The Ship of Theseus

November 2, 2024 Saxo Greek and Roman, Medieval Mentality

THE SCENE: How much can a thing change without becoming something altogether different? This theme is explored in the legend of the Ship of Theseus, which is summarized by Plutarch in the passage below.

THE TEXT: The ship on which Theseus sailed with the youths and returned in safety, the thirty-oared galley, was preserved by the Athenians down to the time of Demetrius Phalereus. They took away the old timbers from time to time, and put new and sound ones in their places, so that the vessel became a standing illustration for the philosophers in the mooted question of growth, some declaring that it remained the same, others that it was not the same vessel.

– Parallel Lives, Plutarch, 1st Century AD

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