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A Pythagorean Initiation
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According to legend, Pythagoras’ father was a wealthy merchant who was on a trading trip when an oracle told him he was to have a son, sent from Helios, the Greek God of the sun, light, and knowledge. Pythagoras was the first person to describe himself as a philosopher, as a lover of wisdom.
When he was eighteen Pythagoras grew his hair long, left Samos, and went to visit a philosopher named Thales in Miletus. His third century follower Iamblichus tells us that Pythagoras first studied with Anaximander, the natural philosopher, and Thales, who told him to go to Egypt to study the secrets of the gods with the ancient lineage of priests. En route, young Pythagoras went to Sidon and studied the Phoenician mysteries of Byblos and Tyre and was initiated into their mysteries, which—he discovered—were derived from the Egyptian rites.
Manly Hall compared Pythagorean thought to the doctrines of the Essenes – perhaps it was here that Pythagoras met their representatives. Pythagoras sat on the top of Mount Carmel and waited. An Egyptian boat arrived and he went aboard, sitting in meditative silence for two days. The sailors had planned to sell him as a slave, but, realizing he was a holy man, they instead took him safely to port, providing him with fruit and treating him with reverence. He spent twenty-two years in the Egyptian temples studying geometry and astronomy and was initiated “in no casual manner into all the mysteries of the Gods.”
He is likely to have learned there that the phenomena of nature were manifestations of divine forces. Their mysterious pantheon of animal-headed gods was involved in all aspects of life, and the Egyptian priesthood’s religious practices were efforts to sustain and placate the gods and turn them to human advantage. Doubtlessly, he learned of the central concept of Ma’at – the balance of the cosmic order, justice and harmony.
Pythagoras was captured by pirates and taken to Babylon (now Baghdad, Iraq), where he studied music, arithmetic, and the sciences with the Zoroastrian magi for twelve years. In Babylon, he would have learned the doctrines of cosmic dualism - the eternal battle between good (Ahura Mazda) and evil (Angra Mainyu).
Whether or not he truly visited all these places and learned from all these masters we cannot know, but the implication of Iamblichus’ narrative of Pythagoras’ studies is that in the Pythagorean philosophy we may see a syncretism of the great philosophies and mystery religions of the ancient world combined into a universal wisdom.
Finally, Pythagoras returned to Samos and established his first school. Candidates were subjected to rigorous examination. First, Pythagoras investigated their relationship with their family and carefully observed their laughter, speech, and silence, secretly noting the candidate’s desires, associations, conversation, leisure—what brought them joy and grief. He carefully observed the candidate’s physical condition – the condition of the candidate’s body was an indication of the soul within. Now, the candidate had to wait for three years. During this time Pythagoras watched covertly to see if they maintained their disposition. Were they genuinely studious and averse to popular honors - would they be worthy members of the community?
If they were accepted, the candidate’s possessions were placed into trust and cared for by senior members. The candidate “was compelled to maintain silence for five years.” As exoteric ‘hearer’ members they were not allowed to see Pythagoras when he spoke, only to listen to lectures. Speaking publicly and indiscriminately about Pythagorean ideas was reason for expulsion. The Greek word ‘exo’ means ‘without,’ ‘eso’ means ‘within,’ and ‘terikos’ is ‘more.’ Only initiated members of the Pythagorean cult were allowed to enter a veiled area where they could hear their master speak. Esoteric subjects were only spoken of when within the curtain, while exoteric matters could be spoken outside.
If Pythagoras was impressed with the candidate’s modesty and dedication to the philosophical life after five more years of scrutiny, they were allowed within the veil as esoteric members, known as ‘homacoi.’ If a candidate was rejected during the five-year probation period, they were provided with double the wealth they had brought to the community, and the homacoi built a tomb for them and treated them as if they were dead.
The beauty of natural order is foundational to Pythagorean thought. The neo-Pythagorean Iamblichus tells us, “The purest and most genuine character is that of the man who devotes himself to the contemplation of the most beautiful things, and he may properly be called a philosopher. Pythagoras adds that the survey of the whole heaven, and of the stars that revolved therein, is indeed beautiful when we consider their order, which is derived from participation in the first and intelligible essence… The desire for something like this is philosophy.” Pythagoras’ work encompassed not only numeric and harmonic theory, but a philosophical approach to living that has been admired and appropriated by ascetics and philosophers in all ages that have followed him.
Pythagoreans wore pure white robes and slept in white beds. They took no exercise, with the sole exception of morning walks to beautiful, quiet places like temples or groves. During these walks they did not speak until they had gained inner serenity. Their morning was filled with teaching. At lunch they received guests and visitors and ate bread and honey, or honeycomb, and drank no wine. In the afternoon they walked, “rehearsing the disciplines they had learned and exercising themselves in attractive studies.” Personal cleanliness was important, for the body reflected the cosmos. After dinner, they had drinks and then heard readings – the younger members reading what the older suggested.
Pythagoras taught the beauty of numbers and the harmony of the spheres. According to Iamblichus, he heard the different sound made by hammers in a forge and realized that tones can be expressed in quantitative relationships (one hammer striking a sound an octave higher than another was also twice its weight) and in numerical values and geometrical measures. With stringed instruments, he discovered the connection between vibration frequencies and pitch. The whole universe consisted of harmony and number. Each of the seven planets made a certain vibrational frequency as it passed through the heavens, and everything on earth could be assigned to one of these frequencies. Thus, there were seven notes, seven colors of the rainbow, and seven organs of the body.
Because musical harmony was an observable truth about cosmic order, music was a tremendously important part of the daily ritual. Music was used as medicine – in Spring the Pythagoreans sang together with the lyre and were ‘so overjoyed that their manners became elegant and orderly.’ This is the invention of music therapy. Iamblichus tells us, “Certain melodies were devised as remedies against the passions of the soul, as also against despondency and lamentation, which were invented by Pythagoras specifically for this. Further, he employed other melodies against anger and rage, and all other aberrations of the soul. Another kind of modulation was invented against desires.”
When they went to bed, the Pythagoreans sang hymns to produce tranquil sleep and good dreams. On waking they sang a different kind of music to greet the day. They used music without words to create passions of the soul and to cure diseases. A core Pythagorean belief was that man as microcosm should endeavor to be in harmony with the macrocosmic universe. As above, so below - this was the harmony of the spheres.
When he was eighteen Pythagoras grew his hair long, left Samos, and went to visit a philosopher named Thales in Miletus. His third century follower Iamblichus tells us that Pythagoras first studied with Anaximander, the natural philosopher, and Thales, who told him to go to Egypt to study the secrets of the gods with the ancient lineage of priests. En route, young Pythagoras went to Sidon and studied the Phoenician mysteries of Byblos and Tyre and was initiated into their mysteries, which—he discovered—were derived from the Egyptian rites.
Manly Hall compared Pythagorean thought to the doctrines of the Essenes – perhaps it was here that Pythagoras met their representatives. Pythagoras sat on the top of Mount Carmel and waited. An Egyptian boat arrived and he went aboard, sitting in meditative silence for two days. The sailors had planned to sell him as a slave, but, realizing he was a holy man, they instead took him safely to port, providing him with fruit and treating him with reverence. He spent twenty-two years in the Egyptian temples studying geometry and astronomy and was initiated “in no casual manner into all the mysteries of the Gods.”
He is likely to have learned there that the phenomena of nature were manifestations of divine forces. Their mysterious pantheon of animal-headed gods was involved in all aspects of life, and the Egyptian priesthood’s religious practices were efforts to sustain and placate the gods and turn them to human advantage. Doubtlessly, he learned of the central concept of Ma’at – the balance of the cosmic order, justice and harmony.
Pythagoras was captured by pirates and taken to Babylon (now Baghdad, Iraq), where he studied music, arithmetic, and the sciences with the Zoroastrian magi for twelve years. In Babylon, he would have learned the doctrines of cosmic dualism - the eternal battle between good (Ahura Mazda) and evil (Angra Mainyu).
Whether or not he truly visited all these places and learned from all these masters we cannot know, but the implication of Iamblichus’ narrative of Pythagoras’ studies is that in the Pythagorean philosophy we may see a syncretism of the great philosophies and mystery religions of the ancient world combined into a universal wisdom.
Finally, Pythagoras returned to Samos and established his first school. Candidates were subjected to rigorous examination. First, Pythagoras investigated their relationship with their family and carefully observed their laughter, speech, and silence, secretly noting the candidate’s desires, associations, conversation, leisure—what brought them joy and grief. He carefully observed the candidate’s physical condition – the condition of the candidate’s body was an indication of the soul within. Now, the candidate had to wait for three years. During this time Pythagoras watched covertly to see if they maintained their disposition. Were they genuinely studious and averse to popular honors - would they be worthy members of the community?
If they were accepted, the candidate’s possessions were placed into trust and cared for by senior members. The candidate “was compelled to maintain silence for five years.” As exoteric ‘hearer’ members they were not allowed to see Pythagoras when he spoke, only to listen to lectures. Speaking publicly and indiscriminately about Pythagorean ideas was reason for expulsion. The Greek word ‘exo’ means ‘without,’ ‘eso’ means ‘within,’ and ‘terikos’ is ‘more.’ Only initiated members of the Pythagorean cult were allowed to enter a veiled area where they could hear their master speak. Esoteric subjects were only spoken of when within the curtain, while exoteric matters could be spoken outside.
If Pythagoras was impressed with the candidate’s modesty and dedication to the philosophical life after five more years of scrutiny, they were allowed within the veil as esoteric members, known as ‘homacoi.’ If a candidate was rejected during the five-year probation period, they were provided with double the wealth they had brought to the community, and the homacoi built a tomb for them and treated them as if they were dead.
The beauty of natural order is foundational to Pythagorean thought. The neo-Pythagorean Iamblichus tells us, “The purest and most genuine character is that of the man who devotes himself to the contemplation of the most beautiful things, and he may properly be called a philosopher. Pythagoras adds that the survey of the whole heaven, and of the stars that revolved therein, is indeed beautiful when we consider their order, which is derived from participation in the first and intelligible essence… The desire for something like this is philosophy.” Pythagoras’ work encompassed not only numeric and harmonic theory, but a philosophical approach to living that has been admired and appropriated by ascetics and philosophers in all ages that have followed him.
Pythagoreans wore pure white robes and slept in white beds. They took no exercise, with the sole exception of morning walks to beautiful, quiet places like temples or groves. During these walks they did not speak until they had gained inner serenity. Their morning was filled with teaching. At lunch they received guests and visitors and ate bread and honey, or honeycomb, and drank no wine. In the afternoon they walked, “rehearsing the disciplines they had learned and exercising themselves in attractive studies.” Personal cleanliness was important, for the body reflected the cosmos. After dinner, they had drinks and then heard readings – the younger members reading what the older suggested.
Pythagoras taught the beauty of numbers and the harmony of the spheres. According to Iamblichus, he heard the different sound made by hammers in a forge and realized that tones can be expressed in quantitative relationships (one hammer striking a sound an octave higher than another was also twice its weight) and in numerical values and geometrical measures. With stringed instruments, he discovered the connection between vibration frequencies and pitch. The whole universe consisted of harmony and number. Each of the seven planets made a certain vibrational frequency as it passed through the heavens, and everything on earth could be assigned to one of these frequencies. Thus, there were seven notes, seven colors of the rainbow, and seven organs of the body.
Because musical harmony was an observable truth about cosmic order, music was a tremendously important part of the daily ritual. Music was used as medicine – in Spring the Pythagoreans sang together with the lyre and were ‘so overjoyed that their manners became elegant and orderly.’ This is the invention of music therapy. Iamblichus tells us, “Certain melodies were devised as remedies against the passions of the soul, as also against despondency and lamentation, which were invented by Pythagoras specifically for this. Further, he employed other melodies against anger and rage, and all other aberrations of the soul. Another kind of modulation was invented against desires.”
When they went to bed, the Pythagoreans sang hymns to produce tranquil sleep and good dreams. On waking they sang a different kind of music to greet the day. They used music without words to create passions of the soul and to cure diseases. A core Pythagorean belief was that man as microcosm should endeavor to be in harmony with the macrocosmic universe. As above, so below - this was the harmony of the spheres.
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