Numerology

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Numerology is any belief in the divine, mystical relationship between a number and one or
more coinciding events.[1] It is also the study of the numerical value of the letters in words, names
and ideas. It is often associated with the paranormal, alongside astrology and
similar divinatory arts.[2]
Despite the long history of numerological ideas, the word "numerology" is not recorded in English
before c.1907.[3]
The term numerologist can be used for those who place faith in numerical patterns and draw
pseudo-scientific inferences from them, even if those people do not practice traditional
numerology. For example, in his 1997 book Numerology: Or What Pythagoras Wrought,
mathematician Underwood Dudley uses the term to discuss practitioners of theElliott wave
principle of stock market analysis.
Contents
[hide]

1History

2Skepticism

3Methods
o

3.1Alphabetic systems

3.2Abjad system

4Chinese numerology
4.1Chinese number definitions

5Indian numerology

6Other uses of the term

6.1To describe questionable concepts based on possibly coincidental numerical

o
patterns

6.2Attempts by gamblers to see patterns in random chance

7In popular culture

8See also

9Notes

10References

11External links

History[edit]
Pythagoras and other philosophers of the time believed that because mathematical concepts
were more "practical" (easier to regulate and classify) than physical ones, they had greater
actuality. St. Augustine of Hippo (A.D. 354430) wrote "Numbers are the Universal language
offered by the deity to humans as confirmation of the truth." Similar to Pythagoras, he too
believed that everything had numerical relationships and it was up to the mind to seek and
investigate the secrets of these relationships or have them revealed by divine grace.
See Numerology and the Church Fathers for early Christian beliefs on the subject.
In 325 AD, following the First Council of Nicaea, departures from the beliefs of the state
church were classified as civil violations within the Roman Empire. Numerology had not found
favor with the Christian authority of the day and was assigned to the field of unapproved beliefs
along with astrology and other forms of divination and "magic". [citation needed]Despite this religious
purging, the spiritual significance assigned to the heretofore "sacred" numbers had not
disappeared; several numbers, such as the "Jesus number" have been commented and
analyzed by Dorotheus of Gaza and numerology still is used at least in conservative Greek
Orthodox circles.[4][5] However, despite the church's resistance to numerology, there have been
arguments made for the presence of numerology in the bible and religious architecture. For
example, the numbers 3 and 7 hold strong spiritual meaning in the bible. Jesus asked God 3
times if he could avoid crucifixion and was crucified at 3 in the afternoon. 7 is the length of famine
and other God-imposed events and is sometimes followed by the number 8 as a symbol of
change.[6] One example of this would be when Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses for
marrying an Ethiopian woman, Miriam was required to go in the wilderness alone for 7 days and
on the 8th day to rejoin Exodus. Another example would be when Elijah commanded his servant
Ahab to return to Mt. Camel 7 in times to search for a certain cloud and on the 8th time he found
it. The Chartres Cathedral was built with numerological influences as well. The adopted motto,
"assumptio virginis beats mariae" holds the gematriac number 306. 306 was the number of a
leading dimension of its design in Roman feet. 306 divided by 2 is 153 which is the number of the
fish making an allusion to the fish caught by Simon Peter. The freemasonry movement
developed from elite groups of contracted builders who wished to keep the technological
methods and sacred significance of cathedral building a secret.[7]
Some alchemical theories were closely related to numerology. For example, Persian
alchemist Jabir ibn Hayyan framed his experiments in an elaborate numerology based on the
names of substances in the Arabic language.
Numerology is prominent in Sir Thomas Browne's 1658 literary Discourse The Garden of Cyrus.
Throughout its pages the author attempts to demonstrate that the number five and the
related Quincunx pattern can be found throughout the arts, in design, and in nature particularly
botany.
Modern numerology has various antecedents. Ruth A. Drayer's book, Numerology, The Power in
Numbers (Square One Publishers) says that around the turn of the century (from 1800 to 1900
A.D.) Mrs. L. Dow Balliett combined Pythagoras' work with Biblical reference. Then on Oct 23,

1972, Balliett's student, Dr. Juno Jordan, changed Numerology further and helped it to become
the system known today under the title "Pythagorean", although Pythagoras himself had nothing
to do with the system. Dr. Jordan's work "The Romance in Your Name" provided a system for
identifying what he called key numerological influences in one's name and birth date and remains
used today. Subsequent 'numerologists' including Florence Campbell (1931), [8] Lynn Buess
(1978), Mark Gruner (1979), Faith Javane and Dusty Bunker (1979) Numerology and the Divine
Triangle, Kathleen Roquemore (1985) expanded on the use of numerology for assessing
personality or events. These different schools of numerology give various methods for using
numerology, however the meaning of the 9 digits remains the same.

Skepticism[edit]
This section
requires expansion.(May
2013)

Skeptics argue that numbers have no occult significance and cannot by themselves influence a
person's life. Skeptics therefore regard numerology as a superstition and apseudoscience that
uses numbers to give the subject a veneer of scientific authority.[1]
Two studies have been done investigating numerological claims, both producing negative results.
One in the UK in 1993[9] and one in 2012 in Israel. The experiment in Israel involved a
professional numerologist and 200 participants. The experiment was repeated twice and still
produced negative results.[10]

Methods[edit]
Alphabetic systems[edit]
There are various numerology systems which assign numerical value to the letters of an
alphabet. Examples include the Abjad numerals in Arabic, the Hebrew numerals,Armenian
numerals, and Greek numerals. The practice within Jewish tradition of assigning mystical
meaning to words based on their numerical values, and on connections between words of equal
value, is known as gematria.
For example, numbers are assigned to letters as follows:

1 = a, j, s

2 = b, k, t,

3 = c, l, u,

4 = d, m, v,

5 = e, n, w,

6 = f, o, x,

7 = g, p, y,

8 = h, q, z,

9 = i, r,

.....and then summed. Examples:

3,489 3 + 4 + 8 + 9 = 24 2 + 4 = 6

Hello 8 + 5 + 3 + 3 + 6 = 25 2 + 5 = 7

A quicker way to arrive at a single-digit summation (the digital root) is simply to take the
value modulo 9, substituting a 0 result with 9 itself.
Different methods of calculation exist, including Chaldean, Pythagorean, Hebraic, Helyn
Hitchcock's method, Phonetic, Japanese, Arabic and Indian.
The examples above are calculated using decimal (base 10) arithmetic. Other number
systems exist, such as binary, octal, hexadecimal and vigesimal; summing digits in these bases
yields different results. The first example, shown above, appears thus when rendered in octal
(base 8):

3,48910 = 66418 6 + 6 + 4 + 1 = 218 2 + 1 = 38 = 310

Abjad system[edit]
The Arabic system of numerology is known as Abjad notation or Abjad numerals. In this system
each letter of Arabic alphabet has a numerical value. This system is the foundation of ilm-ulcipher, the Science of Cipher, and ilm-ul-huroof, the Science of Alphabet:
1= 2= 3= 4= 5= 6= 7= 8= 9=
10= 20= 30= 40= 50= 60= 70= 80= 90=
100= 200= 300= 400= 500= 600= 700= 800= 900=
1000=

Chinese numerology[edit]
Main article: Numbers in Chinese culture

Some Chinese assign a different set of meanings to the numbers and certain number
combinations are considered luckier than others. In general, even numbers are considered lucky,
since it is believed that good luck comes in pairs.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), and its associated fields such as acupuncture, base their
system on mystical numerical associations, such as the 12 vessels circulating blood and air
corresponding to the 12 rivers flowing toward the Central Kingdom; and 365 parts of the body,
one for each day of the year being the basis of locating acupuncture points. [11]

Chinese number definitions[edit]

Cantonese frequently associate numbers with the following connotations (based on its sound),
which may differ in other varieties of Chinese:
1. [j t] sure
2. [ji i] easy [ji i]
3. [sm] live [s] but it can also be seen as a halved eight when using Arabic
numerals (3) (8) and so considered unlucky.
4. [si] considered unlucky since 4 is a homophone with the word for death or suffering
[si], yet in the Shanghainese, it is a homophone of water ()and is considered lucky
since water is associated with money.
5. [] the self, me, myself [i], nothing, never [, m][need tone] in the Shanghainese, it
is a homophone of fish ()
6. [lk] easy and smooth, all the way
7. [ts t] a slang/vulgar word in Cantonese.
8. [pt] sudden fortune, prosperity [ft]
9. [k u] long in time [k u], enough [k u] or a slang/vulgar word derived from dog
[k u] in Cantonese
Some "lucky number" combinations include:

99 doubly long in time, hence eternal; used in the name of a popular Chinese American
supermarket chain, 99 Ranch Market.

168 many premium-pay telephone numbers in China begin with this number, which is
considered lucky. It is also the name of a motel chain in China (Motel 168).

888 Three times the prosperity, means "wealthy wealthy wealthy".

Indian numerology[edit]

In South India, mostly Tamil Nadu, the numbers assigned to English alphabets are different. The
list is shown below:

1 = A, I, J, Q, Y

2 = B, K, R

3 = C, G, L, S

4 = D, M, T

5 = E, H, N, X

6 = U, V, W

7 = O, Z

8 = F, P

There is no assignment for the number 9. Numerologists analyze double-digit numbers from 10
to 99.

Other uses of the term[edit]

To describe questionable concepts based on possibly coincidental numerical
patterns[edit]
Scientific theories are sometimes labeled "numerology" if their primary inspiration appears to be
a set of patterns rather than scientific observations. This colloquial use of the term is quite
common within the scientific community and it is mostly used to dismiss a theory as questionable
science.
The best known example of "numerology" in science involves the coincidental resemblance of
certain large numbers that intrigued such eminent men as mathematical physicistPaul Dirac,
mathematician Hermann Weyl and astronomer Arthur Stanley Eddington. These numerical
coincidences refer to such quantities as the ratio of the age of the universe to the atomic unit of
time, the number of electrons in the universe, and the difference in strengths between gravity and
the electric force for the electron and proton. ("Is the Universe Fine Tuned for Us?", Stenger, V.J.,
page 3[12]).
The discovery of atomic triads (dealing with elements primarily in the same group or column of
the periodic table) was considered a form of numerology, and yet ultimately led to the
construction of the periodic table. Here the atomic weight of the lightest element and the heaviest
are summed, and averaged, and the average is found to be very close to that of the intermediate
weight element. This didn't work with every triplet in the same group, but worked often enough to
allow later workers to create generalizations. SeeDbereiner's triads

Large number co-incidences continue to fascinate many mathematical physicists. For instance,
James G. Gilson has constructed a "Quantum Theory of Gravity" based loosely on Dirac's large
number hypothesis.[13]
Wolfgang Pauli was also fascinated by the appearance of certain numbers, including 137, in
physics.[14] British mathematician I. J. Good wrote:
There have been a few examples of numerology that have led to theories that transformed
society: see the mention of Kirchhoff and Balmer in Good (1962, p. 316) ... and one can well
include Kepler on account of his third law. It would be fair enough to say that numerology was the
origin of the theories of electromagnetism, quantum mechanics, gravitation.... So I intend no
disparagement when I describe a formula as numerological.
When a numerological formula is proposed, then we may ask whether it is correct. ... I think an
appropriate definition of correctness is that the formula has a good explanation, in a Platonic
sense, that is, the explanation could be based on a good theory that is not yet known but exists
in the universe of possible reasonable ideas.
I. J. Good[15]

Attempts by gamblers to see patterns in random chance[edit]

Some players apply methods that are sometimes called numerological in games which involve
numbers but no skill, such as bingo, roulette, keno, or lotteries. Although no strategy can be
applied to increase odds in such games, players may employ "lucky numbers" to find what they
think will help them. There is no evidence that any such "numerological strategy" yields a better
outcome than pure chance, but the methods are sometimes encouraged, e.g. by casino owners.
[16]

In popular culture[edit]
Numerology is a popular plot device in fiction. Sometimes it is a casual element used for comic
effect, such as in an episode titled "The Sance" of the 1950s TV sitcom I Love Lucy, where Lucy
dabbles in numerology. Sometimes it is a central motif of the storyline, such as the movie , in
which the protagonist meets a numerologist searching for hidden numerical patterns in the Torah;
the TV show Touch which focuses almost entirely on the role of numerology in the events and
coincidences of any person's life; and the movieThe Number 23, based on claimed mysteries of
the number 23.

Pythagoras
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Pythagoras of Samos" redirects here. For the Samian statuary, see Pythagoras (sculptor).
For other uses, see Pythagoras (disambiguation).

Pythagoras

Bust of Pythagoras of Samos in

the Capitoline Museums, Rome.

Born

c.570 BC
Samos

Died

c. 495 BC (aged around 75)

Metapontum

Era

Ancient philosophy

Region

Western philosophy

School

Pythagoreanism

Main interests

Metaphysics
Music
Mathematics
Ethics
Politics

Notable ideas
Musica universalis
Pythagorean tuning

Pythagorean theorem
Influences[show]

Influenced[show]

Pythagoras of Samos (US /prs/;[1] UK /pars/;[2] Greek:

Pythagras ho Smios "Pythagoras theSamian", or simply ;
in Ionian Greek; c. 570 c. 495 BC)[3][4] was an Ionian Greek philosopher,mathematician, and has
been credited as the founder of the movement called Pythagoreanism. Most of the information
about Pythagoras was written down centuries after he lived, so very little reliable information is
known about him. He was born on the island of Samos, and traveled, visiting Egypt and Greece,
and maybe India, and in 520 BC returned to Samos.[5] Around 530 BC, he moved to Croton,
in Magna Graecia, and there established some kind of school or guild.
Pythagoras made influential contributions to philosophy and religion in the late 6th century BC.
He is often revered as a greatmathematician and scientist and is best known for the Pythagorean
theorem which bears his name. However, because legend and obfuscation cloud his work even
more than that of the other pre-Socratic philosophers, one can give only a tentative account of
his teachings, and some have questioned whether he contributed much
to mathematics or natural philosophy. Many of the accomplishments credited to Pythagoras may
actually have been accomplishments of his colleagues and successors. Some accounts mention
that the philosophy associated with Pythagoras was related to mathematics and that numbers
were important. It was said that he was the first man to call himself a philosopher, or lover of
wisdom,[6] and Pythagorean ideas exercised a marked influence on Plato, and through him, all
of Western philosophy.

Biographical sources
The stories which were created were eagerly sought by the Neoplatonist writers who provide
most of the details about Pythagoras, but who were uncritical concerning anything which related
to the gods or which was considered divine.[7] Thus many myths were created such as
that Apollo was his father; that Pythagoras gleamed with a supernaturalbrightness; that he had a
golden thigh; that Abaris came flying to him on a golden arrow; that he was seen in different
places at the same time.[8] According to Sir William Smith, with the exception of a few remarks
by Xenophanes, Heraclitus, Herodotus, Plato, Aristotle, and Isocrates, we are mainly dependent
on Diogenes Lartius, Porphyry, andIamblichus for biographical details.[9] Burkert (1972, p. 109)
states that Aristoxenus and Dicaearchus are the most important accounts.[10]
Aristotle had written a separate work On the Pythagoreans, which is no longer extant.[11] However,
the Protrepticus possibly contains parts of On the Pythagoreans. His
disciplesDicaearchus, Aristoxenus, and Heraclides Ponticus had written on the same subject.
These writers, late as they are, were among the best sources from whom Porphyry and
Iamblichus drew, while still adding some legendary accounts and their own inventions to the mix.

Hence, historians are often reduced to considering the statements based on their inherent
probability, but even then, if all the credible stories concerning Pythagoras were supposed true,
his range of activity would be impossibly vast.[12]

Life
ccording to Clement of Alexandria, Pythagoras was a disciple of Soches, the Egyptian
archprophet, and Plato of Sechnuphis ofHeliopolis. Herodotus, Isocrates, and other early writers
agree that Pythagoras was the son of Mnesarchus, born on a Greek island in the
eastern Aegean called Samos.[13] Pythagoras's father was a gem-engraver or a merchant
from Tyre.[14][15] Pythagoras's name led him to be associated
with Pythian Apollo; Aristippus explained his name by saying, "He spoke (agor-) the truth no less
than did the Pythian (Pyth-)", and Iamblichus tells the story that the Pythia prophesied that his
pregnant mother would give birth to a man supremely beautiful, wise, and beneficial to
humankind.[16] A late source gives his mother's name as Pythais.[17] As to the date of his
birth, Aristoxenus stated that Pythagoras left Samos in the reign of Polycrates, at the age of 40,
which would give a date of birth around 570 BC. [18]
Pythagoras's later fate is unknown and inconsistent among ancient sources. Some say that he
perished in the temple with his disciples,[19]others that he fled first to Tarentum, and that, being
driven from there, he escaped to Metapontum, and there according to Diogenes Lartius, starved
himself to death.[20] His tomb was shown at Metapontum in the time of Cicero.[21]
According to Walter Burkert (1972)[10]
"Most obvious is the contradiction between Aristoxenus and Dicaearchus, regarding the
catastrophe that overwhelmed the Pythagorean society. One of the two reports must be
basically wrong: either Pythagoras withdrew to Metapontum before the outbreak of the
unrest and died there (as Aristoxenus says) or he and his followers were hounded from
city to city (as Dicaearchus has it). Like his doctrines, the life of Pythagoras also
becomes a mirror image of real controversies in the schools. On the one hand there is
the controversy over the primacy of the theoretical or practical life. In this
respect Heraclides thinks Pythagoras as the apostle of pure 'theory'."
"There is not a single detail in the life of Pythagoras that stands uncontradicted. But it is
possible, from a more or less critical selection of the data, to construct a plausible
account."
According to Iamblichus (ca. 245-325 AD, 1918 translation) in The life of Pythagoras,
translated by Thomas Taylor[22]
"Twenty-two years Pythagoras remained in Egypt, pursuing closely his investigations,
visiting every place famous for its teachings, every person celebrated for wisdom.

Astronomy and geometry he especially studied and he was thoroughly initiated in all the
mysteries of the gods, till, having been taken captive by the soldiers of Cambyses, he
was carried to Babylon. Here the Magi instructed him in their venerable knowledge and
he arrived at the summit of arithmetic, music and other disciplines. After twelve years he
returned to Samos, being then about fifty-six years of age."

Family
According to some accounts, Pythagoras married Theano, a lady of Croton. Theano
was also a philosopher, and said to have first been Pythagoras' pupil. According
to Mary Ritter Beard, Theano told Hippodamus of Thurium (possibly Hippodamus of
Miletus, who as per Aristotle planned the city of Thurium), [23] that her treatise On
Virtue contained the doctrine of the golden mean.[24]
According to Thesleff, Stobaeus and Heeren, in On Piety, Theano wrote that:[25]
I have learned that many of the Greeks believe Pythagoras said all things are
generated from number. The very assertion poses a difficulty: How can things which
do not exist even be conceived to generate? But he did not say that all things come
to be from number; rather, in accordance with number - on the grounds that order in
the primary sense is in number and it is by participation in order that a first and a
second and the rest sequentially are assigned to things which are counted.
Their children are variously stated to have included a son, Telauges, and three
daughters, Damo, Arignote, and Myia (who married to a famous wrestler, Milo of
Croton). Milo was said to be an associate of Pythagoras. One story tells of the
wrestler saving the philosopher's life when a roof was about to collapse. [26]
Arignote wrote a Bacchica concerning the mysteries of Demeter, and a work
called The Rites of Dionysus. Among the Pythagorean Sacred Discourses there is a
dictum attributed to Arignote:
The eternal essence of number is the most providential cause of the whole heaven,
earth and the region in between. Likewise it is the root of the continued existence of
the gods and daimones, as well as that of divine men."[25]
Brewer (1894) mentioned that "Pythagoras taught that the sun is a movable sphere
in the centre of the universe, and that all the planets revolve round it." Thus, it would
appear that Arignote's quote above is not entirely in alignment with his model of the
universe, since it is limited to Earth orbit.[27]

nfluence

A scene at the Chartres Cathedralshows a philosopher, on one of thearchivolts over the right door of the
west portal at Chartres, which has been attributed to depict Pythagoras.

Before 520 BC, on one of his visits to Egypt or Greece, Pythagoras might have met the c. 54
years older Thales of Miletus.[28] Thales was a philosopher, scientist, mathematician, and
engineer,[5] also known for the Thales' Theorem. Pythagoras' birthplace, the island of Samos, is
situated in the Northeast Aegean Sea not far from Miletus.[29]
In the absence of reliable information, however, a huge range of teachers were assigned to
Pythagoras. Some made his training almost entirely Greek, others
exclusively Egyptian and Oriental. We find mentioned as his instructors Creophylus,
[30]

Hermodamas of Samos,[31]Bias,[30] Thales,[30] Anaximander (a pupil of Thales),[32] and Pherecydes

of Syros.[33]
In Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, Diogenes Lartius (3rd century CE) cites the
statement of Aristoxenus (4th century BCE) that the Delphic Themistoclea (also known as
Aristoclea) taught Pythagoras his moral doctrines:[34][35][36] "Aristoxenus says that Pythagoras got
most of his moral doctrines from the Delphic priestess Themistoclea." [citation needed]
Porphyry (233 305 CE) calls her Aristoclea (Aristokleia), and wrote:[37][38]"He (Pythagoras) taught
much else, which he claimed to have learned from Aristoclea at Delphi."[citation needed]
The Egyptians are said to have taught him geometry, the Phoenicians arithmetic,
the Chaldeans astronomy, the Magians the principles of religion and practical maxims for the
conduct of life.[39] Of the various claims regarding his Greek teachers, Pherecydes of Syros is
mentioned most often.
According to R.D. Hicks (1972) Pythagoras not only visited Egypt and learnt the Egyptian
language (Antiphon in the book On Men of Outstanding Merit), but also "journeyed among

the Chaldaeans and Magi." Later in Crete, he went to the Cave of Ida with Epimenides; and
entered Egyptian sanctuaries for the purpose to learn information concerning the secret lore of
the different gods.[40] Plutarchasserted in his book On Isis and Osiris that during his visit to Egypt,
Pythagoras received instruction from the Egyptian priest Oenuphis of Heliopolis.[41] Other ancient
writers asserted his visit to Egypt.[42] Enough of Egypt was known to attract the curiosity of an
inquiring Greek, and contact between Samos and other parts of Greece with Egypt is mentioned.
[43]

Ancient authorities note the similarities between the religious and ascetic peculiarities of
Pythagoras with the Orphic or Cretan mysteries,[44] or the Delphic oracle.[45]

Views
There is little direct evidence as to the kind and amount of knowledge which Pythagoras
acquired, or as to his definite philosophical views. Everything of the kind mentioned
byPlato and Aristotle is attributed not to Pythagoras, but to the Pythagoreans. Heraclitus stated
that he was a man of extensive learning;[46] and Xenophanes claimed that he believed in
the transmigration of souls.[47] Xenophanes mentions the story of his interceding on behalf of
a dog that was being beaten, professing to recognise in its cries the voice of a departed friend.
Pythagoras is supposed to have claimed that he had been Euphorbus, the son of Panthus, in
the Trojan war, as well as various other characters, a tradesman, a courtesan, etc. [48] In his
book The Life of Apollonius of Tyana, Philostratus wrote that Pythagoras knew not only who he
was himself, but also who he had been.[49]
Many mathematical and scientific discoveries were attributed to Pythagoras, including his famous
theorem,[50] as well as discoveries in the field of music,[51] astronomy,[52] andmedicine.[53] It is
mentioned that the people of Croton were supposed to have identified him with the
Hyperborean Apollo,[54] and he was said to have practised divination andprophecy.[55] In the visits
to various places in Greece Delos, Sparta, Phlius, Crete, etc. which are ascribed to him, he
usually appears either in his religious or priestly guise, or else as a lawgiver.[56]
Excerpt from a speech by the character Aristotle in Protrepticus (Hutchinson and Johnson,
2015)[57]
"This is the thing for the sake of which nature and the god engendered us. So what is this
thing? When Pythagoras was asked, he said, to observe the heavens, and he used to
claim that he himself was an observer of nature, and it was for the sake of this that he
had passed over into life. And they say that when somebody asked Anaxagoras for what
reason anyone might choose to come to be and be alive, he replied to the question by
saying, To observe the heavens and the stars in it, as well as moon and sun, since
everything else at any rate is worth nothing." (p. 48)

Croton

Croton on the southern coast of Magna Graecia (Southern Italy), to which Pythagoras ventured after
feeling overburdened in Samos.

After his travels, Pythagoras moved (around 530 BC) to Croton, in Italy (Magna Graecia).
Possibly the tyranny of Polycrates in Samos made it difficult for him to achieve his schemes
there. His later admirers claimed that Pythagoras was so overburdened with public duties in
Samos, because of the high estimation in which he was held by his fellow-citizens, that he
moved to Croton.[58] On his arrival in Croton, he quickly attained extensive influence, and
many people began to follow him. Later biographers tell fantastical stories of the effects of
his eloquent speech in leading the people of Croton to abandon their luxurious and corrupt
way of life and devote themselves to the purer system which he came to introduce. [59]
According to Diogenes Lartius, his followers established a select brotherhood or club (see
below school) for the purpose of pursuing the religious and ascetic practices which
developed. According to Diogenes Lartius, what was done and taught among the members
was kept a secret. The esoteric teachings may have concerned science and mathematics, or
religious doctrines, and may have been connected with the worship of Apollo. [60] Temperance
of all kinds seems to have been strictly urged. There is disagreement among the biographers
as to whether Pythagoras forbade all animal food,[61] or only certain types.[62] The club was in
practice at once "a philosophical school, a religious brotherhood, and a political association".
[63]

Conflict seems to have broken out between the towns of Sybaris and Croton. The forces of
Croton were headed by the Pythagorean Milo, and it is likely that the members of the
brotherhood took a prominent part. After the decisive victory by Croton, a proposal for
establishing a more democratic constitution, was unsuccessfully resisted by the
Pythagoreans. Their enemies, headed by Cylon and Ninon, the former of whom is said to
have been irritated by his exclusion from the brotherhood, roused the populace against them.
An attack was made upon them while assembled either in the house of Milo, or in some
other meeting-place. The building was set on fire, and many of the assembled members
perished; only the younger and more active escaping. [64] Similar commotions ensued in the
other cities of Magna Graecia in which Pythagorean clubs had been formed.

As an active and organised brotherhood the Pythagorean order was everywhere

suppressed, and did not again revive. Still the Pythagoreans continued to exist as a sect, the
members of which kept up among themselves their religious observances and scientific
pursuits, while individuals, as in the case of Archytas, acquired now and then great political
influence.