“Pythagorean pants are equal in all directions” - without exaggeration, we can say that 97% of people are familiar with this expression. About the same number of people know about the Pythagorean theorem. On this the majority of knowledge of the great thinker ends, and yet he was not only a mathematician, but also an outstanding philosopher. Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans left their mark on world history, and this is worth knowing.
So wrote Heraclitus
Pythagoras was the son of Mnezarchus, born in Samos during the tyranny of Polycrates. It is not known for certain in which year the thinker was born. Historians converge on two dates: 532 or 529 BC. e. In the Italian city of Crotone, which was closely associated with Somos, he founded a society of his followers.
Heraclitus wrote that Pythagoras was more learned than his contemporaries, but at the same time, Heraclitus said that his teaching was “bad art”, a kind of quackery, but nothing more.
It all ended in tragedy
No one knows how long Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans have been in Croton, but it is known that the thinker died elsewhere: in Metapont. It was in this city that he moved when the Crotonians rebelled against his teachings. After the death of Pythagoras, the hostile attitude towards the Pythagoreans intensified not only in Croton, but also in all cities of Great Greece. In the second half of the V century BC. e. the confrontation turned into a real disaster. In Croton, many Pythagoreans were killed and burned in the same house where they were going. Such a rout was carried out in other cities, those who could survive, fled to Greece.
Pythagoras himself never wrote down his thoughts and research results, the only thing that modern society can use is the small records of his students and followers. After the death of Pythagoras, his teachings lost their former political and philosophical significance, but the Pythagoreans continued to exist. They began to take an active part in the creation of Orphic literature, and by the end of the 5th century BC. e. strengthened their political influence in Greece. But already in the next century, the teachings of Pythagoras were replaced by Platonism, and only the mystical sect remained from the old doctrine.
From Plato and Aristotle
The doctrine of early Pythagoreanism is known only from the words of Aristotle and Plato and from some fragments of Philolaus, which are recognized as authentic. Since Pythagoras himself did not leave any notes, it is difficult to determine the true essence of the original Pythagorean teaching under such conditions. Even Aristotle's testimonies are contradictory and need to be criticized.
There are prerequisites for considering Pythagoras the founder of a peculiar mystical union, which taught its followers to conduct rites of purification. These rites were associated with the teachings of the afterlife, immortality and the transmigration of souls. This is stated in the records of Herodotus, Xenophanes and Empedocles.
Also, according to legend, Pythagoras was the first thinker who called himself a "philosopher." It was Pythagoras who was the first to call the Universe a cosmos. It was the cosmos, the whole world in which order reigns and which is subordinate to the "harmony of numbers", was the subject of his philosophy.
It is believed that the philosophical system, which today is called the Pythagorean, was created by his students, although the main thoughts still belong to the scientist.
Numbers and figures
Pythagoras saw a mysterious meaning in numbers and figures, he sacredly believed that numbers are the essence of things. Harmony in him was the basic law of peace and morality. Pythagoras and Pythagoreans boldly, but rather peculiarly tried to explain the structure of the universe. They believed that the Earth and any other spherical planet move around a central fire, from which they receive life and heat. They were the first to point out that the planets observe proportions in the distance between each other. And only thanks to this rotation and distance is harmony formed.
Pythagoras and Pythagoreans believed that the main goal of human life is the harmony of the soul. Only that soul that was able to achieve harmony can return to eternal order.
Class division
Pythagoras and the early Pythagoreans were considered a religious and political society, which was divided into several classes. Esoterics belonged to the upper class. Their number should not exceed 300 people. These people were initiated into secret teachings and knew the ultimate goals of ifagoras and the union of the Pythagoreans. The lower class also consisted of esoterics, but not initiated into the sacraments of the community.
To join the ranks of the esoteric Pythagoreans, it was necessary to pass a rigorous test. During this test, the student had to remain silent, obey his mentors in everything, accustom himself to asceticism and renounce everyday life. Everyone who was in this union led a moral life, followed the rules, and in many things restricted themselves. You could even say that the Pythagorean union was somewhat reminiscent of monastic life.
They gathered together to engage in physical exercises, mental activity, dined together, performed various cleansing rites. To everyone who was in the Pythagorean union, Pythagoras assigned distinctive signs and symbols by which his students could recognize each other.
Moral commandments were stated in the "Golden sayings" of Pythagoras. Those who did not follow the rules were expelled from the union. But this happened extremely rarely, the members of this community were so devoted to their leader that the words "he said so" were considered indestructible truths. All the Pythagoreans were encouraged by a love of virtue and were in a brotherhood where the human person was subordinate to the goals of society.
Philosophy and Power
Pythagoreanism in philosophy is reflections on number and harmony, concepts that coincided with the concepts of law and order. Each of the commandments of the union was to bring law and harmony to the life of every person. Therefore, the Pythagoreans intensively studied music and mathematics. They believed that these are the best means to achieve peace of mind. They also practiced gymnastics and medicine to improve health and give strength to the body. Simply put, the harmony that the Pythagoreans tried to achieve was not exclusively a spiritual prescription. This kind of teaching could not be one-sided: it is necessary to strengthen both the body and the spirit.
It is worth noting that the union included not only ordinary citizens, but also very influential people of that time, so it had a significant impact on social and political life. In short, Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans created an alliance that was not only a religious and moral community, but also a political club. It was a strictly aristocratic party. But aristocratic according to Pythagoras. He wanted the aristocracy of education, and not the nobility, to rule in society. In an effort to introduce their ideas into politics, which were contrary to the existing state system, the Pythagoreans and brought inconvenience on their heads.
Doctrine of numbers
Philosophy, mathematics and religion in Pythagoreanism harmoniously interwoven into one. Their ideas about the world were based on ideas about the measure and number with which they tried to explain the forms of objects and their place in the primitive world. In the teachings of Pythagoras, the unit was a point, the two was a line, the three was a plane, and the four was a separate object. Even the surrounding objects, and not just geometric figures, seemed to the Pythagoreans as numbers. It was believed that particles of earthy bodies are in the form of a cube, fire molecules are similar to pyramids or tetrahedrons, and air particles are octahedrons. Only knowing the form, it is possible to know the true essence of the subject, this is exactly what was the main teaching in the philosophy of Pythagoreanism.
Comparing matter with form, taking numbers for the essence of the objects themselves, and not for proportions, the Pythagoreans came to rather strange conclusions.
A married couple is two units, two. In fact, there are two, but they are one. If you hit one, then two feel the pain. But if they beat one, but the other doesn’t care - this is not a pair. Yes, they are nearby, living together, but they are not one. If such people disperse, then parting in their relationship will not change anything, as well as the subsequent connection.
According to their teachings, all numbers that go after ten are repeating a series from 0 to 9. Among 10, all the forces of numbers are enclosed - this is a perfect number, which is considered the beginning and ruler of earthly and heavenly life. The Pythagoreans laid out the whole physical moral world into numbers. For example, they said that justice is the multiplication of equal numbers, they called justice the number 4, since this is the first square number, followed by 9. The number 5 was a symbol of marriage, since it was formed from the combination of the male figure 3 and the female 2 Health was number 7, and the figure of eight symbolized love and friendship. The one was the mind, and the two was the mind.
Harmony
The teachings of Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans on harmony consisted of the following. All numbers can be divided into even and odd. But only even numbers are considered unlimited. An odd number is power over opposites, so it is much better than an even number. There are no opposites in an even number, and therefore there is no perfection.
Each item taken separately is imperfect, only by combining imperfect objects together can harmony be achieved.
Doctrine of the universe
Pythagoras tried to explain the origin and structure of the universe. Thanks to constant studies in mathematics and contemplation of stars, the Pythagoreans gave a description of the Universe, which was closest to the truth. Although their ideas on how the world came about were surprisingly fantastic.
The Pythagoreans believed that at first a fire was formed in the center, it gave birth to gods, and the Pythagoreans called it a monad, that is, the first. Pythagoras believed that this fire gave rise to other celestial bodies. He was the center of the universe, the force that kept order.
Reflections on Relocating Souls
The philosophy of Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans was also aimed at creating a religious doctrine of the transmigration of souls. There is harmony in the Universe; it must be in a person and in a state. Therefore, a person should strive precisely for harmony, bring under it all the contradictory aspirations of his soul, to prevail over instincts and animal passion.
Pythagoras believed that the soul, connected to the body, thus bears punishment for its past sins. She is buried in the body, as if in a dungeon, and cannot dump him. But she doesn’t want to, she loves the body by definition. Indeed, it is only thanks to the body that the soul receives impressions, and when freed, it will lead an incorporeal life in a better world. In a world of order and harmony. But the soul can get into it only when it finds harmony in itself, reaches benevolence and purity.
An impure and inharmonious soul will not fall into this kingdom, it will return to the earth for subsequent rebirths, for wanderings in the bodies of people and animals.
In some ways, the teachings of Pythagoras and the school of Pythagoreanism were similar to Eastern ideas, where it was believed that earthly life was a time of purification and preparation for a future life. It was believed that Pythagoras was able to recognize in the bodies of the souls with which he was previously familiar and he remembered his previous incarnations. He said that now lives its fifth incarnation.
According to the teachings of the Pythagoreans, incorporeal souls were spirits, the so-called demons, which existed in the air and underground. It was from them that the Pythagoreans received revelations and prophecies.
Miletus School
Often mentioned about Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans in the Miletus school. This is the philosophical school that Thales founded in Miletus (Greek colony in Asia Minor). The philosophers who were part of the Miletus school were the founders of the formation and development of Greek science. Here the basic foundations of astronomy, geography, mathematics and physics were created. They were the first to introduce scientific terminology, the first to write prose.
Representatives of the Miletus school saw the world as a single inspired whole. They did not see the fundamental difference between the mental and the physical, living and dead. It was believed that inanimate objects simply have a lesser degree of animation.
The achievements of Plato, the thinker who created the world's first philosophical school, were also included in these ideas. The disciples of Pythagoras could easily be recognized by their appearance and noble behavior. But this was only for the species, so to speak, the result of the views of philosophical teachings. The Pythagoreans wanted to purify their souls in order to get into the world of eternal harmony, and their beneficent intentions had to correspond externally.
