Beyond the Triangle. Delving into the Journey from Numbers to the Notes of the Cosmos.
When we hear the name Pythagoras, most of us are transported back to our school days, grappling with the geometric simplicity of a right-angled triangle. The Pythagorean theorem, stating that in a right-angled triangle, the square of the length of the hypotenuse (the side opposite the right angle) is equal to the sum of the squares of the lengths of the other two sides, is a fundamental relation in Euclidean geometry among the three sides of a right triangle. Although the theorem was known to Babylonians 1000 years earlier, it’s widely believed that the Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras was the first to provide a proof.
Not many know, though, that Pythagoras’ legacy extends far beyond geometry, reaching into the realms of spirituality, astrology, and sound healing, embodying a holistic approach to knowledge that intertwines the mathematical with the mystical.
Background:
Pythagoras was certainly well-educated, learning to play the lyre, studying poetry, and reciting Homer. He was taught mathematics by the ancient Greek philosopher Thales, who introduced the Greeks to mathematical concepts from Ancient Egypt, and by Anaximander, a notable student of Thales. Throughout his life, Pythagoras had many teachers, including Zoroastrian astrologer-priests with whom Pythagoras studied for 12 years. This combination of knowledge surely led to something extraordinary.
No Boundary between the Scientific and the Spiritual
Unlike many mathematicians of his time and thereafter, Pythagoras saw no boundary between the scientific and the spiritual. He believed in the reincarnation of souls and claimed to remember his past four lives. Some accounts suggest that he believed he could communicate with plants and animals, and travel through space and time.
Central to Pythagoras’ philosophy was the idea that numbers were divine and held magical powers. He and his followers, known as Pythagoreans, believed that the universe was built on the foundation of numbers. They held that numbers were the key to understanding the true nature of reality, a belief echoed centuries later by Galileo who famously said, “God is a mathematician.”
Pythagoras revered numbers as the essence of all existence. He began counting from the number 3, considering 1 and 2 as the foundational building blocks for all other numbers. Each number, according to Pythagoras, had a unique character and significance. For instance, he associated the number 7 with opportunity, and the number 4 with justice. The Pythagoreans revered the number 10, as it symbolized a perfect equilateral triangle when the first four numbers (1,2,3, and 4) are arranged in a tetractys. They also held a deep understanding of harmony, viewing it as a balance of opposites, represented by even and odd numbers.
The monad (a unit) represented the birthplace of all things, while the dyad (number two) symbolized matter. The sacred number seven resonated through the strings of a lyre, the planets, and the Greek calendar, embodying a divine harmony.
Music as Medicine
Pythagoras’ fascination with numbers extended to a spiritual quest for purification and divine union. His belief in the healing power of music was a testament to this quest. In Croton (a city now in Italy), he established one of the world’s first laboratories, where he explored acoustics by experimenting with bells of different weights and measuring the pitch of tones they produced. He discovered the mathematical basis of musical harmony, realizing that the pitch of a musical note changes with the length of the string, and harmonious notes correspond to simple numerical ratios.
His celestial measurements led him to propose an Earth-centered solar system, and he believed that the movements of stars and planets created a celestial harmony, coining the term “the music of the spheres.”
Pythagoras’ recognition of music’s healing powers was revolutionary for his time. He believed that music could align souls with their divine nature, performing what he termed as ‘soul alignment.’ He is attributed with the introduction of the concept “music as medicine,” a notion that resonates with many modern healers today.
The Pythagoreans were known for their secrecy, keeping their knowledge closely guarded, which likely led to the loss of much information about Pythagoras and his followers. There are no known books authored by Pythagoras himself. Philolaus of Croton, one of the three most prominent figures in the Pythagorean tradition, born a century after Pythagoras, authored a book titled On Nature. This book is believed to be the first written by a Pythagorean and serves as the earliest text describing the numerological and musical theories later attributed to Pythagoras.
It’s worth noting that modern physicists, in their quest for a ‘theory of everything’ or ‘grand unification,’ are, in essence, walking the path laid down by Pythagoras some 2,500 years ago. They too believe that the universe can be entirely understood through mathematical equations.
In Pythagoras, we find a rare blend of the mathematician and the mystic, the scientist and the spiritual seeker. Stories and legends about his life invite us to explore the profound connections between the seen and the unseen, the quantifiable and the immeasurable, urging us to look beyond the apparent dichotomy of science and spirituality.
By Katerina Belik
