A proper name. Also [sc. attested is the phrase] 'Pythagorean doctrine'. Also 'Pythagorean men'.
[Note] that the Pythagorean "symbols" were the following:[1] 'do not stir fire with a knife';[2] 'do not step over a balance-beam';[3] 'do not sit down on a bushel';[4] 'do not eat heart';[5] 'join [someone] in taking down a burden, not in lifting it up';[6] 'always have [your] bedclothes packed up';[7] 'do not wear a ring carrying the image of a god';[8] 'efface the traces of a pot in the ashes';[9] 'do not wipe a seat with a lamp';[10] 'do not urinate turned toward the sun';[11] 'do not walk outside the main way';[12] 'do not be light in offering [your] right hand';[13] 'do not keep swallows under the same roof [as you]';[14] 'do not nourish a bird with crooked nails';[15] 'do not urinate or stand upon the cuttings of your nails or hair';[16] 'avoid a sharp knife'; 'be indifferent to the borders while traveling abroad'.[17] The meaning he attached to the exhortation 'not stirring fire with a knife' was not to cause the anger or the bad temper of powerful, easily-upset men; 'not stepping over a balance-beam' is not overstepping the limit of fairness and justice; 'not sitting on a bushel' is equivalent to taking into consideration even the future,[18] for the bushel [means] the daily food. By the expression 'not eating heart' he was showing that we should not wear our soul away with anxiety and sorrow. By saying that 'he who is traveling abroad should not turn back' he was recommending that those departing from life should not be eager to stay alive, and not let themselves be brought under the power of this world's pleasures. As for the remaining, we shall leave aside all the other "symbols" besides these, to avoid being redundant. But above all, he used to prohibit eating the
erythinos[18] and the
melanouros,[19] and to abstain from [eating] heart[20] and beans[21] and [sow's] womb[22] and mullet. Sometimes he was satisfied with just honey or honeycomb or bread; during the daytime he did not taste any wine, and as a relish he usually had vegetables boiled or raw, but rarely seafood. The garment he wore was white and clean, and his bed-clothing was white and made from wool, for linen cloths had not yet come to those regions. There is no information about him suffering from excess of eating, or having sexual intercourse or getting drunk. He used to abstain from ribaldry and from any pleasant pastime such as jokes and vulgar stories. [Even] when angry, he did not chastise any person, whether a slave or a free man. He also used to call admonishing 'correcting'. He used to practice divination, the kind using augurs and auspices as mediums, but not the kind performed by burning the offerings, with the exception of frankincense. As sacrificial victims he offered inanimate things;[23] though according to other sources, he only offered roosters and kids and sucklings. On the other hand they say that he agreed with eating all animals as food,[24] and only abstained from the ox used for ploughing, and from the ram. As for his philosophical doctrines, he learned them from his sister Theokleia.[25] They say that during his descent into the underworld he saw Hesiod's soul bound to a bronze pillar, bitterly crying, and
Homer's hanging from a tree and surrounded by serpents, as a punishment for what they had said about gods; he also saw that punishment was reserved for those who had not been willing to have intercourse with their own wives. He used to prohibit presenting the gods with slaughtered victims, [saying that only] a man not stained by any bloodshed should prostrate himself in front of an altar.[26] [He exhorted people] not to swear in the name of gods, but said that [each one] must train himself to appear trustworthy [sc. even without swearing].[27] He used to say that elderly people should be honored, because he was convinced that everything that is precedent in time is more honorable; as in the firmament the sunrise is more honorable than the sunset, in human life the beginning is more honorable than the end and in existence the processes of production are more honorable than those of destruction; and [as] god should be honored above the daemons, so should be the heroes above the humans, and then, above humans in general, especially one's parents. He also invited [people] to enjoy the company of each other in such a way as not to make friends into enemies, but to change enemies into friends; not to consider anything one's private property; to assist the law and to combat lawlessness; not to destroy or injure any cultivated plant, but also any animal which does no harm to humans. He taught that modesty and discretion means to refrain from laughing, yet without looking angry; he exhorted [people] to avoid an excess of meat [sc. as food]; to keep time for relaxation and time for intense effort during a journey; to exercise the memory; not to say or do anything while being angry; to honour every form of divination; to sing accompanied by the lyre, making a suitable offering of thanks by means of a hymn praising gods and valiant men. [He also used to recommend] abstaining from eating fava beans, because they share with animated beings most of their properties, as they cause flatulence, and because on the other hand they keep the stomach in better order if they are not consumed at all; moreover, by keeping this habit even dreams are made quiet and calm. In the Pythagorean commentaries[28] the following teachings are also found: the beginning of all reality is the monad, and from the monad derives an indefinite dyad, so that the matter is subordinate to the monad since that is its cause. From the monad and from the indefinite dyad proceed the numbers, from the numbers the signs, from these the lines, of which the plane figures consist. Then from the plane figures are derived the solid ones, and from these the sensible bodies, whose elements are four: fire, water, earth and air. These undergo changes and transformations through the whole universe and give origin to the animated world, provided with an intellect, spherical, having in its center the earth, also spherical and inhabited. There also exist antipodes; and what is "up" for us is "down" for those [living at the antipodes]. In the world, light and darkness, heat and cold, dry and wet are equally distributed; among these, when the predominant is the heat there is summer, and when the predominant is the cold there is winter. Whenever these qualities are in balance there are the most pleasant seasons of the year. The spring, which brings on flourishing, is the healthy period of that last, whilst the autumn, which brings on decaying, is the unwholesome one. But even in the daytime the dawn is the flourishing time; the evening is the decaying time; hence it is unhealthier. The air surrounding the earth has no movement and is unhealthy, and all the creatures living in it are mortal; the uppermost part, on the opposite, is always in motion, is pure and wholesome, and all the beings living inside it are immortal and, for that reason, divine. In them the preponderant quality is heat, which is the cause of life. The moon receives its light from the sun. More: between mankind and gods there is a kinship, inasmuch as humans partake of heat. The cause determining the arrangement (both for the whole universe and for its parts) is fate. From the sun a ray passes through the ether, both the cold and the dense one; this same ray penetrates into the depths and, by doing that, it vivifies everything. We have passed over the other teachings, to avoid being redundant. [Also note] that
Pythagoras used to recommend not picking up what is falling from the table, either so as not to become accustomed to eating immoderately or because of some [other] goal; for
Aristophanes[29] says that what falls down belongs to the heroes, and invites [people] not to pick up the leftovers falling from the table.
Pythagoras also recommended not eating a white rooster, as it is sacred to the Sun and indicates the hours;[30] abstaining from eating fava beans because their shape looks similar to the masculine genitals; and [he said] that salt should be put before [us on the table] to remind us of justice, for salt preserves whatever it is used for, and its origin is in pure waters and in the sea. [He also taught] that bread should not be broken, because ancient people used to gather around one [loaf]; moreover bread, which unites around itself, should not be divided (another reason is that it brings cowardice in wars). Aristophon[31] says about the Pythagoreans: "he said that when he descended to see how they live in the underworld, he saw each one of them, but their condition was very different from that of [all the other] dead: for only with them did Pluto eat together, thanks to their piety. You can say[32] that he is quite a tolerant god, if he likes the company of people full of filth". "[They eat][33] vegetables and drink water with them, but none of the younger folk would ever tolerate their lice and their dirty clothes!".
And [there is] a saying: 'I will be more silent, even, than those initiated in
Pythagoras'. For they used to spend a period of five years training silence.[34]
Of the Pythagoreans, some were devoted to theoretical inquiries and were called reverent (
sebastikoi/), other were involved in mathematical speculation and were called "geometricians" and "mathematicians". And
Pythagoras' companions used to be called Pythagorikoi, but the pupils of these men [were called] Pythagoreioi, and those followers otherwise external to the school were called Pythagoristai.[35] They used to abstain from eating animate things.
[Note also that]
Pythagoras brought the elements of his doctrine from the Egyptians to the Greeks.[36]
Puthagoras: onoma kurion. kai Puthagoreios logos. kai Puthagoreioi andres. hoti Puthagora ta sumbola ên tade: pur machairai mê skaleuein: zugon mê huperbainein: epi choinikos mê kathizein: kardian mê esthiein: phortion sunkathairein, mêde sunepitithenai: ta strômata aei sundedemena echein: en daktuliôi theou eikona mê peripherein: chutras ichnos sunchein en têi tephrai: ladiôi eis thakon mê omorgnusthai: pros hêlion tetrammenon mê omichein: ektos leôphorou mê badizein: mê rhaidiôs dexian emballein: homôrophious chelidonas mê echein: gampsônucha mê trephein: aponuchismasi kai kourais mê epourein mêde ephistasthai: oxeian machairan apostrephein: apodêmounta en tois horois anepistreptein. êthele de autôi to men pur machairai mê skaleuein, hoti dunastôn orgên kai oidountôn thumon mê kinein: to de zugon mê huperbainein, toutesti to ison kai dikaion mê huperbainein: epi te choinikos mê kathizein en isôi tôi phrontida poieisthai kai tou mellontos: ho gar choinix hêmerêsios trophê. dia de tou kardian mê esthiein, edêlou, mê tên psuchên aniais kai lupais katatêkein: dia de tou eis apodêmian badizonta mê epistrephesthai, parêinei to apallattomenois tou biou mê epithumêtikôs echein tou zên, mêd' hupo tôn enthade hêdonôn hupagesthai. kai talla pros tauta loipon estin eklambanein, hina mê parelkômen. pantos de mallon apêgoreue mête eruthinon esthiein mête melanouron, kardias te apechesthai kai kuamôn kai mêtras kai triglês. eniote auton arkeisthai meliti monôi ê kêrôi ê artôi: oinou de meth' hêmeran mê geuesthai, opsôi te ta polla lachanois hephthois kai ômois, tois de thalattiois spaniôs. stolê de autôi leukê kai kathara, kai strômata leuka ex eriôn: ta gar lina oupô eis ekeinous aphiketo tous topous. oude pôpote de egnôsthê oute diachôrôn oute aphrodisiazôn oute methustheis. apeicheto de katagelôtos kai pasês areskeias, hoion skômmatôn kai diêgêmatôn phortikôn. orgizomenos te oute oiketên ekolazen oute eleutheron oudena. ekalei de to nouthetein pelargan. mantikêi te echrêto têi dia tôn klêdonôn te kai oiônôn, hêkista de dia tôn empurôn, exô tês dia libanou: thusiais te echrêto apsuchois, hoi de, alektorisi monon kai eriphois kai galathênois. phasi d' auton sunchôrein panta ta empsucha esthiein, monou d' apechesthai boos arotêros kai kriou. ta de dogmata elabe para tês adelphês Theokleias. phasi d' auton katelthonta eis haidou tên men Hêsiodou psuchên idein pros kioni chalkôi dedemenên kai trizousan, tên de Homêrou kremamenên apo dendrou kai opheis peri autên, anth' hôn eipon peri theôn: kolazomenous de kai tous mê thelontas suneinai tais heautôn gunaixi. sphagia de theois prospherein ekôlue: bômon de proskunein ton anaimakton. mêde omnunai theous: askein de heauton dein axiopiston parechein. tous presbuterous timan dein, to proêgoumenon tôi chronôi timiôteron hêgoumenous: hôs en kosmôi anatolên duseôs, en biôi tên archên teleutês, en zôêi genesin phthoras. kai theon men daimonôn protiman, hêrôas de anthrôpôn, anthrôpôn de malista goneas. allêlois te homilein, hôs tous men philous echthrous mê poiêsai, tous de echthrous philous ergasasthai: idion te mêden hêgeisthai. nomôi boêthein, anomiai polemein. phuton hêmeron mête phthinein mête sinesthai, alla mête zôion, ho mê blaptei anthrôpous. aidô kai eulabeian einai, mête katagelôti katechesthai mête skuthrôpazein. pheugein sarkôn pleonasmon. hodoiporias anesin kai epitasin poieisthai. mnêmên askein. en orgêi mête ti legein mête prassein. mantikên pasan timan. ôidais chrêsthai pros luran: humnôi te theôn kai andrôn agathôn eulogon echein charin. tôn de kuamôn apechesthai dia to pneumatôdeis ontas malista metechein tou psuchikou, kai allôs kosmiôteras apergazesthai mê paralêphthentas tas gasteras: kai dia touto kai tas kath' hupnous phantasias leias te kai atarachous apotelein. en hupomnêmasi de Puthagorikois kai tauta heurêtai: archên men tôn hapantôn monada, ek de tês monados aoriston duada, hôs an hulên têi monadi aitiôi onti hupostênai. ek de tês monados kai tês aoristou duados tous arithmous, ek de tôn arithmôn ta sêmeia, ek de toutôn tas grammas, ex hôn ta epipeda schêmata: ek de tôn epipedôn ta sterea schêmata, ek de toutôn ta aisthêta sômata: hôn kai ta stoicheia einai d#, pur, hudôr, gên, aera: ha metaballein kai trepesthai di' holôn kai ginesthai ex autôn kosmon empsuchon, noeron, sphairoeidê, mesên periechonta tên gên, kai autên sphairoeidê kai oikoumenên. einai de kai antipodas: kai ta hêmin katô, ekeinois anô. isomoira te einai en tôi kosmôi phôs kai skotos, thermon kai psuchron, xêron kai hugron: hôn kat' epikrateian thermou men theros ginesthai, psuchrou de cheimôna. ean de isomoirêi, ta kallista einai tou etous: hou to men thallon ear hugieinon, to de phthinon phthinopôron noseron. alla kai tês hêmeras thallein men tên heô, phthinein de tên hesperan: hothen kai noserôteron einai. ton te peri tên gên aera aseiston kai noseron, kai ta en autôi panta thnêta: ton de anôtatô aeikinêton einai kai katharon kai hugia, kai panta ta en autôi athanata kai dia touto theia: epikratei gar to thermon en autois, hoper esti zôês aition. tên te selênên lampesthai huph' hêliou. kai anthrôpôn einai pros theous sungeneian, kata to metechein anthrôpon thermou. heimarmenên te tôn holôn kai kata meros aitian einai tês dioikêseôs. diêkein te apo tou hêliou aktina dia tou aitheros, tou te psuchrou kai pacheos: tautên de tên aktina kai eis ta benthê duesthai kai dia touto zôopoiein panta. ta loipa parêkamen, hina mê parelkômen. hoti ta piptonta apo tês trapezês mê anaireisthai parekeleueto Puthagoras, ê dia to mê ethizesthai akolastôs esthiein ê hoti epi teleutêi tinos: Aristophanês gar tôn hêrôôn phêsin einai ta piptonta, mête de ta entos tês trapezês piptonta anaireisthai. mête leukon alektruona esthiein, hôs hieron tou hêliou kai tas hôras mênuonta. tous kuamous de apotrepesthai, hoti aidoiois eoikasi: kai tous halas paratithesthai pros hupomnêsin tou dikaiou: hoi gar hales pan sôizousin ho ti kai paralabôsi, kai gegonasin ek tôn katharôn hudatôn kai thalassês. arton de mê katagnuein, hoti epi hena hoi palaioi ephoitôn: kai mê diairein, hos sunagei eph' heauton: ê hoti eis polemon deilian empoiei. Aristophôn legei peri tôn Puthagoristôn: katabas eis tên diaitan autôn katô idein hekastous, diapherein de pampolu tous Puthagoristas tôn nekrôn: monoisi gar toutoisi ton Ploutôna sussitein ephê di' eusebeian. eucherê theon legeis, ei tois rhupou mestois hêdetai xunôn. lachana te kai pinousin epi toutois hudôr: phtheiras de kai tribôna tên t' alousian oudeis an hupomeineie tôn neôterôn. kai paroimia: siôpêloteros esomai kai tôn Puthagorai telesthentôn. pentaetê gar chronon êskoun siôpên. tôn de Puthagoreiôn hoi men peri theôrian kataginomenoi ekalounto sebastikoi, hoi de peri ta mathêmata geômetrikoi kai mathêmatikoi. kai hoi men tôi Puthagorai sunginomenoi ekalounto Puthagorikoi, hoi de toutôn mathêtai Puthagoreioi, hoi de allôs exôthen zêlôtai Puthagoristai. empsuchôn de apeichonto. hoti apo tôn Aiguptiôn ho Puthagoras exênenke ta tês autou doxês eis Hellênas.
For
Pythagoras see already
pi 3120,
pi 3121,
pi 3123. The main body of the present entry stems from
Diogenes Laertius 8.17-38; cf. already, in brief,
pi 929. (Of the two subsidiary headwords, neither phrase occurs elsewhere in the Suda, though there are several collective mentions of '[the] Pythagorean[s]', and individual philosophers are designated 'Pythagorean'.)
[1] The
su/mbola, also called
a)kou/smata, were gnomic utterances whose enigmatic language, according to
Iamblichus, was characteristic of the Pythagorean teaching method (cf.
Life of Pythagoras 103. A different interpretation, considering the word a misinterpretation of
sumbollai/ (a possible Doric form for
su/mboulai, "counsels"), is suggested in a paper by W. Harris [see web address 1].
Iamblichus further notes that this method --
palaio/tropos 'old-fashioned' all over Greece -- is to be connected with Egypt, like other Pythagorean-school features (
e)caire/tws de\ par' *ai)gupti/ois poikilw/tata e)presbeu/eto, 'especially cultivated by Egyptians in a very complex way'). He also attributes the use of the
su/mbola to the mystical character of the school. On a superficial analysis, these expressions may well sound ridiculous in their obscurity, but should they be more closely analyzed, one by one, they will reveal a wisdom of unexpected depth, like the answers of the Pythia (cf.
Life 103ff.).
That the use of such enigmatic, orally-transmitted maxims was very ancient is confirmed by the fact that handbooks devoted to their interpretation were composed in the fifth century BCE:
Xenophon (
Symposium 3.6) mentions an
Anaximander (not the philosopher) as the author of an
Explanation of the Pythagorean Symbola (also see
alpha 1987). His interpretation was very probably of the allegorical kind, like the one devoted to epic poems, since
Anaximander is also recorded as 'one who could detect the hidden meanings in
Homer'. Similar works are attributed to Alexander Polyhistor (cf.
Clement of Alexandria,
Stromateis 1.70) and to
Philochorus. Some citations survive from the work of the Pythagorean Androcydes, the main source -- according to Burkert 166-167 -- of the later tradition concerning the Pythagorean sayings. Another important source was the Aristotelian book
On Pythagoreans, some fragments of which can still be recognized in
Iamblichus' biography. For similar lists of sayings. cf.
Iamblichus,
Life 106ff.;
Porphyry,
Life 42.
The
su/mbola are sorted by
Iamblichus into three categories according to the problem they address:
ti/ e)sti; ti/ ma/lista; ti/ prakte/on; This classification stems perhaps from
Aristotle. The maxims recorded in the text of
Diogenes Laertius and hence by the Suda, are of the third group. Also cf.
Iamblichus,
Life 103.
[2] This
su/mbolon, like the following two, is recorded by the tradition stemming from Androcydes' book. Cf.
Porphyry,
Life 42.
[3]
Iamblichus,
Life 114, remarks: 'this symbol exhorts us [...] to honor equality and moderation [...] and to recognize justice as the most perfect virtue. And this virtue should not be known without proper attention (
pare/rgws), but by means of theorems and scientific demonstrations'.
[4] =
Aristotle fr. 197. The word
xoi=nic denotes a dry measure for cereals; one
xoi=nic of corn corresponded to the daily allowance of a single person, (cf.
Herodotus 7.187; one slave's allowance in
Thucydides 4.16). For this Pythagorean exhortation to avoid idleness cf.
Plutarch,
Life of Numa 14.3;
De liberis educandis 12E;
Aetia Romana et Graeca 281A, etc.;
Athenaeus,
Deipnosophists 10.452E [10.77 Kaibel];
Aelian,
Varia Historia 1.26; etc. The explanation provided by
Iamblichus,
Protrepticon 116, connects the literal meaning of
xoi=nic with material life, opposing it to spiritual life: 'nutriment is to be measured by the corporeal and animal nature, and not by a bushel; do not spend your life in indolence nor without being initiated into philosophy [...], take care for that part which is more divine in you, that is soul, and at first for the intellect which is in the soul, whose nutriment is measured, not by a bushel, but by contemplation and discipline'.
[5] This
su/mbolon is explained below as related to not consuming one's own soul in useless worries, and can be compared with the Homeric expression
qumo\n e)/dein. A different interpretation in
Iamblichus,
Life 123: 'it signifies that it is not proper to tear apart the sympathetic unity of the universe. And even more [it signifies]: be not envious, but philanthropic and communicative; and from this it exhorts us to practice philosophy'.
[6] This saying is witnessed by the Suda (via
Diogenes Laertius) in an opposite version to the one occurring in
Porphyry and
Iamblichus:
forti/on sunepitiqe/nai, mh\ sugkaqairei=n as an exhortation not to encourage idleness but virtue. According to
Iamblichus,
Life 113, 'the Pythagoreans celebrate this saying as 'Herculean' denominating it from Hercules' labours'.
[8] A recommendation not to profane divine names, by making a mere ornament out of a sacred image. Cf.
Iamblichus,
Life 84;
Porphyry,
Life 42. The ring is further related, in Pythagorean doctrine, to the idea of a bond: in bodies, between their corporeal nature and their soul, or between the individual and their surroundings, as expressed by another
su/mbolon prescribing 'not to wear any ring' as 'be spiritually free' (cf.
Iamblichus,
Life 119f.).
[9] This has been interpreted as relating to the search for reconciliation after a disagreement. However, it could be associated with some other
su/mbola which are apparently concerned with the relation between objects and their shape (like the one recommending to smooth out the bedclothes when getting up): the meaning would be related to being free from the corporeal world. An interpretation related to scientific practice is provided by
Iamblichus (
Life 124): 'whoever is about to devote himself to philosophy shall forget all the confusion and grossness which belongs to corporeal and sensible demonstrations, and rather use intelligible demonstrations. But ashes have been assumed here to mean the dust on the tables, where the Pythagoreans perform their demonstrations'.
[10] The Suda reads here
ladi/w| for
dadi/w| ("torch"): a clear mistake; cf. all other sources including
Diogenes Laertius. The saying is explained as an exhortation not to mingle the peculiarities of wisdom and spiritual nature, expressed by the image of the torch (symbol of purification) with the corporeal nature (
Iamblichus,
Life 116). Reading
ladi/w| (an un-classical word related to
e)la/dion) implies a different interpretation, like 'do not spill oil upon a seat', perhaps related to avoiding a flattering attitude towards powerful persons.
[11] An exhortation to modesty; cf. Hesiod,
Works and Days 727. Boehm 52-53 points out a passage in
Plutarch,
Roman Questions 40, focusing on performing physiological needs under a roof to avoid the open air, 'full of daemons and gods'. Also cf. ps.-
Phocylides,
Sententiae 94-95,
mh/d' a)qe/ata dei/ch|s h)eli/w|, 'do not show to the sunlight things that are not to be seen'.
[12] This occurrence of the maxim as a previous one (cf. note 6) is inconsistent with the other testimony, implying that
Pythagoras actually recommended not to walk on a public highway, probably teaching avoidance of the bad influence of the masses; cf.
Iamblichus,
Life 83,
o(/ti ou) dei= ta\s lewfo/rous badi/zein o(dou/s, 'one should not walk in the public highways', and 105,
ta\s lewfo/rous o(dou\s e)kkli/nwn dia\ tw=n a)trapw=n ba/dize, 'avoiding the public highways, walk in the untrodden paths' (also cf.
Life 107.1 and 111.18). The word
mh\ could be an erroneous insertion in
Diogenes Laertius, due to the influence of a context where most of the
su/mbola are expressed in the negative form.
[13] An exhortation not to make ill-considered friendships.
Iamblichus (
Life 122) associates this saying with the mystical setting of the Pythagorean school, interpreting it as 'do not raise those who are not initiated'.
[14] i.e. associate not with vainly chattering people. Or, according to
Iamblichus (
Life 119), avoid confiding doctrine to indolent and inconstant people. Swallows are seen as a paradigm of light-hearted, inconsistent attitudes, not only for their voice, but also because, as
Iamblichus points out, 'they visit only for a part of the year'.
[15] The birds with crooked nails could be a symbol for traitors and thieves to be avoided.
Iamblichus,
Life 117, refers this image to the necessity of being equal in giving and receiving, for crooked nails are related in animals to 'receiving rapidly and easily, but not leaving what they hold'.
[16] An exhortation to despise corporeal, "base" things.
[17] Another exhortation to keep away from corporeal, sensible reality when applying one's own soul to philosophy.
Diogenes Laertius' explanation (see below) refers the saying to the departure from life.
[18] This is the name of a red-colored fish.
Iamblichus,
Life 124, with reference to the etymology of the name, interprets the fish as a paradigm of the 'unblushing (
a)phruqriakw\s and impudent man', or of the stupid one 'who exaggeratedly blushes' (
kaq' u(perbolh\n e)ruqriw=nta.
[19] For this fish, a kind of catfish, cf.
Aristotle,
History of Animals 591a15. According to
Iamblichus and to the other sources, it was considered sacred to the chthonian gods (cf.
Life 111); the interdiction from eating its flesh would be included among
Pythagoras' several exhortations to stay separate from earthly goods in contemplation of the divine world. Since the meaning of the name is "blacktail", this fish could also stand for wicked men with "black" character, whose company is to be avoided (cf.
Aristotle fr.194).
[20] This remark could also refer to one of the previous symbols (cf. note 5). But the heart also had an important value in many mystical rituals, such as those related to the cult of Dionysus Zagreus. The same can be observed for the mullet (see below) and the blacktail fish (cf. note 19).
[21] Among the numerous dietary restrictions of the Pythagorean school, the one concerning fava beans seems to have been especially important.
Iamblichus says that the Pythagoreans carefully avoided walking through a blossoming fava field.
Aristoxenus is the only source not speaking about this interdiction; others offer different explanations. According to
Aristotle (fr.195) and
Porphyry (
De antro Nympharum 19; cf.
Heraclides Ponticus fr.41;
Callimachus, fr.553 Pfeiffer) the fava bean is
a)go/natos, the only one among plants not having joints. Burkert 183 quotes a couplet from scholion T to
Homer,
Iliad 13.589, linking bean blossoms to reincarnation, for these would be the vehicle the souls pass through to return to earth (also cf.
Varro in
Pliny the Elder,
Natural History 18.118). Elsewhere the shape of the fava, reminiscent of masculine genitals, suggests a relation between these beans and generation.
Porphyry (
De abstinentia 4.16) excludes the favas from the vegetables offered to mankind by Demeter, with an obscure reference to mysteries. A rationalizing explanation might take into consideration the actual difficulty of digesting beans (cf.
Diogenes Laertius' explanation below), or even an allergy
Pythagoras might have suffered from.
[22] This interdiction is probably related to the sexual connotations of the womb/matrix.
[23] The sacrifice of an ox made of a kind of sweet dough, to celebrate a geometrical discovery, is recorded by
Porphyry,
Life 36; cf. Gregory of Nazianzus,
Epigrams 198. See also
pi 3121,
epsilon 1003.
[24] The sources are not in complete agreement about
Pythagoras' vegetarianism.
Eudoxus (fr. 325 Lasserre, in
Porphyry,
Life 7) states that he was a strict vegetarian, avoiding any association with butchers and hunters (cf.
pi 3121);
Iamblichus (
Life 108) even mentions some legends about
Pythagoras converting wild animals to vegetarianism. On the other hand
Aristoxenus (frs.25, 28, 29), the passage of
Diogenes Laertius quoted by the Suda, and
Iamblichus all say that the philosopher accepted some kind of animal food, namely kids, piglets and cockerels. Such remarks could, however, echo attempts to undermine
Pythagoras' habits by emphasizing their presumed absurdity. (Other sources do not record anything about vegetarianism: see
Aristotle fr.194.)
[25] This information suffers from a corruption in the text, arising from a misunderstanding of a source.
Diogenes Laertius' passage actually reads, as the Suda does,
*qeoklei/as a)delfh=s, but the whole remark is related to the legend of
Pythagoras receiving his doctrine from a priestess in
Delphi, whose name is Themistokleia.
Diogenes himself gives the correct information in a previous passage of the
Life: cf. 8
para\ th=s *qemistoklei/as th=s e)n *delfoi=s.
[26] cf.
Pythagoras' visit to the "bloodless" altar of Apollo Genetor during his stay at
Delos (
Iamblichus,
Life, 25). For the connection of the philosopher with the cult of Apollo, see
Philostratus,
Life of Apollonius of Tyana 1.1 (and
pi 3121). Kroton, the first place where he settled his community, is also related to this god, whom the disciples called on as their leader according to
Iamblichus (
Life 30).
[27]
Diodorus Siculus 10.9.2 tells of
Pythagoras instructing disciples about rarely taking oaths and of the necessity of keeping one's own word.
[28] The account of the Pythagorean doctrine stems from Alexander Polyhistor FGrH 273 F93.
[29]
Aristophanes fr. 305 Kock (320 PCG III.2).
[30] Alexander (via
Diogenes) says that the white rooster is sacred both to the Sun and to the Moon.
[31] Aristophon fr. 12 (Kock and PCG IV), from the
Pythagorista.
[32] Aristophon fr. 13 (Kock and PCG IV), also from the
Pythagorista.
[33] The words
e)sqi/ousi de\ are lost in the Suda, but restored from
Diogenes Laertius' text.
[34]
Iamblichus,
Life 122. For the silence, see
pi 3121 (and for the proverb
sigma 469).
Iamblichus,
Life 194-5, tells the story of a woman (Timycha) choosing under torture to cut off her own tongue rather than reveal some of the
aporrheta.
[35]
Photius, cod. 249 Bekker, 438b19ff; cf.
scholia to
Theocritus,
Idylls 14.5.
[36] Perhaps from
Damascius, Asmus suggested; cf. under
iota 159.
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