Single Idea 1212

[catalogued under 9. Objects / E. Objects over Time / 9. Ship of Theseus]

Full Idea

At intervals they removed old timbers from the preserved ship and replaced them with sound ones, so the ship became a classic illustration for the philosophers of the disputed question of growth and change, some saying it was the same, others different.

Gist of Idea

Replacing timbers on Theseus' ship was the classic illustration of the problem of growth and change

Source

Plutarch (Life of Theseus [c.85], 23)

Book Reference

Plutarch: 'The Rise and Fall of Athens', ed/tr. Scott-Kilvert,Ian [Penguin 1960], p.29