The Entireties of the Physical Elements in Olympiodorus of Alexandria: The Nature of the Sea

Chiara Militello shows how, in his commentary on Meteorology, Olympiodorus attributes to Aristotle theories about the sea that Aristotle clearly disagreed with. The commentator claims that Aristotle proves the eternity of the sea based on it being the main body of water. Militello demonstrates that, as is often the case with Neoplatonic commentators, this peculiar interpretation of Aristotle’s words stems from the commentator’s own views—specifically, the belief that the sublunary world consists of the eternal entireties of the four elements.