Pythagoras: His Life, Teaching, and Influence

by Christoph Riedweg

One of the most important mathematical theorems is named after Pythagoras of Samos, but this semi-mythical Greek sage has more to offer than formulas. He is said to have discovered the numerical nature of the basic consonances and transposed the musical proportions to the cosmos, postulating a "harmony of the spheres." He may have coined the words "cosmos" and "philosophy." He is also believed to have taught the doctrine of transmigration of souls and therefore to have advised a vegetarian diet. Ancient legends have Pythagoras conversing with dogs, bears, and bulls. A distinctly Pythagorean way of life, including detailed ritual regulations, was observed by his disciples, who were organized as a secret society. Later, Pythagorean and Platonic teachings became fused. In this Platonized form, Pythagoreanism has remained influential through medieval Christianity and the Renaissance down to the present.

Christoph Riedweg's book is an engaging introduction to the fundamental contributions of Pythagoras to the establishment of European culture. To penetrate the intricate maze of lore and ascertain what history can tell us about the philosopher, Riedweg not only examines the written record but also considers Pythagoras within the cultural, intellectual, and spiritual context of his times. The result is a vivid overview of the life and teachings of a crucial Greek thinker and his most important followers.

Genres: Philosophy, Mathematics, History, Biography, Nonfiction

200 pages, Paperback

First published March 11, 2002

Reviews

[Sense of History]

I am by no means a specialist in ancient philosophy, but when I notice a massive error right in the first pages of this book (Diogenes Laërtius is situated in the 3rd century BCE, whereas it should be CE—a difference of no less than 6 centuries), my hackles rise. And that was just the beginning. Further on, too, this book is teeming with typos, incorrect information, and manifestly wrong translations.

The Wikipedia article about the author includes an addendum with no fewer than 9 pages of corrections, and I read that the errors are attributed to the English translation (quite a blow to the image of Cornell University Press). But then I saw that Riedweg himself had contributed to the translation, and that the German original also received a thoroughly corrected edition after just a few years. So what is the situation then? Who is to blame for the sloppiness: the author, the translator, or the publishers (both German and English)?

Why am I paying so much attention to this? Well, because the doubts raised by these inaccuracies are representative of the enormous doubts surrounding the figure of Pythagoras himself. What we know about him with any certainty can be summarized in a few lines, and even then. That he lived in the 6th century BCE, migrated from Greece to Southern Italy, founded a sort of sect there, encountered resistance, and had to flee once again. Even greater uncertainty exists regarding the doctrines he adhered to and propagated, yet they apparently did inspire numerous thinkers after him.

Fact is that the greatest nonsense has been spread about Pythagoras (such as the persistent myth of his golden thighbone, I kid you not); and both supporters and opponents have frequently added distorted, downright incorrect, or heavily modified versions of his teachings and thoughts, so that layer after layer our view of the truly historical Pythagoras has been obscured. By extension, this applies to just about all early Greek philosophers. If you then also have to deal with an author (in this case Riedweg) who works particularly sloppily, well, what more can I add, unless: don’t invest time in this book.

[Kamakana · Rating 4 out of 5]

060617: fascinating. biography, history, philosophy, of the 'wiseman of Samos'. mostly remembered now as mathematician who gave us the theorem of his name (a squared plus b squared equals c squared, for right angle triangles), he is an important 'pre-socratic' philosopher, the original, most influential mystic/mathematician from 530BCE... of whom we mostly know of by other philosophers as he wrote nothing much that survives, shared knowledge only in secret sect, but through this work the author is dedicated to historical probabilities. mostly bio, some teachings, some history since, but not actually much philosophy...

[Marc Lamot · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a highly specialized study of the early Greek philosopher Pythagoras (possibly 6th century BCE), his followers, and the movements inspired by him. Christoph Riedweg (Classical Languages ​​specialist, University of Zurich) has clearly delved deeply into this. However, the result is an almost unreadable work (partly due to the complexity of the subject), which, moreover—I read the first edition—throngs with clear misinformation. This was apparently corrected in later editions, but in any case, it testifies to a very sloppy mind. I really cannot recommend this. See also my review in my History account on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[C. Çevik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pythagoras'la ilgili en sağlam derlemelerden biri, tümüyle antik kaynaklara dayandığı için güvenilir bir eser.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a dense little book. The text, which is translated from German, gives a clear, succint survey of the stories of Pythagoras, the nature of his followers, and the details of his teachings. Pythagoras was a mythical figure, even in antiquity, and Riedweg offers a careful evaluation of all of the sources and what they can tell us. I found myself wanting to know more about gender in the Pythagorean community, but Riedweg largely skirts this topic. Thankfully, there is a wonderful book on the topic by Sarah Pomeroy, Pythagorean Women: Their History and Writings.

This book is probably best for those with some knowledge of antiquity and ancient philosophy. It offers helpful exposition for a lot of its topics, but I doubt that this would be enough for a complete neophyte. It offers helpful charts and maps when necessary, and you can basically ignore the endnotes, since there is little of value in them other than the author's citations.

[James Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good on unpicking the myths, but in the end it is not clear that the accretions of myth leave all that much genuine information or that what is genuine can be identified as such. How much Pythagoras is Plato; how much Plato Pythagoras? I really enjoyed it nonetheless.