the idea that he might be a God. Regardless, he was confident enough to test this: jumping into the volcano of Mount Etna.
Some accounts claim that one his bronze sandals were found, quietly smouldering near the crater, having been spat out by the volcano. The death inspired numerous poems throughout history, with Matthew Arnold's sombre 'Empedocles at Etna' the most prominent. However, the end of Empedocles is best encapsulated by this epigram, by an anonymous versifier: 'Great Empedocles, that ardent soul, Leapt into Etna, and was roasted whole.'