Talk:Classical element

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@Scyrme: Is it really correct to refer to Empedocles as Sicilian? He was an ethnic Greek living in a Greek city. His article refers to him as Greek. The Romance speaking Sicilians of the island have an entirely different history. SpinningSpark 15:08, 16 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]

@Spinningspark: Afaik, "Sicily" is principally geographic, not ethnic. I'm not sure it's appropriate to conflate "Sicilian" with "Romance-speaking" when historically that wasn't always the case, it isn't necessarily true today, and the name "Sicily" did not originate with the Romance-speaking residents in the first place.^[a] However, if you feel it's misleading perhaps "Sicilian Greek" would be less ambiguous. – Scyrme (talk) 16:39, 16 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]

I think even "Sicilian Greek" is misleading. He was not a Greek living amongst Sicilians, which is the implication of that phrase. Akragas was a Greek city, founded by Greek colonists. The territory occupied by Greeks in the 5th century BC was radically different to what it is now. Using modern geographic terms really paints the wrong picture unless placed in the right context. SpinningSpark 10:06, 17 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]

It's not a modern geographical term, it's simply the English descendant of a term that's been used for millennia. The "c. 450 BC" after Empedocles' name further emphasises the historical context. I do not agree that "Sicilian Greek" implies he was a "Greek living amongst Sicilians", as opposed to a "Greek who is Sicilian", ie. a "Greek from the island of Sicily". Does "European Russian" imply a Russian living among Europeans or a Russian from Europe? Does "Jewish American" imply an American living among Jewish people or an American who is also Jewish? Does "cold green apple" imply a green apple among cold apples? A series of adjectives implies both apply to the same noun. The fact that the territory occupied by Greeks in the past has varied over the centuries is why it helps to provide a geographical reference. – Scyrme (talk) 17:03, 17 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]

It seams that the earliest philosophers were trying to understand which of the four elements is the arche, but all of them were aware of the 4 elements concept. So the question is where this concept come from? Who was the first to talk about? Maybe babilonians, or Egyptians or hindus? Did anyone research that ? I did but couldn't find the origins 196.129.68.203 (talk) 07:51, 2 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Is there a Classical elements in popular culture article or section somewhere? It is a very prevalent theme. Just to list a few, we have Avatar: The Last Airbender, Xiaolin Showdown and Monica's Gang in an Adventure in Time. There's also many works based on the classical four that include a fifth element, such as Captain Planet and The Fifth Element. The concept surely should have a section or article. Mateussf (talk) 10:30, 9 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Update. There was, and it was deleted after this: Wikipedia:Articles_for_deletion/Classical_elements_in_popular_culture_(3rd_nomination). Votes say it could be recreated, if properly sourced and relevant. Mateussf (talk) 01:49, 11 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I have restored the small subsection "Water, air, or fire?". Someone else originally added the content; I only did some rephrasing, reordering, and added the subheading. I'm sure this could have been done much better by a more capable editor. I haven't checked the sources and don't know to what extent the information is correct and relevant. It seems somewhat interesting and relevant to me. The subsection has recently been removed and there may or may not be good reasons for that. It would be nice with an explanation for its deletion though. The Cosmic Ocean (Please feel free to modify or undo any of my edits as deemed appropriate.) 15:36, 13 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]