This article is taken from the December 2024 issue of Fraternal Review titled, “Pythagoras”.
Pythagoras is both a historical and a mythical figure. He left no written records, but we do have many accounts of his life and teachings. In one version of his life story, his father was a merchant named Mnesarchus. In another version, his father was Apollo, the Greek god of light, truth, music, and poetry. This essay does not aim to clearly separate fact from fiction. Readers interested in doing that are encouraged to consult the references provided and draw their own conclusions. In some instances, we may never be able to distinguish the man from the myth.
Pythagoras was born around 570 BCE on the ancient Greek island of Samos. Shortly before his birth, his father was traveling and stopped to consult the famous Oracle at Delphi. This involved meeting with a priestess who channeled wisdom and prophesies attributed to Apollo. Her name is “The Pythia.” She told Mnesarchus that his wife was pregnant with a son who would be wise and beautiful—an extraordinary being who would bring great benefits to humanity. Mnesarchus changed his wife’s name to Pythais and named his son Pythagoras.
When he was about 40 years old, Pythagoras founded his school—a spiritual community devoted to virtuous living and the study of philosophy and mathematics. He was a shining link in the golden chain of great sages who, since time immemorial, have studied and enhanced perennial spiritual traditions down through the ages.
Pythagoras was a pioneer. He was the first to call himself a philosopher, meaning one who seeks and loves wisdom. He spiritualized mathematics. He believed that numbers are the basis of all science and philosophy. He applied mathematics to his studies of geometry, music, and planetary movements, contributing toward the transformation of all such studies into sciences. He was also the first to call the universe a “cosmos,” meaning it is well-ordered and beautiful. He also saw the human being as a microcosm, containing all the powers of the divine universe, the macrocosm.
About two hundred years after Pythagoras’ time, the Greek mathematician Euclid wrote Elements, a treatise on geometry, while living in Alexandria, a great cultural center in Egypt. Elements presented the “47th Problem” as a fundamental principle in mathematics, widely known as the Pythagorean Theorem. It eventually led to the development of algebra and trigonometry. Euclidean geometry continues to provide a foundation for the math students of today.
The 47th Problem has been described as the root of geometry and most applied mathematics. It is essential in engineering and astronomy, and in surveying on land and navigation on the seas. Just as “2 + 2 = 4” is always true throughout the universe, so does this Theorem represent absolute truth. It is true for all time and all cultures, whether the units of measurement are inches, miles, or light years. It is described in Anderson’s Constitutions of 1723 as “the Foundation of all Masonry, sacred, civil, and military.”
A largely mythical story of Pythagoras appeared in the lecture of the Master Mason degree over two hundred years ago. Bro. Carl Claudy has provided this quote from Webb’s Freemasons’ Monitor:
The 47th Problem of Euclid
This was an invention of our ancient friend and brother, the great Pythagoras, who, in his travels through Asia, Africa, and Europe was initiated into several orders of priesthood and was also raised to the sublime degree of a master mason. This wise philosopher enriched his mind abundantly in a general knowledge of things, and more especially in geometry or masonry. On this subject he drew out many problems and theorems; and, among the most distinguished, he erected this, when, in the joy of his heart, he called Eureka, in the Greek Language signifying I have found it, and upon the discovery of which he is said to have sacrificed a hecatomb. It teaches Masons to be general lovers of the arts and sciences.
How does this Problem teach Masons to be lovers of the arts and sciences? We will address this question after looking at mythical and factual aspects of this ritual text. Pythagoras did not invent the 47th Problem. Babylonians and Egyptians knew about it centuries earlier. He was not initiated a Master Mason. This is today’s third degree, which was developed during the 1720s. Pythagoras did not sacrifice a hecatomb (100 cattle). He was a vegetarian and probably owned no cattle. It was the great mathematician Archimedes who made a scientific discovery and exclaimed “Eureka!”—about 200 years after Pythagoras’ time.
When ritual language is not factual, we can approach it as allegory, or mythistory. Ancient biographers tell us that Pythagoras did travel widely, becoming a learned man through contact with diverse cultures and undergoing numerous initiations. Today we might consider him a “master mason” in the sense that the term was sometimes used in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Architects and sculptors, and those who supervised the building of great edifices, all being highly educated men, were considered “master masons.” We could also think of Pythagoras as a model for modern Freemasons because crying “Eureka!” suggests a delight in the discovery of philosophical, moral, and scientific truths.
As to teaching love of the arts and sciences, there is a lecture in the second degree of Masonry about the seven liberal arts and sciences. They are often divided into the trivium—grammar, rhetoric, and logic, and the quadrivium—arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy. As to the trivium, Pythagoras apparently was a master in the use of language, widely known for his elegant and persuasive public speaking.
He applied logic to his groundbreaking studies of the entire quadrivium. He applied mathematics to geometry, music, and astronomy, placing each of these disciplines on a more scientific basis. Measuring vibratory frequencies of musical notes, he learned that pleasant musical sounds come from vibrations in mathematical ratios of 2 to 1, 3 to 2, and 4 to 3. He is credited with the idea that the Earth is round, not flat.
Pythagoreans thought the motions of the stars and planets could be understood through mathematics. They also challenged the idea that the Earth is the center of the universe, believing that all celestial bodies revolve around a “Central Fire.” This eventually led to the discovery centuries later that the Earth and other planets all revolve around the sun.
Love of the arts and sciences is suggested by a legend recorded in the Old Charges of the stonemasons and related to a Bible story. A pillar of brick and one of stone were inscribed with all human knowledge, to preserve it in the event that God destroyed the earth by fire or flood. After the Great Flood, Pythagoras and Hermes Trismegistus each found one of the pillars and conveyed the knowledge to future generations.
Love of the arts and sciences is also suggested by Pythagoras’ connection to Apollo. This god of truth and knowledge was closely involved with the Nine Muses, who were sources of inspiration to poets, playwrights, astronomers, and others. The Muses came to represent many domains of knowledge, and during the Middle Ages and Renaissance they were symbolically associated with the seven liberal arts and sciences, as sources of divine knowledge inspiring human creativity.
References
[1] Agis Uždavinys, The Golden Chain: An Anthology of Pythagorean and Platonic Philosophy. (Bloomington, Indiana: World Wisdom, Kindle Edition), includes translations of some Pythagorean writings, and commentary.
[2] David R. Fideler, ed., The Pythagorean Sourcebook and Library. Compiled and translated by Kenneth Sylvan Guthrie, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Phanes Press, 1987), includes translations of many Pythagorean writings with commentary.
[3] Carl H. Claudy, The Short Talk Bulletin, Volume 8, Number 10, October 1930, available as a podcast, https://shorttalkbulletin.com/the-47th-problem-v8n10-3/. Comments above on the 47th Problem are paraphrased from Bro. Claudy. [4] Bro. Sydney T., Klein, “The Great Symbol,” in Ars Quatuor Coronatorum, Volume X, (Wargate: Keble’s Gazette, 1897), 82-110, includes historical detail in a lengthy text accompanied by mathematical and geometric proofs.
Written by C. Douglas Russell.