The Esoteric Wisdom of Pythagoras: Numerology, Reincarnation, and Cosmic Harmony

While Mnesarchus, the father of Pythagoras, was in the city of Delphi on matters pertaining to his business as a merchant, he and his wife, Parthenis, decided to consult the oracle of Delphi as to whether the Fates were favorable for their return voyage to Syria. When the Pythoness (prophetess of Apollo) seated herself on the golden tripod over the yawning vent of the oracle, she did not answer the question they had asked, but told Mnesarchus that his wife was then with child and would give birth to a son who was destined to surpass all men in beauty and wisdom, and who throughout the course of his life would contribute much to the benefit of mankind. Mnesarchus was so deeply impressed by the prophecy that he changed his wife's name to Pythasis, in honor of the Pythian priestess. When the child was born at Sidon in Phœnicia, it was--as the oracle had said--a son. Mnesarchus and Pythasis named the child Pythagoras, for they believed that he had been predestined by the oracle. 

Many strange legends have been preserved concerning the birth of Pythagoras. Some maintained that he was no mortal man: that he was one of the gods who had taken a human body to enable him to come into the world and instruct the human race. Pythagoras was one of the many sages and saviors of antiquity for whom an immaculate conception is asserted. 

However, according to the testimony of ancient sources then, this Pythagoras of Samos was a wholly exceptional person. Therefore it is hardly surprising that his early biography also includes astonishing things. A man so far above the average cannot have an ordinary career—so much is required, independent of any question of fact, merely by the literary rules of hagiographic narratives. Over time, even a divine origin was attributed to him. The well-known importance of Apollo for Pythagoras—his name, too, was associated with the Pythian oracle: “He was called Pythagoras because he spoke the truth no less than the Pythian oracle” —suggests the Delphic divinity. His mother, whom Apollonius24 is able to call by name, is also embedded in this context: Her name is supposed to have been Pythaïs. A writer from Samos, Apollonius, in Porphyry VPyth. 2, expressed this divine origin in the following distich: 

 

and Pythagoras, dear to Zeus, whom Pythaïs has born to Apollo, who was the most beautiful amongst the Samian women 

(FGrHist 1064 F1; transl. Radicke)

Nevertheless, Pythagoras was the youngest of three sons: the eldest Cleanthes calls Eunostus; Laertius and Suidas called him Eunomus; the second was called Tyrrhenus. He had likewise an uncle Zoilus, mentioned by Laertius. Nonetheless, this most famous philosopher was born sometime between 600 and 590 B.C., and the length of his life has been estimated at nearly one hundred years. 

Pythagoras of Samos (c. 570-495 BCE) – Getty Images

The teachings of Pythagoras indicate that he was thoroughly conversant with the precepts of Oriental and Occidental esotericism. He traveled among the Jews and was instructed by the Rabbins concerning the secret traditions of Moses, the lawgiver of Israel. Later the School of the Essenes was conducted chiefly for the purpose of interpreting the Pythagorean symbols. Pythagoras was initiated into the Egyptian, Babylonian, and Chaldean Mysteries. Although it is believed by some that he was a disciple of Zoroaster, it is doubtful whether his instructor of that name was the god-man now revered by the Parsees. While accounts of his travels differ, historians agree that he visited many countries and studied at the feet of many masters. 

After returning from his wanderings, Pythagoras established a school, or as it has been sometimes called, a university, at Crotona, a Dorian colony in Southern Italy. Upon his arrival at Crotona he was regarded askance, but after a short time those holding important positions in the surrounding colonies sought his counsel in matters of great moment. He gathered around him a small group of sincere disciples whom he instructed in the secret wisdom which had been revealed to him, and also in the fundamentals of occult mathematics, music, and astronomy, which he considered to be the triangular foundation of all the arts and sciences. When he was about sixty years old, Pythagoras married one of his disciples, and seven children resulted from the union. His wife was a remarkably able woman, who not only inspired him during the years of his life but after his assassination continued to promulgate his doctrines. 

Yet, around 530 BCE, Pythagoras settled in Croton (modern-day Crotone, Italy), where he established a religious-philosophical community known as the Pythagorean Brotherhood. This secretive society was part school, part religious order, and part scientific institution. It followed strict rules, including a vegetarian diet, communal living, and a belief in the transmigration of souls (reincarnation).

 

Pythagoras believed that "all is number"—that reality is fundamentally mathematical. His school discovered that numbers could explain natural phenomena, leading to the famous Pythagorean theorem:

 

a²+b²=c²

 

This theorem, fundamental to geometry, was likely known in Babylon before Pythagoras but was formalized by his school.

Yet, Pythagoras made groundbreaking discoveries in music theory, showing that musical harmony is based on mathematical ratios. He demonstrated that string lengths producing harmonious sounds relate in simple numerical ratios (e.g., 2:1 for an octave, 3:2 for a perfect fifth). This idea reinforced his belief in a cosmic harmony, where numbers govern the universe.

 

Although, Pythagoras taught that the soul is immortal and goes through a cycle of reincarnation. He claimed to remember his past lives and believed that human souls could be reborn into animals, advocating for vegetarianism as a result. He introduced the idea of the Kosmos—a universe governed by order and harmony, where numbers and proportions underpin all things. This concept later influenced Plato, who expanded on the mathematical nature of reality.

Pythagoras' ideas left a profound impact on the development of Western philosophy, particularly through his influence on Plato, Aristotle, and the Neoplatonists.

 

Plato (427–347 BCE) was deeply influenced by Pythagorean thought, especially in areas of mathematics, metaphysics, and ethics. Some key connections include:

• Mathematical Idealism: Pythagoras believed that numbers and mathematical relationships form the essence of reality. Plato adopted this idea in his Theory of Forms, where abstract mathematical objects were seen as the ultimate reality.

• Harmony in the Soul and State: In The Republic, Plato describes a just society structured in a way that mirrors Pythagorean ideas of harmony and order. He also divides the soul into rational, spirited, and appetitive parts—possibly inspired by Pythagorean concepts of balance.

• Cosmic Order: The Timaeus, one of Plato’s most mathematical dialogues, presents a vision of the universe as ordered by geometric principles, much like Pythagoras' belief in numerical harmony.

While Aristotle (384–322 BCE) was more empirical than the Pythagoreans, he still engaged with their ideas:

• He acknowledged their contribution to mathematical philosophy, though he criticized them for making numbers the essence of all things.

• He adopted the notion of a structured cosmos, where celestial bodies move in harmonious order, an idea that later influenced astronomy.

Neoplatonists like Plotinus (204–270 CE) expanded on Pythagorean and Platonic ideas, emphasizing:

• The mystical nature of numbers, linking them to divine principles.

• The harmony of the cosmos, suggesting that reality emanates from a singular divine source in a structured way.

• The soul's journey, aligning with Pythagorean ideas of reincarnation and purification.

One of the most remarkable aspects of Pythagoras' teachings was his acceptance of women as equal participants in philosophy and mathematics. At a time when women had limited access to education, Pythagoras’ school welcomed female students, and some became prominent thinkers.

• Theano: She was either Pythagoras' wife or a close disciple and is credited with advancing his teachings, particularly in ethics and mathematics. Some later writings on the golden mean (a key mathematical and aesthetic concept) were attributed to her.

• Damo: The daughter of Pythagoras, she is said to have carefully preserved and transmitted his teachings after his death.

• Arignote: A philosopher who contributed to the Pythagorean school’s ideas on cosmic order and harmony.

Though, Pythagoreans believed in ethical purity, self-discipline, and the harmony of the soul, principles that applied equally to men and women. Women in the Pythagorean school:

• Practiced asceticism, emphasizing a simple and disciplined life.

• Engaged in philosophical discussions, particularly about justice, virtue, and the cosmos.

• Were seen as capable of achieving wisdom, unlike many other Greek schools that viewed women as intellectually inferior.

This openness to female participation was unusual for the time and may have inspired later philosophical movements, including Platonism and Stoicism, which included some female philosophers.

Pythagoras proposed that celestial bodies move according to mathematical laws, an idea that foreshadowed later heliocentric models of the universe. He and his followers suggested that planets and stars produce an inaudible "music" based on their movements, a concept later echoed by Kepler in his Harmonices Mundi (1619). Pythagoras discovered that the length of a vibrating string determines its pitch, forming the basis of musical tuning. He established mathematical ratios for musical harmony, which later influenced Western musical scales. Pythagorean thought linked mathematics to health, believing that balance in numbers corresponded to harmony in the body. Some ancient medical theories, such as the four humors, were influenced by Pythagorean ideas about balance and proportion.

 

Pythagoras was not just a scientist; he was also a mystic who saw numbers as divine. His teachings influenced Neoplatonism, Hermeticism, Gnosticism, Kabbalah, and Renaissance occultism. Pythagoras taught metempsychosis, the belief that the soul is immortal and reincarnates in different bodies. He claimed to remember his past lives, including one as a Trojan warrior. This belief encouraged vegetarianism, as harming an animal might mean harming a former human soul.

 

However, as is so often the case with genius, Pythagoras by his outspokenness incurred both political and personal enmity. Among those who came for initiation was one who, because Pythagoras refused to admit him, determined to destroy both the man and his philosophy. By means of false propaganda, this disgruntled one turned the minds of the common people against the philosopher. Without warning, a band of murderers descended upon the little group of buildings where the great teacher and his disciples dwelt, burned the structures and killed Pythagoras. 

Accounts of the philosopher's death do not agree. Some say that he was murdered with his disciples; others that, on escaping from Crotona with a small band of followers, he was trapped and burned alive by his enemies in a little house where the band had decided to rest for the night. Another account states that, finding themselves trapped in the burning structure, the disciples threw themselves into the flames, making of their own bodies a bridge over which Pythagoras escaped, only to die of a broken heart a short time afterwards as the result of grieving over the apparent fruitlessness of his efforts to serve and illuminate mankind. 

 

The occasion is differently related by Laertius, who says Pythagoras died in this manner: As he sat in counsel together with his friends, in the house of Milo, it happened that the house was set on fire by one who did it out of envy, because he was not admitted. Some affirm the Crotonians did it out of fear of being reduced to a tyranny. Pythagoras, running away, was overtaken when, coming to a field full of beans, he made a stop saying, “It is better to be taken than to tread, and better to be killed than to speak.” So the pursuers slew him. In the same manner died most of his disciples, about forty in number. Some few only escaped, of whom were Archytas the Tarentine, and Lysis, of whom we spake before. 

Anyhow, Pythagoras was more than just a mathematician—he was a visionary who saw numbers as the key to understanding the universe. His blend of mathematics, philosophy, music, and spirituality shaped Western thought for centuries. While much of his life remains shrouded in mystery, his influence is undeniable, proving that even in the abstract world of numbers, there is deep meaning and harmony.