Democritus Meditating on the Seat of the Soul

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Léon-Alexandre Delhomme's statue, "Democritus meditating on the seat of the soul," was unveiled at the 1868 Paris Salon. The piece showcases Democritus, a Greek philosopher from ancient times, intensely focused on a skull he holds firmly in his hands. Today, this sculpture is proudly displayed in the garden of Lyon's musée des Beaux-Arts. On its pedestal is an inscription featuring a passage from La Fontaine's 29th fable: "Hippocrates eventually realized that he had been searching for the wrong location - whether it was the heart or the head - to pinpoint reason and sense in both humans and animals." Democritus, born around 460 BC and passing away approximately 90 years later, left a lasting impact on the world of philosophy with his pioneering atomic theory of the universe. His contributions continue to be celebrated today as an influential figure from ancient Greece's pre-Socratic era.