Nicomachus

Mathematician, Philosopher (c60 – c120)

Nicomachus was a Pythagorean philosopher, mathematician and musical theorist from Gerasa. He contributed to the continuation of the Pythagorean philosophy in the post-Roman times, earning the title Neopythagorean. With his work Introduction to Arithmetic Nicomachus was recognized as the father of Theoretic Arithmetic.

Pythagorean philosophy concerned every science from philosophy and mathematics to metaphysics and music. Nicomachus as a musical theorist wrote Manual of Harmonics, which is a treaty on musical notes and the octave. It has been largely influenced by Pythagoras’ musical discoveries involving the monochord.

In his work Introduction to Arithmetic Nicomachus created the Neopythagorean movement, which centuries later Boethius would translate into Latin disseminate to the west, where it became the standard textbook in Europe in arithmetic for over 1000 years. It contains the first multiplication table in a Greek text. His work The Theology of Numbers deals with the metaphysical aspect of numbers, with which Pythagorean philosophy was greatly involved. Numbers are the true essence of every being in both levels of the world.

Nicomachus’ books on the theory of numbers were translated into Arabic and had a profound influence in Arabic mathematics. His works, strangely enough, contain the Arabic numerals instead of the Greco-Roman ones. He made important contributions on the perfect numbers, coined the term “natural numbers” and discovered the theorem which bares his name.

Bibliography

1. Koutoulas, Diamantis. The Ancient Greek Religion and Mathematics. Vivlia Psaras: Thessaloniki, 2001. Print.
2. Nicomachus of Gerasa. St-and.ac.uk. August 5, 2016. web.
3. Sakellarios, Georgios. Pythagoras the Teacher of the Centuries. Athens: Ideotheatron, 1962. Print.

Isocrates

Rhetorician (436 BC – 338 BC)

The most renowned rhetorician and orator of ancient Athens. Isocrates descended from a wealthy family and studied next to his greatest contemporary philosophers Protagoras, Gorgias, Prodicus and Socrates. At the beginning of this career he worked as a logographer (speechwriter). This proved to be very profitable for Isocrates as Aristotle mentions that his forensic speeches were highly sought after. These were spoken in courtrooms, orations or in public speeches. Nevertheless, hiding behind the public speaker did not please Isocrates and so he founded a school of rhetoric speech and philosophy.

Isocrates’ school became one of the most successful schools in all of Greece. He taught his students to speak efficiently and to persuade large crowds of people by making the intellect capable of forming correct judgments. Furthermore, in conjunction with philosophy and political sciences, which he also taught, Isocrates aimed at cultivating the spirit of his students and providing them with prudence and an ethical morality.

Cicero paralleled his school with the Trojan Horse because from it emerged the most virtuous men of letters armed with the power of eloquence. His students came from all around Greece and became teachers themselves, something that Isocrates was very proud of. Notable students of his school include Timotheus, Theodectus, Hyperides, Aeschines and many more who were involved in politics, tragic poetry and philosophy. Numerous kings such as Evagoras of Salamis were also students of Isocrates.

Isocrates’ orations are estimated to be 68 speeches, 31 of which survive today. Undoubtedly his greatest work is Panegyricus, which took 12 years to complete. It is a literary masterpiece in which Isocrates calls for the unification of all Greek city-states under the leadership of Athens for the greater good of defeating the Persian barbarians. With this work Isocrates prompted Philip II and later Alexander the Great to found the Panhellenic union, unite all the Greeks and eradicate the Persian Empire. Alexander made this into a reality. A similar Panhellenic idea is expressed in his work Philippus, addressed to Philip II. Other notable orations include De Pace, in which Isocrates introduces the concept of autonomy for the islands, Antidosis, a semi-autobiographic oration written in the age of 80, Areiopageticus, where he calls for a return to the democratic model of Solon and Cleisthenes, Panathenaicus, in which he praises both Athens and Sparta and several other orations, epitaphs and letters.

Isocrates was distinguished from the rest orators of his time because of two things. First, he taught his students to be dominant in speech, to be righteous and truthful. Thanks to them, the citizens of Athens became honest and decent men and women. Second, his philopatry was a catalyst for Alexander’s conquest because he expressed the truth that all the Greek city-states compose one common nation, Greece, which has the ability to reign over all as a result of its intellectual and civilizational supremacy.

Bibliography

1. Isocrates. Helios New Encyclopaedic Dictionary. Passas, I. Athens, 1946. Print.
2. Pleures, Konstantinos. The King Alexander. Georgiades: Athens, 2015. Print.

Alexander the Great

King of Macedon, Hegemon of the Hellenic League, Pharaoh of Egypt, Shahanshah of Persia, Lord of Asia (356 BC – 323 BC)

Greece is a country of empires. Alexander III of Macedon founded such an empire. His stretched from Illyria to the Indus River, spanning 3 continents and dominating the entire known world at the time. At the age of 33, Alexander had achieved world domination and had spread Hellenism to the depths of Asia. Not even death could act as an obstacle to him. He passed to the world of myth and legend and became a God to all nations he conquered. Divine Alexander became a symbol of Hellenism and of the entire oecumene and was immortalized by history.

Several supernatural phenomena have been ascribed to Alexander’s birth. The first night of the wedding a thunder fell on Olympias’ abdomen and then came out a fire, whose flames spread inside the room in all directions until they vanished. In another occasion Philip dreamt of stamping a lion on OIympias’ abdomen. According to another myth, Philip saw a dragon inside Olympias’ bedroom when looking through the keyhole. During childbirth two eagles came and sat on the roof of the room of the labour. The latter was interpreted by the seer that the child born would rule two continents.

Alexander’s education was entrusted to Aristotle, who was a close friend of Philip. Aristotle taught him how to think. That the number of people is not the right criterion for the selection of a governor but his capabilities instead. That when we equilibrate those capable or ruling with those incapable of, in the name of equality, then we are being unjust to the former. Aristotle also taught Homer to Alexander, whom he deeply studied and respected. In fact, Alexander was so in love with the Iliad that he slept with it under his pillow, dreaming of becoming like Achilles and dominating the world. Except from Aristotle, other noteworthy philosophers were assigned teaching duties to Alexander, most notably Philiscus, a Cynic philosopher, Menaechmus, who taught geometry and Isocrates, who exchanged mail with him frequently.

Before ascending to throne, Alexander had already been acclaimed for his iron will, capabilities in battle and his spiritual development, all inherited from his father Philip. At the age of 16 he battled against the Byzantines and at the age of 18 he obliterated the Thebeans in the Battle of Cheronea and tamed Bucephalus, his trusted steed. When his father was assassinated, 20-year-old Alexander inherited the throne and put his father’s vision in motion. He had learned by his two great tutors, Isocrates and Aristotle that the Greek race possessed the power to rule over everything if it united in one force. Alexander made this into reality. In just 12 years, with 35.000 men and 160 ships he defeated the Persian Empire, which had been Greece’s major enemy for 200 years and reached the Himalayan Mountains.

He began his expedition by liberating all of the Greek cities of Asia Minor. Alexander’s genius and intuitive strategic thinking in the battles of Granicus, Issus, Gaugamela and Hydaspes proved him to be one of the greatest leaders in history. The Battle of Granicus was Alexander’s first major victory against the Persians. 18.000 Persians were killed compared to 105 Greeks. He conquered Palestine, Syria and Egypt. With the battle of Issus Alexander’s passage to Asia was opened. The battle of Gaugamela marked the downfall of the Persian Empire. It was the most decisive battle that changed history in just 1 day. After the Battle of Gaugamela, the three Persian capitols Persepolis, Babylon and Susa surrendered. Alexander was King of Asia. The Battle of Hydaspes was the last major battle he fought in against King Porus in the depths of India. Alexander is estimated to have fought in 120 battles, always fighting in the front line, acting as an examplar to his warriors. His presence caused fear to the enemy; simply in the sound of his name the enemy forces would retreat in panic. The Macedonian Phalanx, a military tactic created by his father, was used by Alexander as the ultimate weapon against the enemy forces. Combined with the insuperable bravery of his men, the Greek army was an unstoppable war machine which never lost even one battle.

As King of Asia, Alexander showed full respect to all religions and granted religious freedom to all nations. He bestowed justice and freedom to their customs and traditions, appointed locals to power, built 70 cities which bore his name, most notably Alexandria of Egypt, which later became the leading cultural center of all Hellenism, established a powerful economic system which included the foundation of the first insurance companies, showed special interest to philosophy and sciences and brought the light of the Greek civilization as well as the Greek language to the East.

Alexander’s unnatural death left his work unfinished in the hands of his trusted friends (Ἑταῖροι), who fought against each other for 2 centuries over their king’s empire. Eventually the kingdom disintegrated. The outcome, however, of his work still echoes today. Museums in modern Turkmenistan exhibit statues, ceramics, pottery, jewelry, coins and many more artifacts, depicting sceneries from the Greek mythology, Gods and Greek letters, as a result of the Greek influence. Numerous tribes such as the Nochouli in the borders of modern Iraq and Turkmenistan and the Pashtoun in Afghanistan and Pakistan all claim to be direct descendents of the Greeks as a result of Alexander’s epigamies (intermarriages). Their language, their customs and their traditions all possess remnants of the Greek civilization. In Afghanistan was found the city of Ai Chanoum where people spoke Greek while in Pakistan the Patans and the Kalas tribes, which are estimated to be over 12 million, not only have a myriad of Greek words in their language but they also have Greek names and their religion contains Greek deities such as Zeus, Athena and Hestia. They proudly say: “We imagine Alexander the Macedon as our father and we believe that our relatives are in Greece”.

Divine Alexander did not die. He lives in the legends and the myths of the worlds he ruled, who glorify him for his inconceivable accomplishments and his heroic virtues. For the Muslims, he is Iskander Dhul-Qarnayn, a figure empowered by God in the Quran. For the Christians he is the son of pharaoh Nectenavo while for the Egyptians he is the son of Amun-Ra. Alexander remains in the Greeks’ memory in the form of an allegorical legend, according to which his sister, transformed into a mermaid swims the seas and upon encountering a sailor asks them “Is King Alexander alive”? The sailor’s life is spared and he is granted a safe sail when he answers “He lives, he reigns and the world he rules!”.

Bibliography

1. “Alexander III Macedon”. Helios New Encyclopaedic Dictionary. Passas, I. Athens, 1946. Print.
2. Pleures, Konstantinos. The King Alexander. Hilektron: Athens, 2015. Print.
3. Velopoulos, Kyriakos. There is a Solution for the Crisis. Cadmus: Thessaloniki, 2012. Print.
4. Volonakis, Ioannis. The Great Leaders of Ancient Greece. Georgiades: Athens, 1997. Print.

Zeuxis

Painter (5^th century BC)

Zeuxis was one of the most brilliant painters of antiquity. He was born in Heraclea and came to work in Athens during the Golden Age of Pericles. Even though none of his paintings survive today, they are referenced by several writers and historians who praise his remarkable painting skills and his enthusiasm, comparing him to Pheidias.

Among many of his paintings were Eros with Roses, which was found in the temple of Aphrodite in Athens, Zeus in Throne, Hercules, Amphitryon and Alcmene, Pan and Marsyas, found in the temple of Concordia in Rome. The painting Menelaus depicted the hero Menelaus offering libation to his dead brother Agamemnon. Alexander the Great saw this painting when he passed from Ephesus with great admiration. His painting Family of Centaurs is mentioned in Lucian’s writings. It depicted an idyllic scene of centaurs and was considered Zeuxis’ greatest work of art. Pliny mentions a painting called Boy with grapes. It is said that the grapes looked so real that the birds came to eat them. The painter joked that he did not make the boy look equally real otherwise the birds would go away. In Akragas or in Croton according to others was the painting Helen. For this painting Zeuxis asked for the most beautiful women of the city, from which he chose 5 and used their most beautiful traits to make the picture of Helen. The painting was so valuable that Zeuxis did not allow his painting to be seen unless he was paid money.

Zeuxis’ paintings were a result of meticulous study of nature. Socrates, with whom’s students Zeuxis passed his time, states that the study of Nature leads to a higher level of science by which the student, in this case the artist, can reach the discovery of the esoteric laws which govern Nature unseen. The painter was imbued by the Muses with optic presentations that he/she symbolically depicted in his/her paintings. The paintings acted as a medium between the mortal world and the world of the Higher Supreme Beings. Upon careful examination and understanding of the silent and immobile imager presented in the painting the viewer’s soul was imbued with that same divine information that was passed down from the Muses to the artist. This brought the soul to a meditative state (Dialogismos) whose purpose was to allow the soul to jump from the visible world to the invisible world of the Divine Beings. Even though the paintings of most Ancient Greek painters were demonstrated in public view, Zeuxis’ were only given to special individuals who acknowledged the power of his works.

Bibliography

1. Altani. Arritoi Logoi Kentauroi, Amazones, Medousa. Georgiades: Athens, 2005. Print.
2. Manias, Theophanis. The Holy Geometry of the Greeks and the Mathematical Structure of the Greek Language. Athens: Pyrinos Kosmos, 2006. Print.
3. “Zeuxis”. Helios New Encyclopaedic Dictionary. Passas, I. Athens, 1946. Print.

Euripides

Tragedian (c480 BC – c406 BC)

Euripides was the youngest of the three great tragedians of antiquity. He was born most probably on the same day the Battle of Salamis took place in 480 BC. Described both as wise and as a philosopher, Euripides flourished during the Golden Age of Pericles and was a pioneer in tragic and dramatic poetry.

From a young age Euripides showed special interest to philosophy. He studied Protagoras and Anaxagoras and passed his time along with Socrates’ students. Socrates and Euripides both had great influence on one another. He had also been influenced by Heraclitus, Gorgias and Xenophanes. Many elements from their philosophy were introduced to tragic poetry by Euripides. Plato said that “he was honoured as a God for his wisdom”.

Euripides wrote 88 plays. Only 19 of them survive fully. The Bacchae is a religious-psychological dramatic play which deals with the fanaticism of a false belief and its dreadful manifestations. Alcestis won second place, it was a satyrical drama and the last of a tetralogy. Andromache is a political drama on the life of Andromache after she becomes enslaved to Neoptolemus. Medea, in which the poet shows women’s savagery and mania caused by failure of love, the passion of revenge and maternal love is widely recognized as one of Euripides’ best plays. Other important works of Euripides include The Suppliants, Hippolytus, Hecuba, Cyclops, Heracles, Electra, Helen, Orestes, Iphigeneia in Aulis, Iphigeneia in Tauris, Children of Heracles, Ion, Rhesus and The Trojan Women. Euripides’ lost works are more than 60 in number. Only their title or mere fragments survive.

Euripides’ innovations in theatre were the following: He introduced the “deus ex machina”. At the end of the play, after the heroes had gone through all their passions, Gods would enter the stage by a machine and would show the path to the heroes (protagonists), contemplating, interpreting, comforting and encouraging them to overcome their obstacles. His second innovation was making the monologue in the beginning of the play into a prologue, whereupon the viewer is introduced to the subject of the play. His third innovation was the rearrangement of the Chorus. Prior to Euripides, the Chorus’ intervention was aimed in bringing about a peaceful equilibrium between the antagonizing characters. In Euripides’ plays the Chorus brings a sense of peace and serenity to the viewer’s soul.

Euripides was among the chosen ones that the Muses showed themselves. Like Homer, Hesiod, Orpheus, Pindar, Sophocles, Aeschylus etc, the Muses stimulated Euripides’ soul, giving him the ability to narrate and glorify the heroic labours of men and Gods so that to act as a paedagogue to the viewers who witnessed his plays. The poet acted as a channel to deliver the Muses’ optic presentations to the spectators, who received the information through the symbolic actions of the heroes and the Gods. This would provide the best example and the most powerful method to bring the mortal man in contact with the Divine. Decoding and understanding this divine information led to lytrosis and eventually the conquest of immortality. This was the reason why Euripides and all his contemporary playwrights were described as sages. This was the reason why ancient theatre had therapeutic and didactic purposes.

Bibliography

1. Altani. Arritoi Logoi Kentauroi, Amazones, Medousa. Georgiades: Athens, 2005. Print.
2. “Euripides”. Helios New Encyclopaedic Dictionary. Passas, I. Athens, 1946. Print.

Zenon of Citium

Philosopher (334 BC – 262 BC)

Zenon of Citium, (to discern him from Zenon of Elea), is the founder of the Stoic Philosophic School. He descended from the Greek colony Citium in Southern Italy and was accidentally introduced to philosophy when while working as a merchant he was shipwrecked in Athens. There, he studied under the supervision of Crates of the Cynic School of Philosophy. For 20 years he studied in various Philosophic Schools as well as the teachings of Academic Xenocrates. However, Zenon was still unsatisfied and his first for knowledge led him to found his own Philosophic School, which he termed Stoic after the Stoa, the place where the lessons were held.

Stoic philosophy was focused on three philosophical sciences: logic, physics and ethics. In the field of ethics Zeno wrote at least 7 books, none of which survives today and introduced the meaning of the word “duty”. Zenon taught that life is created by God and God is what gives beings shape and motion. In Logic, he stated that due to man’s own logic nature, he is in position to determine what is moral for him.

Virtue is not bestowed to man by God but is acquired upon free will. Like Pythagoras and Plato, Zenon distinguished four types of virtues: justice, good sense (σωφροσύνη), common sense (φρόνησις) and bravery. It is necessary for these virtues to co-exist in order one to be virtuous. Man was to live according to his own nature and be guided by virtue. To live according to nature meant understanding nature and for one to understand nature required him to have a placid soul. Virtue is the only thing that brings true happiness. In stoic philosophy, wisdom was understood as man’s subjugation to God and the acceptance and understanding of causality.

Zenon’s School had tremendous impact on philosophy. Throughout the years, it attracted numerous important philosophers like Chrysippus, Epictetus, Poseidonius and Marcus Aurelius. All of his students proved to be influential philosophers who expanded the Stoic philosophy and compiled works of their own.

Bibliography

1. Myrsioti, Sophia. «Η Στωϊκή Φιλοσοφία». Philologos.eu. 14 July, 2016.
2. Pleures, Konstantinos. Greek Philosophers. Athens: Hilektron, 2014. Print.
3. “Zenon o Kitieus”. Helios New Encyclopaedic Dictionary. Passas, I. Athens, 1946. Print.

Demophilus of Thespiae

Warrior (? – 480 BC)

In 480 BC, the Persian army, consisting of 1.700.000 warriors crossed Thrace and Macedonia, passed from Thessaly and marched towards Athens. Their passage was halted in Thermopylae when they were met with resistance by the Greeks. Their army consisted of Leonidas and his 300 Spartans, Demophilus and his 300 Thespians, 1000 Tegeans and Mantineans, 1000 from Arcadia, 120 from Orchomenos, 400 from Corinthos, 1000 from Phocaia, 400 from Phleius, 400 from Thebes, 80 Mycenaeans and a significant number of Locrians.

For two days, Xerxes watched helplessly as his army was being decimated by the Greek spears, until the secret passageway that bypassed the Thermopylae was breached by the Persians as a result of Ephialtes’ betrayal. On the third day, in the leaders’ meeting it was decided that all Greeks would leave the battle except Leonidas and his 300 Spartans because their laws forbade them to abandon the battlefield. Demophilus, however, rejected Leonidas’ order and preferred to stay with his 700 Thespians and die on the Spartans’ side. Leonidas tried to persuade Demophilus and the Thespians to leave, but his efforts were in vain. Demophilus had already chosen an honourable and glorious death for him and his people than to live a life of shame knowing that they had fled right in front of the enemy. Leonidas tried one more time to persuade him otherwise. Demophilus replied: “No, Leonidas, I’m not leaving, I will not let you take all the glory of the Thermopylae alone”.

In the morning of the third day, The Greeks, now comprised of Leonidas and his 300 Spartans, the 700 Thespians led by Demophilus and 400 warriors from Thebes, who were held as hostages by Leonidas, marched to their death. In what was the last stand, the Greeks fought with tremendous faith and bravery and caused severe casualties in the Persians. Eventually, King Leonidas falls. Spartans and Thespians surround and defend their king. Xerxes offers them one last time to surrender but the only answer he gets is “We will die with our king”. Xerxes orders his archers to cover the sun with their arrows and spare none. All of them died.

Demophilus and the Thespians’ holocaust was equal, if not superior in value to that of Leonidas’ and the Spartans’. The Spartans’ sacrifice was bound by law. The Thespians, on the other side, were not bound by anything aside from their loyalty and love for freedom and their country, Greece. They willingly chose to stay and fight to the death, which they knew it was certain, chose not to abandon Leonidas and his 300 warriors and to pass to immortality in the pantheon of heroes, to the Elysian Fields, where all fallen heroes go.

Bibliography

1. Eleysis-ellinwn. Άγνωστες μορφές του Ελληνισμού: Δημόφιλος ο Διαδρόμου – ο στρατηγός των 700 Θεσπιέων στην μάχη των Θερμοπυλών!. eleysis-ellinwn.gr. 13 July, 2016.
2. Kossioris, Christos. The Seven Hundred Thespians in Thermopylae. Athens: Hilektron, 2015. Print.

Diagoras of Rhodes

Athlete (5^th century BC)

Diagoras was a famous Greek Golden Olympian boxer from Rhodes known for his super-human athletic achievements and his virtuous character. He had won first place in four Panhellenic competitions: twice at Nemea, four times at Isthmia, including the Olympic Games as well as in multiple regional ones such as in Athens, Megara, Aegina and Rhodes.

At an old age he had the honour of seeing all of his 3 sons become Olympians. Damagetos won twice at the Olympic Games for the pankrateion while Akousileos won for boxing. Dorieus, his third son won three successive times the pankrateion at the Olympic Games, eight times the Isthmian Games and seven times at Nemea. After their victory they removed their olive wreaths and placed them on their fathers’ head. Then, they lifted him up their shoulders and carried him around the stadium. Diagoras and his sons were apotheosized by the overwhelmed crowd. It has been reported that during Diagoras’ standing ovation, one of the spectators in the crowd shouted:”Die, Diagoras, you cannot ascend to Olympus besides”.

Diagoras became a legend during his own lifetime not only for his accomplishments in boxing but for fathering a generation of Olympian athletes. Shortly after his death, Pindar wrote an ode commemorating Diagoras and his sons. It was written on the wall of the temple of Athena in Rhodes in gold letters. Moreover, the stands of where the sculptures of Diagoras and his sons once stood in Olympia have been found. Diagoras’ daughter was the brave Callipateira, the first woman to have been allowed to watch the Olympic Games because of her generation.

Bibliography

1. “Diagoras of Rhodes”. Helios New Encyclopaedic Dictionary. Passas, I. Athens, 1946. Print.
2. The Ancient Olympics a Special Exhibit of the Perseus Digital Library Project. “Athletes’ Stories Diagoras of Rhodes”. Web. July 9, 2016.
3. ”Αρχαίοι Έλληνες πυγμάχοι”. mixanitouxronou.gr. 30 May 2014. Web. 10 Jul. 2016.

Pythagoras

Philosopher, Mathematician, Physicist, Astronomer, Physician, Scientist, Musician, Avatar (c570 BC – c495 BC)

Pythagoras is one of the greatest philosophical minds of humanity, an immortal spiritual guide who, together with Socrates and Plato, is recognized worldwide as the eternal Teacher of mankind. His influence on human thought is unique because of his remarkable wisdom in the purest sense, his profound knowledge, which he had compiled from all knowledge that existed in the world at the time during his travels and the introduction of a new philosophical system called Pythagoreanism which achieved the spiritual perfection of the human soul through the method of memorization, discipline, examination, catharsis, salvation, lytrosis and theosis for more than 2500 years and of which today’s youth is in need more than ever before.

Pythagoras was born in Samos and from a young age he dedicated himself to knowledge by studying next to famous philosophers such as Thales of Miletus, Bias and Anaximander. He travelled to Phoenicia, where he learned Phoenician, to Egypt, where he was initiated into the religious societies, to Arabia, where he learned how to communicate with animals, to Babylon, where he studied astrology. In Tibet Pythagoras met and spoke with the Dalai Lama, in China he studied the philosophical teachings of the Buddha and met with his contemporary, Confucius while in India he studied the ancient teachings of the Brahmans. Pythagoras would eventually return and travel throughout Greece continuing his spiritual journey and founding his philosophical school.

Pythagoras’ teachings were strictly held under secrecy by oath and were taught only to those initiated into his school. His philosophy was influenced by Orphism. The Pythagorean School had many divisions, including 4 in Southern Italy. It became flooded with Greek philosophers and became known as Great Greece. It was the first university in the world. It consisted of 4 schools: Theological, Medical, Mathematics and Science school and school of Political sciences. In Science school geometry, theory of numbers, astronomy, engineering and music were taught. Pythagoras allowed women to study in his school, something that the modern world considered inconceivable until recently.

Pythagoras’ monumental work reveals well-documented studies which cover nearly every scientific field to date: philosophy, geometry, stereometry, mathematics, astronomy, cosmogony, physics, politics, ethics, physiology, astrophysics, geography, theology and pyramidology. Among many of Pythagoras’ abilities were telepathy, levitation, the ability to interpret dreams, the ability to read closed letters, the ability to communicate with animals and with the dead and the ability to predict the future. For years scientists of all specialties have struggled to decipher Pythagoras’ works. Few have managed to do so.

He was one of the most important innovators of Greek meditation (Dialogismos), with which Pythagoreanism is strongly affiliated. His works, particularly the “Golden Epics” are a guide to the Greek meditation. According to Pythagoreanism, two principles are prerequisites. The first is memory (Mnemosene) where the initiates practised their memory using a series of simple steps. They memorised verses and excerpts from works, which acted beneficially to their subconscious mind. The Pythagoreans used epodes as well as excerpts from Homer and Hesiod to cure diseases and as therapy for the soul. After completing this task, the initiate proceeded το the second principle, always according to Pythagoras, which is the self-examination (exetasis) based on the memorization of one’s actions. Its purpose was the cleansing of the soul. According to Plato, self examination is the greatest way for cleansing of the soul (catharsis). However, catharsis will not bestow its seeds to the initiate without justice. This is Pythagoras’ meaning of “Know thyself” (γνῶθι σ’αὐτόν). For Pythagoras, catharsis is a prerequisite for Greek meditation (dialogismos) which can only be achieved by meticulous inner examination of one’s self by means of the Pythagorean method. The ultimate purpose of his is widening the human intellect and bringing the mortal man directly in contact with the Divine.

Pythagoras’ discovery of the Universal Law broadened the horizons of Greek Meditation. He discovered that numbers bridge the aesthetic field with the noetic (nous = mind) field. Numbers are not God but an expression of the Divine. This means that Pythagoras managed through deep meditation to find the link between the two levels of this world, which function in reversely proportional manner. Pythagoras resonated with the noetic field and was given the information which he handed down to the aesthetic field, our mortal world. Pythagoras’ monochord allowed the meditator to participate in both fields; through the number of the pulses, the meditator participated in the aesthetic field by observing the pulses with his vision. The pulses produced sound which the meditator could subconsciously listen to and participate in the noetic field. In this way the body in the aesthetic field and the soul in the noetic field co-operate and resonate with each other. The purpose of this is Virtue.

As a scientist, Pythagoras was an innovative mathematician way ahead of his time. Pythagorean Arithmosophy, the philosophy based on the fact that numbers are the essence of the world, is Pythagoras’ creation. This is what Pythagoras meant by “Ὁ Θεὸς ἀεὶ γεωμετρεῖ” (God always geometrisizes). He wrote treaties on the methods of construction of geometrical shapes, provided solution for the Fermat Theorem, proved the Pythagorean Theorem and made significant contributions in pyramidology by deciphering the hidden messages of the Egyptian pyramids, the ziggurats and the Sphinx of Egypt. He proved the correlation between music and the letters of the Greek alphabet and founded the Pythagorean Symbolic Logic.

Pythagorean physics and metaphysics were also equally important and were marked with many significant contributions. His teachings included parallel worlds with higher beings, black holes, theory of relativity, lost energy, uranous mechanics and quantum mechanics. He taught reincarnation, metempsychosis, karma, life and death, centers of consciousness (chakras) and the immortality of the soul. Moreover he wrote about the spiritual world: What is soul, how are they created, where do they come from and where do they go after they leave this world. Pythagorean cosmology was involved with: the creation of the world, synthesis and aposynthesis of the universe, cosmic levels, cosmic laws and cosmic memory. He taught politics, ethics, virtues, about man and his relationship with God and lexarithmic theory.

Pythagoras’ most invaluable thing from his teachings was the Universal Harmony of the spheres, the Tetractys and the Laws of Creation of the Universe. The Universal Harmony of the Spheres is based on the observation that every moving object produces sound. This phenomenon is observed during the movement of stars and planets. Astric Pythagorean Theology studied the musical relations of the planets based on this metaphysical side of music while Pythagorean Astronomy introduced the Laws of the distance of the orbit of planets. The Pythagoreans used the Tetractys as their most sacred symbol and was believed to be the key to the universe and an instrument for the measurement of its size and its diastole. It is a cosmic model for the creation of planets; the cosmic D.N.A. Scientists today believe that if they found the complete Corpus Pythagorium and deciphered the Universal Harmony of the Spheres and the Tetractys, then all the laws of the universe and the theories for all the astrophysical and theosophical problems will be unraveled before us.

Pythagoras’ contribution in mankind renders him an immortal teacher and healer of humanity. He perfected the Greek Meditation and surpassed its limits, reaching a state known as “Myesis” (Μύησις) in which he came into contact with the divine and discovered the Universal Law. This achievement has been accomplished only by a minimal number of men in history. According to tradition Pythagoras pre existed in the sky before coming down to Earth as a human. Shortly after his death, Pythagoras was deified and numerous statues of him were erected in Greece and Rome in his honour. The greatest philosophers who ever walked the Earth such as Socrates and Plato were Pythagoreans and continued Pythagoras’ work to make man healthy both in mortal and immortal level and to harmonize his soul with the laws of Nature.

Bibliography

1. Altani. Arritoi Logoi Hellenikos Dia-logismos Vol.1. Athens: Georgiades, 2012. Print.
2. Altani. Arritoi Logoi – Centaurs, Amazones, Medusa. Athens: Georgiades, 2005. Print.
3. Dakoglou, Hippokratis. The Mystic Code of Pythagoras. Athens: Georgiades, 1990. Print.
4. Georgakopoulos, Konstantinos. Ancient Greek Scientists. Athens: Georgiades, 1995. Print.
5. Gravigger, Petros. Pythagoras and the Mystic Teachings of Pythagoreanism. Athens: Ideaotheatron Dimeli, 1998. Print.
6. Sakellarios, Georgios. Pythagoras the Teacher of the Centuries. Athens: Ideotheatron, 1962. Print.

Pericles

Statesman (c495 BC – 429 BC)

The greatest of the Ancient Greek statesmen, the “first citizen of Athens” according to Thucydides and one of the most acclaimed figures in world history, Pericles was born 5 years prior to the Battle of Marathon as a descendent of the royal family of the Alkmaeonides, the same bloodline as Cleisthenes, one of the founding fathers of democracy. For 30 years, under the leadership of Pericles, Athens lived a time of cultural development and insuperable glory making it the most powerful city-state in Greece at a time referred to as “The Golden Age”.

Pericles’ politics were characterized by interest and love for his people. He removed many obligations of the Areios Pagos, the Supreme Court and entrusted them to a court run by the people, implemented important measures for the welfare, sought to reduce poverty and passed a law by which poor people could receive money from the national fund so that they could watch theatre plays, because theatre plays in Ancient Greece had also therapeutic purposes on the viewers.

Under Pericles’ supervision, Athens became a Panhellenic cultural centre where philosophy, art and sciences flourished. In addition to being heavily fortified with walls, of which ruins exist to this day, Piraeus was transformed into one of the most powerful harbours and trade centres in all Europe. Numerous public works of indomitable beauty were constructed, most notably temples, theatres, royal tombs, the Propylaia, the Parthenon by Ictinus and Callicrates, the marbles of the Parthenon and the statue of Athena by Pheidias, the beautiful sculptures of Praxiteles and Polykleitos and the mesmerising art of Zeuxis and Apollodorus. The names of 3 playwrights would forever remain in history as the greatest tragedians in world history: Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides. Thucydides and Xenophon appeared for the first time in historiography while philosophy reached a level of considerable perfection with the teachings of Anaxagoras, who as Pericles’ tutor, Democritus and the immortal Socrates.

Moreover, Pericles’ plan was to unite all European and Asian Greek cities into a common union for the restoration of all temples destroyed by the Persians, to ensure freedom to all Greek city-states, to establish a safe zone in the Mediterranean for effective trade and to create an alliance for peace among all of Greece. His wise plan, however, was only partially implemented as it was thwarted by the Spartans, who envied the Athenians.

Coincidentally, the lexarithm of Pericles’ name is equal to that of the word “Η ΔΡΑΣΙΣ” (The Action) = 523. Similarly, Pericles (523) “plus God” (σὺν θεῶ) (1) is equal to the lexarithm of the words ΗΓΕΤΗΣ (Leader), ΘΕΣΜΟΣ (Institution), ΤΙΜΗ ΚΑΙ ΔΟΞΑ (Honour and Glory) = 524. Indeed, Pericles was an outstanding leader, his democracy was an institution as an example throughout the ages and he gained honour and glory in history for his achievements.

Bibliography

1. Manias, Theophanis. The Holy Geometry of the Greeks and the Mathematical Structure of the Greek Language. Athens: Pyrinos Kosmos, 2006. Print.
2. “Pericles”. Helios. Passas, I. Athens. 1946. Print.