p 　　The subject of Danièle Huillet and Jean-Marie Straub’s Der Tod des Empedokles The Death of Empedocles, 一九八七 is the Greek pre-Socratic philosopher Empedocles c 四九0 BC – 四三0 BC , who lived in the Greek colony of Agrigentum in Sicily His theories are mentioned in several of Plato’s dialogues He maintained that all matter is made up of four irreducible elements: water, earth, air and fire A mystic and a poet, he is considered to be the founder of classical rhetoric He is also thought to be the last Greek philosopher to write in verse two fragments of his works survive: Katharmoi Purifications and Peri Phuseôs On Nature An advocate of democracy, he came into conflict with his fellow citizens of Agrigentum and, as result, was banished with his young disciple, Pausanius When he was asked to return, he preferred to commit suicide by throwing himself into the active volcano at Mount Aetna br 　　The German writer Friedrich Hölderlin wrote two versions of Der Tod des Empedokles in 一七九八 and 一八00, and a final third version in 一八二0, all three ultimately unfinished They were conceived as five-act tragedies and all three differ in plot According to Michael Hamburger, Hölderlin’s English-language translator, br 　　the main reason why Hölderlin finished no version of the play must be that he remained too closely identified with Empedocles, at the very period in his life when his own view of the poet as philosopher, prophet and priest – and as tragic hero – was subject to perpetual crisis and re-examination br 　　Huillet-Straub’s The Death of Empedocles is based on Hölderlin’s first version the longest of the three , whereas Black Sin is based on the third version p