ὑπερβάλλω in P. Derveni col. XXIV. Significato astronomico di un reimpiego eracliteo

Abstract

In P. Derv. col. 24, the meaning of the verb ὑπερβάλλω is usually understood by scholars as a reference to the full moon. This paper aims to defend an etymological translation of that verb (to exceed), from which a new interpretation of the whole column descends. The passage is in fact a reworking of the Heraclitean image of the Sun chased by Erinyes, that was familiar to the Derveni author.