Most history classes introduce Pythagoras solely as the father of geometry. However, this ancient Greek philosopher led a bizarre religious cult that worshipped numbers as gods. Beyond the famous triangle equation, he claimed to remember his past lives and performed miracles. Furthermore, his followers followed strict, strange rules that governed every aspect of their daily existence. Prepare to calculate the madness of the man who heard the music of the planets.
Pythagoras
Pythagoras strictly forbade his followers from eating fava beans. He believed that beans contained the souls of the dead. Therefore, eating them amounted to cannibalism in his eyes.
Historically, he likely did not invent the famous theorem named after him. Babylonians and Indians used the equation centuries before his birth. However, his school popularized the concept for the Greek world.
New students had to keep a vow of silence for five years. They simply listened to his lectures without asking any questions. Consequently, this tested their loyalty and self-control.
Allegedly, he drowned a student for discovering irrational numbers. Hippasus proved that the square root of two is irrational. Unfortunately, this shattered the Pythagorean belief that whole numbers rule the universe.
Legend claims he possessed a golden thigh. He showed it to spectators at the Olympic Games as proof of divinity. Thus, people believed he was the son of Apollo.
Tragically, his fear of beans might have caused his death. Enemies chased him to the edge of a bean field. Stubbornly, he refused to cross it and let them kill him instead.
Pythagoras is widely considered the father of ethical vegetarianism. For centuries, people called a meat-free diet the Pythagorean diet. Only much later did the modern term vegetarian replace it.
He discovered musical ratios by listening to blacksmiths. He realized that hammers of different weights produced harmonious sounds. Therefore, he connected music directly to mathematical proportions.
Surprisingly, he wrote absolutely nothing down during his lifetime. All our information comes from his students and later historians. Consequently, separating the myth from the man is incredibly difficult.
Pythagoras claimed to remember four of his past lives clearly. Specifically, he said he fought in the Trojan War as Euphorbus. Once, he even recognized his old shield hanging in a temple.
Intellectually, he was one of the first to propose a spherical Earth. He argued that the sphere is the most perfect mathematical shape. Thus, the planet must naturally follow this divine form.
His cult worshipped the number ten as holy. They called it the Tetractys, a triangle made of ten points. Devoutly, they swore their most sacred oaths by this symbol.
He enforced bizarre rules like “do not eat the heart.” This likely meant one should not consume themselves with grief. Similarly, “do not poke the fire” meant avoiding angry people.
His followers lived in a commune like monks. They shared all their possessions and property with each other. Consequently, they had no private wealth.
Pythagoras believed the planets made music as they moved. He called this concept the “Music of the Spheres.” However, he claimed only he could hear this cosmic symphony.
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