Who was the ancient Greek philosopher Pythagoras - a real scientist or a character in ancient legends

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

For those who are far from science, Pythagoras is the one who proved the famous theorem, later named after him. Those who are a little more interested in the history of the development of knowledge about the world will call this ancient Greek sage the founder of sciences. But what is curious is that almost nothing is known about Pythagoras himself. His biography as such does not exist, there is only a collection of legends, often contradicting one another. In a sense, Pythagoras himself is nothing more than another ancient myth.

Scientist or Legendary Character?

Neither the date when Pythagoras was born, nor even his real name are known. Scientists have concluded that he was born, apparently, around 570 BC. on the island of Samos in the eastern part of the Aegean Sea. The date is accepted by most historians based on the legends about the travels of Pythagoras: there is no information that would refute this date. Father's name was Mnesarch, he was either a stone cutter or a merchant - the latter is more likely, since the education received by Pythagoras speaks more of the nobility of his family.

The birth of a sage is also surrounded by legends. According to one of them, the boy was born as a result of a secret connection between the god Apollo and the wife of Mnesarchus Partenida. Allegedly, before the birth of his son, the father was predicted that his heir would be distinguished by special beauty and wisdom, and also would bring a lot of good to all mankind. That is why they called the baby Pythagoras - that is, "". From then on, Pifaida began to call his wife Mnesarch.

According to the philosopher Aristippus, the name "Pythagoras" meant "". The authority of the Samos sage in the ancient world was enormous, suffice it to say that many ancient Greek and Roman philosophers, including Plato, who was born after the death of Pythagoras, but fell under the influence of his school - the school of the Pythagoreans, based their works on his teachings.

There is also no information about the teachers of Pythagoras, there are only assumptions and guesses. Perhaps in his youth he traveled to the city of Miletus, where he studied with Anaximander. Among the likely teachers, the sage is even called Zarathustra - the prophet and founder of the first monotheistic religion, whose years of life are also unknown to science and are a subject of controversy among historians. In all likelihood, for a long time - about two decades - Pythagoras spent in Egypt, studying medicine, mathematics and religious cults there. The next segment of the sage's life path is found in Babylon, and from there he returned to the island of Samos.

Due to disagreement with the policy of the tyrant Polycrates, Pythagoras moved to the south of the Apennine Peninsula, to the city of Croton. There, in Croton, a Pythagorean union appeared, uniting those who followed the teachings of Pythagoras, those who adopted his views and way of life, devoting most of their time to learning. The Pythagoreans are considered something like the monastic order of antiquity - the same asceticism, refusal of personal property, joint meals, a strict daily routine and something similar to a vow of silence for new members of the union.

Of course, about this part of the biography of the philosopher, only guesses are being built - scientists do not have either the appropriate documentary evidence or even the testimonies of contemporaries. The first book about this society was written by the Pythagorean Philolaus, who was born after the death of Pythagoras. Earlier references have not survived. Either the school's doctrine forbade the disclosure of such information to the “uninitiated,” or the recording of the results of spiritual and scientific searches in itself contradicted the established rules. Pythagoras, again according to legend, did not leave any notes or treatises after himself, dispensing with oral sayings and conversations. But this is just a version.

How Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans enriched science

One way or another, and the legacy of the Pythagoreans - whether directly surrounding the sage - the founder of the union or who joined the school much later - really commands respect. According to legend, having proved the "Pythagorean theorem" about the aspect ratio of a right-angled triangle, the sage was so jubilant that he ordered a hecatomb - a sacrifice to the gods in the form of a hundred bulls. But this is unlikely, given another generally accepted legend about Pythagoras - his vegetarianism.

The philosopher believed in metempsychosis - the transmigration of souls. According to this approach, in any living being there could be a soul that was previously in a person, and therefore it is unacceptable to eat meat. Pythagoras allegedly said about himself that he himself perfectly remembered his previous incarnations - he remembered and used the knowledge gained once. Along with meat, the Pythagoreans refused some other foods, including beans. By the way, before the appearance of the term "vegetarian", and this happened in the forties of the XIX century, the person who refused meat was called the "Pythagorean".

Another brainchild of Pythagoras was the science of numerology, "studying" the mystical influence of numbers on the real world. The Pythagoreans put numbers and mathematics in general almost above all, all existing and newly emerging world laws were reduced to this science. A special symbol of the school has become a tetraktida - a "magic" figure of ten points, arranged in the form of a pyramid.

Dante Alighieri, when creating "The Divine Comedy", also relied on the numerology of the Pythagoreans: it is no coincidence that the entire composition consists of three parts, but, for example, the number 9 is repeated throughout the entire work: 9 circles of hell, 9 steps of purgatory, 9 heavenly spheres. Johannes Kepler, a German mathematician and astronomer, was an adherent of another famous theory of the Pythagorean school - "the harmony of spheres." What is it about? It's just that some kind of music is continuously playing in space, which a person does not perceive for one reason - hearing it from birth, he is simply used to it. Now this theory, of course, will seem naive, but for a long time it had many followers. By the way, the sage was, according to legend, the first who expressed the idea of a spherical Earth. Pythagoras is credited with inventing the term "philosopher", that is, "loving wisdom."

Why is so little known about the life and achievements of Pythagoras and so much at the same time?

The entire biography of Pythagoras, or rather the mythology of Pythagoras, is taken from the rather numerous works of ancient authors - the authors of respected and authoritative, including Herodotus, Aristotle. One trouble - the biographers did not even rely on the works of Pythagoras' contemporaries - there were no such records. Diogenes Laertius, Iamblichus and other authors recorded the information that was passed from mouth to mouth in the form of legends. In Croton, the Pythagoreans acquired great political influence, this led to the growth of the city's power, and then to the persecution of the representatives of the school themselves. After the death of Pythagoras, his students fled from the city, spreading their teachings further throughout the ancient world. At the same time, many of the achievements of the Pythagoreans were attributed to the creator of the school himself, so it was also impossible to establish the original doctrine.

According to legends, Pythagoras married one of his students Feano, and his daughter Damo became a philosopher. It is impossible to verify the names, but, in any case, many authors agree that the sage had a family, and that women in the Pythagorean community enjoyed unusually wide rights for those times and learned science on an equal basis with men.

Ancient history knows another curious thinker - Pseudo-Aristotle: his writings may have really enriched science.