Abstract:
In spite of Aristotle's criticism, Hippo, in the 5th century BC, proved to be a thinker well inserted in the most lively and interesting cultural trends of his century. Associated with the Milesians for having set water as the principle of all things, he was also considered a Pythagorean for having affirmed the importance of the play of opposites in the birth and evolution of things. In reality, these characterizations prove to be rather generic, and belonging to this or that school does not give an account of the specificity of his position in the Mediterranean and Magna Grecia cultural milieu, a specificity that can also be seen in the scarcity of evidence. More than water, for Ippone, assuming that he wanted to establish an arché of all things, it is the wet that plays a fundamental role in the being and becoming of things. This article also attempts to outline the history of moisture, from the Milesians to Heraclitus, Alcmeon, Diogenes of Apollonia, and Democritus. We also wish to emphasize how this is part of the specific field of his reflections, focused above all on the biological and embryological fields, reflections that are always obedient, rather than to general theories, to the observation of concrete experience.
Keywords:
Hippo; Milesians; Pythagoreans; Biology