Pythagoreans

(March 22, 2025) Pythagoreanism was a philosophical school and religious movement believed to have been founded by Pythagoras of Samos. He was probably a contemporary of Heraclitus of logos fame which dates him to the 500's BCE. Both these philosophical innovators adopted the many ideas floating around in the Persian Achaemenid empire to emerging Greek culture and language. The earliest historical reference to him is an indirect mention by Greek Herodotus in his book entitle The Histories (c. 430 BCE).

• I understand from the Greeks who live beside the Hellespont and Pontus, that this Salmoxis was a man who was once a slave in Samos, his master being Pythagoras son of Mnesarchus; then, after being freed and gaining great wealth, he returned to his own country. Now the Thracians were a poor and backward people, but this Salmoxis knew Ionian ways and a more advanced way of life than the Thracian; for he had consorted with Greeks, and moreover with one of the greatest Greek teachers, Pythagoras; (1)

The hero of the above story, Salmoxis, was a Thracian who believes in reincarnation which the story suggests he got from Pythagoras. The Greeks considered Thracians to be stupid and easily gullible. The story goes that Salmoxis was teaching the Thracians reincarnation but not having much luck. Then disappeared for a few years, claimed he had died, came back to life, then with that claim gained a lot of followers. This belief in reincarnation was ancient Druid and perhaps even ancient Indo-European. It was certainly not Persian Zoroastrian or classical Greek. Later Pythagoreans were known for their belief in reincarnation and were often ridiculed for it.

The Pythagoreans believed any animal product was not spiritually pure. They thus viewed the emotion power class as inferior to the astrological motion power class:

• There is a custom, too, which no Greeks except the Lacedaemonians (Spartans) have in common with the Egyptians: younger men, encountering their elders, yield the way and stand aside, and rise from their seats for them when they approach. But they are like none of the Greeks in this: passers-by do not address each other, but salute by lowering the hand to the knee. They wear linen tunics with fringes hanging about the legs, called “calasiris,” and loose white woolen mantles over these. But nothing woolen is brought into temples, or buried with them: that is impious. They agree in this with practices called Orphic and Bacchic, but in fact Egyptian and Pythagorean: for it is impious, too, for one partaking of these rites to be buried in woolen wrappings. There is a sacred legend about this. (2)

References

1. Herodotus (c. 430 BCE) The Histories, Book 4, chapter 95, verses 1 and 2. Online at:  https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0126%3Abook%3D4%3Achapter%3D95%3Asection%3D1
2. Herodotus (c. 430 BCE) The Histories, Book 2, chapter 81, verses 1 and 2. Online at: 

(March 22, 2025) Since the Pythagoreans did not think animal sourced motion powers based upon emotions were pure enough (showing the influence of Zoroastrian Dualism here) they focused on the pure celestial light powers represented by the goddess Selu/Selene.