Abstract

The aim of this article is to present a new hermeneutic perspective on Parmenides’ theology, which, it is argued, will also have consequences for our understanding of his ontology. The following interrelated hypotheses are presented for consideration: first, that the anonymous goddess introduced by Parmenides in the proem of his poem is identical to the Phocaean poliadic goddess of Elea, Athena; second, that she is the personification of Parmenides’ tò eón.