Pythagoras

[tattwa]

Pythagoras's father was Mnesarchus , while his mother was Pythais and she was a native of Samos. Mnesarchus was a merchant who came from Tyre, and there is a story and that he brought corn to Samos at a time of famine and was granted citizenship of Samos as a mark of gratitude.

There can be little doubt in the mind of any student of such ancient beliefs as we are considering that the teaching of Pythagoras had a very great influence over a very wide area, so that the credit given to him for being responsible for bringing the principles of Freemasonry to Britain may not, after all, be quite traditionary, as some would have us believe.

The early life and surroundings of this great philosopher tended to educate him in mysticism.1 The son of a wealthy jeweller of Samos, his parents, previous to his birth, consulted the Delphic Oracle, when they were promised "a son who would be useful to all men and throughout all time," and by the same oracular advice the parents went to Sidon, in Phoenicia, so that the predestined son might be conceived, formed, and born far from the disturbing influences of his own land. Before his birth he was consecrated to the worship of Apollo. When one year old, again acting on Delphic advice, he was taken to the temple of Adonai, in the Lebanon valley, for a blessing from the high priest there.

Up to the age of twenty he was accustomed to confer with the sages of his native town, Syros and Miletus. Then, in a wondrous vision, he saw pass before him the whole of his earlier years, and saw, as in his infancy, a white-bearded priest, uttering over him the words, often repeated to him by his mother, "O woman of Ionia, thy child shall be great in wisdom: but remember that, though the Greeks still possess the science of the gods, the knowledge of God can no longer be found elsewhere than in Egypt." He determined to go at once to Egypt, and undergo initiation there as advised. His initiation lasted in all twenty-two years he reached the summit of the Egyptian priesthood, realizing, not as a vain theory, but as something lived through the doctrine of the Logos-Light, or of the Universal word, and that of human evolution through seven planetary cycles. Then Cambyses, the Persian despot, invaded Egypt; the temples of Memphis and Thebes were plundered, that of Ammon destroyed, and Pythagoras, with other Egyptian priests, was taken as a prisoner to Babylon. Here he was able to thoroughly study the knowledge in the possession of the magi, the heirs of Zoroaster, thereby enlarging his already vast horizon of doctrines and mysteries. After twelve years in Babylon, he returned to his native Samos, well-skilled in all the learning of the Egyptians and the Chaldeans, to commence the fulfilment of the Delphic prediction concerning him.

Pythagoras visited all the temples of Greece, being everywhere received as a master; at the Eleusinian Mysteries, we are told, the hierophant himself gave up his office to him. Then he reached Delphi, that great centre of clairvoyant divination, practised there, as in the Egyptian temples, as an art and a science, but only to be used by the loftiest minds, and by them with a degree of religious sincerity and scientific thoroughness which raised it to the height of a real ministration. In conjunction with one of the high priestesses named Theoclea, Pythagoras instilled at Delphi a strengthening infusion of his own Egyptian and Chaldean knowledge, and once again Delphi became a centre of life and action.

After a year at Delphi, Pythagoras proceeded to what was then known as Greater Greece, founding his own celebrated Order at Croton, a town at the extremity of the Gulf of Tarentum, in Southern Italy. Here, with his teaching, of esoteric doctrine to a chosen band of disciples, and also applying his principles to the education of youth and the life of the State, he produced a veritable revolution, according to Porphyry and Iamblichus,2 who depict the commencement of his life there as being rather that of a magician than of a philosopher. With the ready aid of the wealthiest citizens he founded his Temple of the Muses, a home of initiation into the highest principles of education as well as of religion, with separate sections for the two sexes, though women were not admitted to the inner mysteries revealed to men, as unnecessary, according to Pythagoras, for their better accomplishment of their household duties!

The Pythagorean system embraced three degrees, with a fourth as a supreme entrance into the highest knowledge. Here we are at once confronted with a probable source of our own Masonic ritual, wherein only those whose minds are thoroughly prepared become acquainted with the fact that the apparent finality of the third degree is only the commencement of new light in a fourth, the Royal Arch, with its magnificent interweaving of Egyptian and Chaldean symbolism.

The novitiate under Pythagoras commenced with a “Preparation" of two years, which might be prolonged to five, during which the novice, known as "The Listener," while developing the great gift of intuition, and exercising the strictest moral and hygienic discipline, was taught implicit obedience to, and firm belief in a Supreme Deity, and the necessity of subduing his passions and enlarging his mind if he truly desired to be of the benefit to himself and his fellow men for which he was created.

In the second degree, "Purification," he became acquainted "with the more hidden mysteries of Nature and science." His education became esoteric-from within instead of as heretofore exoteric - from without: his real initiation now commenced. He had revealed to him a complete, rational exposition of occult doctrine, from its principles as contained in the mysterious science of numbers to the final consequences of universal evolution, the destiny and end of the human soul. The meaning of figures and letters, and geometric forms, were divulged to initiated adepts under the most solemn vows of secrecy. The transcendent meaning of the first problem of the Pythagorean system of theogony was then entered upon, the reason which brings it to pass that the great Monad contains all -the small ones, and that all the numbers spring from the great Unity in movement.

Pythagoras taught that God, the indivisible substance, has accordingly for Number, the Unity which contains for Name, that of Father, Creator, or Eternal Masculine: for Sign, the living Fire, symbol of the Spirit, essence of the Whole. This great Monad acts as a creative Dyad. Immediately GOD manifests Himself He is double; indivisible essence and divisible substance: active, animating, masculine principle, and passive, feminine principle, or animated plastic matter. Accordingly the Dyad represented the union of the Eternal-Masculine and the Eternal-Feminine in God, the two essential and corresponding divine faculties. Thus the Monad represents the essence of God, the Dyad His generative and reproductive faculty. The latter brings "the world into being, the visible unfolding of GOD in time and space. Now the real world is triple. For just as man is composed of three elements, which are distinct, though blended in one another-body, soul, and spirit; so the universe is divided into three concentric spheres: the natural, the human, and the divine world. The Triad, or ternary law, is accordingly the constitutive life of things, and the real key to life, the corner stone of esoteric science, which Pythagoras made the foundation of his system.

In the third degree, "Perfection," the initiates passed on to clairvoyant sleep and experiences, the mystery of the human soul, its transmigrations, its supreme importance, as man gradually acquires, by his own actions in a new spiritual existence, and a more free exercise of his intellect and will-power, a fuller consciousness of the divine, and his own connection therewith. Pythagoras called the spirit the subtile chariot of the soul, because it is destined to remove it from earth after death, to its celestial life beyond.

The fourth, the inner degree of all, reserved for the very select of his disciples, prepared by the teaching of Pythagoras in the former degrees for the ordinary trials of life, involved, as with the Indian and Persian sages, the complete subjugation of human will. To attain this meant the unification of three kinds of perfection, the realization of truth intelligence, of virtue in soul, and of purity in body. Thus man becomes an adept, and, if he possesses sufficient energy, enters into possession of new faculties and powers. He attains, in more or less degree, the power of healing, of seeing events taking place afar of, even of conveying himself in astral form to such places as his presence is needed in.

The teaching of Pythagoras may be thus summed up: an attempt to solve the mystery of the origin of good and evil; the necessity of assisting the law of destiny by endeavouring to perceive the difference between truth and error; a inquiry into the diversity of human souls, conditions and destinies; true brotherhood of mankind, for we owe help, sympathy and charity to all; for we are all of the same race, though we may have reached different stages the sacredness of suffering, and the divinity of sympathy with it ; the attainment of the rarest and loftiest of human ideals, the domination of intelligence over soul and instinct, that of the will over the whole being.

Such, then, were the doctrines of Pythagoras, confessedly derived from Egypt, but engrafted on an intelligence in infancy and boyhood surrounded by Delphic and Phoenician influences, matured by the learning of the Chaldees, developed amidst the revised wisdom of Eleusis and Delphi, for ultimate diffusion through all Western Europe.

Plato says that the Pythagoreans had a symbolism denoting Minerva by an equilateral triangle: Apollo by unity: Strife by the numeral two: justice by three, and the Supreme Being by four. Hippolytus says that "almost every heresy is indebted to the science of arithmetic for it invention of the Hebdomads, and its emanations of the aeons; although the different teachers divide them variously, and change their names, doing in reality nothing more: in all which way of proceeding Pythagoras is their true master, he who first brought with him out of Egypt the use of numbers in such matters. . . ." The so-called "Pythagorean Numerals" of unknown antiquity, whether due or not to the sage of Croton, are said to be preserved to us by Boethius, "the last of the Romans," in his treatise on Arithmetic. That they would be the true parents of our Arabic numerals is at once apparent by inverting the figures standing for 1, 2, 5, 7, 9, 0. Their forms look like certain Palmyrene letters, slightly modified. The Palmyrene is a very ancient Syriac alphabet, totally different in origin either Punic or Pehlevi. The ancient importance of this character is apparent from what Epiphanius says: “Manes divided his work into twenty-two books, being the number of letters in the Syriac alphabet. For most of the Persians use the Syriac character as well as the Persian, just as with us, many nations, although having a national alphabet of their own, yet employ the Greek."

I have alluded above to the probability of the teachings an d system of Pythagoras having penetrated through Europe, which will account for the mention made of them as well as of their author in modem Freemasonry, more especially in the Lectures on the Three Degrees.

Iamblichus tells us that Pythagoras required his disciples to undergo a probationary period of three years, during which they were under close and constant observation with regard to their manners of life and general characteristics. After this period they were ordered3 "to observe a quinquennial silence in order that he might experimentally know how they were affected as to continuance of speech, the subjugation of the tongue being the most difficult of all victories ; as those have unfolded to us who instituted the Mysteries."

Iamblichus also tells us that a visitor to Pythagoras was Abaris the Hyperborean, who came to Crotona from a distant land in order that he might collect gold for his temple, and that Pythagoras learned much from him. Now this Abaris is considered by many distinguished writers on the Druids to have been identical with Abhras, who, according to ancient Irish legendary history, is stated to have travelled from Ireland to distant countries, and after a long time to have returned by way of Scotland, where he remained for seven years, bringing a new system of religion. From this Godfrey Higgins concludes4 that the Druids were Pythagoreans.
Pythagoras has left us the following beautiful conception of the Deity: "God is neither the object of sense, nor subject to passions; but invisible, only intelligible, and supremely intelligent. In His Body he is like the Light, and in His Soul He resembles Truth. He is the Universal Spirit that pervades and diffuses itself over all Nature. All things receive their life from Him. There is but One, Only God, Who is not, as some are apt to imagine, seated above the World beyond the Orb of the Universe; but being Himself All in All, He sees all the beings that fill His immensity: the Only Principle, the Light of Heaven, the Father of all. He produces everything, He orders and disposes everything. He is the Reason, the Life and the Motion of all things."

“Alongside of the Eleusinia," says Mead5, "there existed certain private Mysteries not recognized by the State, the number of which subsequently increased enormously, so that almost every variety of Oriental Mystery-cultus found its adherents in Greece, as may be seen from a study of the religious associations among the Greeks known as Thiasi, Erani, and Orgeones; among private communities and societies of this kind there were to be found naturally many undesirable elements, but at the same time they satisfied the needs of many who could derive no spiritual nourishment from the State religion."

"Among these private foundations were communities of rigid ascetics, men and women, who gave themselves entirely to holy living; such people were said to live the 'Orphic life,' and were generally known as Orphics. These Orphic communities appear to have been the refugees of those who yearned after the religious life, and among them were the Pythagorean schools. Pythagoras did not establish something entirely new in Greece when he founded the famous school of Crotona; he developed something already existing, and when his original school was broken up and its members had to flee they sought refuge among the Orphics. The Pythagorean schools disappear into the Orphic communities."

"It is in the Pythagorean tradition that we see the signs of what may be called the Philosophic Mysteries; it is therefore in the best of the Orphic and Pythagorean traditions that we have to find the indications of the nature of the real Mysteries, and not in the political Eleusinia, or in the disorderly elements of the Oriental cults. In fact, the Orphics did much to improve the Eleusinia, and supported them as a most necessary means for educating the ordinary man towards a comprehension of the higher life. It stands to reason, however, that the Mysteries which satisfied the aspirations of Orphics and Pythagoreans were somewhat higher than the State Mysteries of the ordinary citizen. These Pythagoreans were famous throughout antiquity for the purity of their lives and the loftiness of their aims, and the Mysteries they regarded with such profound reverence must have been something beyond the Eleusinia, something to which the Eleusinia were but one of the outer approaches."

Pythagoras is said to have been initiated into the Egyptian, Chaldean, Orphic and Eleusinian Mysteries; at the same time he was one of the chief founders of Greek philosophy. His philosophy, however, was not a thing of itself, but the application of his intellect - especially of his mathematical genius - to the best in these Mystery traditions; he saw that it was necessary to attempt to lead the rapidly evolving intellectuality of Greece along its own lines to the contemplation of the inner nature of things; otherwise, in the joy of its freedom, it would get entirely out of hand and reject the truths of the ancient wisdom.

[tattwa]

Pythagoras initiated women. The most illustrious Phythagorean women include
the following:

-- Timycha, the wife of Myllias the Cotonian
-- Philtis, the daughter of Theophrius the Crotonian.
-- Mia, the wife of Milon the Crotonian
-- Tyrsenis of Sybaris
-- Byro of Argos
-- Lasithenis the Arcadian..... The list is long, I will not bore woth more names, exept with the one of Theano, who was the wife of Pythagoras. She was a natural philosopher and a Mathematician. She ran his school after his death. She is credited with writing the on the Golden Mean (described in
basic Algebra books)

In the Greek schools run by Pytagoras there were many women who joined as teachers. Those who lived in a communal manner published their work under the name of Pythagoras. Today then it is difficult to determine who actually did the work, although information has survived, such as that on Theano.

Pythagoras was vegetarian. In Europe, one of the first prominent vegetarians in ancient Greece was the Greek philosopher Pythagoras who lived towards the end of the 6th century BC. His philosophy of food gradually changed into a moral philosophy, and by the middle of the fourth century BC, it clearly propounded a universal desire for non-violence, never to hurt or kill any other living creature, avoid any bloodshed and above all, not to eat meat, since all animals and humans were creatures of the same God hence shared the same soul. He was supported by Empedocles, Plutarch, Plotinus, Porphyry, and, in some passages, Plato.

[tattwa]

Pythagoras and Hiram , 2 great Pheanicians

To Freemasons Pythagoras is one of the great initiates of Antiquity, along with Rama, Krishna, Hermes, Moses, Plato, Buddha and Jesus. Pythagoras was not Greek as is usually believed, but Phoenician. He was born either in Sidon or in Samos, a Phoenician counter, and the oracle of Delphi had predicted that he would be useful to all men in all times.

At the age of one Pythagoras was taken to the temple of Afqa in the Lebanese Mountain, at the source of the god Adonis' sacred river. This site, whose name hasn't changed is still as famous today as it ever was: an impressive grotto spewing forth a thunderous mass of icy water. Pythagoras was "baptized" in the basin of Adonis and blessed by the high priest in foresight of his illustrious destiny.

At an early age Pythagoras decided to become a wise man, and underwent extensive education in Greece before embarking on a 22-years initiation in Memphis. There in Egypt he learned numbers, symbols, geometry, astronomy, astrology and the mysteries of the Egyptian religion. He had just completed his training when Cambyse, king of Persia, invaded Egypt and took high priests and scholars with him to Babylon. For more than 12 years the captive Pythagoras rubbed elbows with scholars of different religions: men who were teaching Moses' monotheism, Greek polytheism, Hindu trinitarianism, Persian dualism, Zoroastrian occultism and the religion of his own countrymen.

When he was freed he returned to his mother in Samos, and both moved to Delphi then finally to Crotone, in the Italian gulf of Tarente. It was there that with the help of the Senate he founded his school of esoteric philosophy.

At the gate of Pythagoras' school stood a statue of Hermes, keeper of esoteric knowledge, that bade laymen stand back. A trial period of a few months was required before anyone could be admitted into the school, at the end of which the aspirant was put to the test, first physically then morally. The physical trial consisted in enduring a night in a cavern where frightening apparitions were supposed to happen. After this, the disciple spent twelve hours in a bare cell with only dry bread and water; he had to write on a board the meaning of the Pythagorean symbols. Finally, he was brought into a large room where his classmates harrassed him with difficult questions and mockeries. This final test was aimed at the ego, and if one managed to pass it he was admitted.

The novitiate lasted 3 years during which an absolute rule of silence was imposed on the student. A Phoenician detail: the lessons were often given in a sacred wood. Teaching occurred in the morning and the afternoon was dedicated to physical exercise. A common prayer was said in the evening and after dinner a lecture was given, which was then discussed.

Pythagoras' teachings were based on respect, tolerance, and the union of religions and peoples. Parents were the earthly representatives of the great deities and were honoured as such; a friend was like an alter ego that must be honoured like a god. Wedlock was sacred, for the initiated wife was her husband's equal (something that contradicted the Greco-Roman mentality of the time, but was natural for a Phoenician). The notion of suffering was considered sacred, for suffering was the crucible in which souls were forged, and therefore it had to be endured bravely ? yet it was never deliberately caused.

After the novitiate, the disciple accessed the inner court of the temple, where he was initiated into Pythagoras' mysterious science of numbers. This "sacred word" (to use his own terms) is today well-known to Masons and Occultists alike. Here's a little overview of the esoteric meaning of numbers according to Pythagoras' teachings:

1: Point. God, undividable and infinite. Now. The root of all things.

2: Line. Man and woman united in the One God. The superior female principle symbolized by the crescent moon of Egyptian and Phoenician deities. The two columns taken over from Phoenician temples and adopted into Qabalistic and Masonic lore.

3: Triangle. The perfect number, the triangle symbolizing Freemasons. The manifestation of 1 under 3 forms. The triad present in almost every religion. The 3 elements that make up man (spirit, soul, body). The three parts of Canaanite temples. The three points of the frontispiece of Greek temples that meant Wisdom, Strength and Beauty.

4: Square. The four directions. Keybearer of nature.

5: Pentalpha (or pentagram). Free will. Strife. Justice.

6: Hexagram. The six directions of space. Harmony, perfection of parts.

7: Triangle and Square. A pure and perfect number. The symbol of life as the 4 elements of the body uniting with the 3 elements of the soul. Dream.

8: Two Squares. All things are eight, universal harmony. Love and friendship.

9: Three Triangles. The number of the Muses and therefore knowledge of the sciences that they represented. Concord.

10: Tetractys. The world. The source of counting (the ten fingers). Fate, eternity.

The third degree of initiation was that of Science, which was taught by night, the seashore or in the crypt. Pythagoras believed Ptolemy's astronomical model -- that the earth was immobile and other planets revolved around it. He also believed, like the Egyptians, in the reincarnation of souls: the human soul is a portion of the great world soul Maia, and we return to her when we die. Earthly birth is equal to spiritual death, and vice-versa. The soul goes through different bodies, until it has brought itself sufficiently close to perfection that reincarnation is no longer necessary and the soul can unite with the Divine.

The summit of initiation was reached with the perfection of the 4th degree, at which point the disciple demonstrated healing and clairvoyant abilities.

Although I have used "he" throughout for conveniency, the School had female students and a whole gyneceum had been built for future mothers. These were apartments reserved to the woman, from which the husband was excluded. The newborn remained there 7 years during which the mother raised it freely. After that, his or her education was in the hands of the father.

If an adept left the school and revealed its secrets, a tomb was erected in his name and his soul was said to be dead. Likewise, a Mason who betrays the secrets is considered dead and is symbolically burned on a pyre.

Pythagoras was killed with 40 of his disciples during an uprising of the inhabitants of Crotone. The survivors fled to Sicily and Greece, but like today's Masons they considered themselves brothers. They traced Pythagoras' pentagram with a single line as a sign of recognition (and I believe this is the true origin of the Wiccan Pentagram, as Wiccan symbology derives from Freemason and Occult usage). The scholar's esoteric ideas rapidly spread throughout the Ancient world. As for his daughter Damo, she is said to have founded a Pythagorean school in a city about 20 km south of Beirut. The city took her name and is still known today as Damour.

The story of Hiram goes further back in time. Freemasons consider themselves to be the sons of Hiram, and for this reason he is referred to as Hiram-Abi ("Hiram (is) my father"), especially in Arabic-speaking lodges. Hiram represents life and truth struggling against persecution and injustice; the tools of his trade are the best-known part of Masonry where they play a symbolic role.

Christians and Jews are familiar with the fact that king Solomon called on Hiram, the Tyrian architect, to build his temple. It is now known that the temple was none other than a copy of a Phoenician temple of the period, likely that of Melqart in Tyr. The sanctuary was rectangular and tripartite, built on a platform that had an East-West orientation. Oriental sanctuaries followed the plan of common dwellings, as the sanctuary was considered to be a residence, and the Temple was no exception. In front of the entrance were erected two 12-meter-tall columns of bronze that played no structural role. In Phoenician lore they would represent the two columns that supported the world; right now they have made their way all the way into Tarot cards, where they are represented as black and white and refer to the Two Pillars of the Qabalistic Tree of Life. The decoration of the cedar wood that lined the inside was identical to that found on Phoenician ivories: it included pomegranates (a symbol of fertility to the Phoenicians), palmettes (recalling the tree of life) and winged sphinxes (protective forces). The cult accessories were also the kind that was found in all contemporary Phoenician sanctuaries ? a golden altar, the bread table, 10 candle holders etc. The "sea of bronze" was also cast by Hiram's team of Phoenician engineers.

At this point we step into the allegorical part of Hiram's story. It may be based on real events, but the elements that have come to us are obviously symbolic rather than real.

Hiram's workers were divided in three groups: apprentices, companions and masters. On paydays they presented themselves to the temple with the password revealed by Hiram. The apprentices met around the J column (Jachim), the companions around the B column (Boaz), and the masters in the central room.
Hiram's flock counted three black sheep: a mason named Jebulas, a carpenter named Jubelos, and a minor named Jubelum. They wanted to obtain the grade (and salary) of masters without going through the required stages. Planning to coerce Hiram into promoting them, they took place at the three doors of the temple and waited for him. When Hiram came to the South gate Jubelas made his demand, and as it was refused he hit Hiram with his ruler, aiming for the throat (it is noted that he missed and the blow reached the shoulder). Hiram ran to the West gate and the same scene happened with Jubelos, whereas Hiram received the blow of an iron square to the left side of his chest. He fled to the East gate and Jubelum hit him to the forehead with his mallet, killing him on the spot.

From a Masonic point of view, the tools of the crime and the parts of the body that were hit are highly symbolic. The ruler stands for precision, the square for rectitude, and the mallet for will. Hiram was hit at the throat, seat of material life, at the heart, seat of the soul, and at the forehead, seat of intelligence. As for the three assassins, they are the three banes of progress: lie, ignorance and ambition.

Jebulas, Jubelos and Jubelum took the body and buried it near Tyr, under an acacia stem. Solomon and Hiram were friends; he sent soldiers to find the body, and they discovered it thanks to an uprooted acacia stem that the killers had thrust over his grave. They laid his body to rest inside a sarcophagus and gave him a proper burial.

There ends the legend, or does it? Only a few years ago, there still existed near Tyr an ancient sarcophagus knows as the "Tomb of Hiram", that was a place of pilgrimage for Freemasons from around the world. It is not known whether it really is the tomb of Hiram, but its name is taken sufficiently seriously that when the Israelis invaded the South, they conducted excavations around it (they must be highly interested in the builder of the temple that symbolizes the unity of the Jewish people). I don't know what happened to it in the turmoil of the past 20 years.

[doc]

source please

[tattwa]

Originally Posted by doc

source please

Pythagoras and Hiram: Two Phoenicians at the heart of Freemasonry

I read the text of course before posting it and as I know a bit about the subject , I thought it Ok to post it to the forum.