The Cosmic Cycles of of Empedocles are unique in all of Greek philosophy. Indeed their only parallel are the Hindu "Kalpas" and modern geological epochs. The cosmic cycles are implied the the laws of physics discussed in our last episode, the Four Element and the Twin Forces of Love and Strife. Empedocles uses his surprisingly modern physics to explain the mythology of monsters and gods and Creation. The cosmogony and zoogony (origin of animals) are among the most bizarre remnants of early Greek thought, but it all follows from a strict set of physical laws acting on the material elements.