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View in PDF(opens in a new window)Pythagoras Foundation
Newsletter No. 11. December 2008
Website
http://www.stichting-pythagoras.nl/
E-mailadres nico.bader@stichting-pythagoras.nl
Editors
Nico Bader, Marie-Anne de Roode
This semi-annual Newsletter gives articles and a summary of literature, book reviews
of recent publications concerning Pythagoras and Pythagoreans. Interesting internetsites,
work in progress and conferences are included.
We will be very pleased to receive information of books and (journal, internet) articles
to keep our lists up to date.
Nico Bader - Chairman of the Pythagoras Foundation.
In addition, the attempt to re-establish Plato as the pre-eminent dogmatist could only gain from
associating him with the man – Pythagoras – who by this period was widely supposed to have
invented the name and concept of philosophia itself.
Trapp, M. In chapter: Neopythagoreans. p 350
In: Greek and Roman Philosophy 100 BC – 200 AD, vol II. Sharples, R.W. (Ed.) 2007
Contents:
Introduction, News from the library
Acknowledgements, Correction
Pythagoras advocating Vegetarianism
Encyclopedie permanente, interactive et evolutive
Dario Vellozo and contemporary neo-Pythagoreanism
Conferences / Courses / Lectures
New books
Book chapters
Book reviews
Journal articles
Internet
CD
Colophon
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View in PDF(opens in a new window)Introduction
Thanks to our readers who reacted to the Newsletter 10.
A special thank you to Ruud de Zwarte, Wouter Bleijenberg and Apostolos Pieris for their
material gifts.
Congratulations to the Instituto Neo-Pitagorico in Curitiba – Brasil – on the 100-year-old
existence of the Institute (1909-2009).
See: http://www.pitagorico.org.br/index.php
The financial crisis also has its drawback on the finances of the Foundation.
Therefore financial support is more than welcome in these times.
I wish you a lot of reading pleasure and a beautiful wintertime.
Marie-Anne de Roode.
Pythagoras Foundation Library Information.
The Library collects all publications concerning Pythagoras and Pythagoreans.
The library is a lending library; also copies of articles can be ordered.
Copy costs and postage will be calculated.
The Foundation is a non-profit organisation; our Newsletter is free of charge.
Donations, also in the form of articles or books are very welcome.
The Pythagoras Foundation
Thorbeckelaan 46
1412 BR Naarden
The Netherlands
Rabobank 1480 00 045.
International Bank Account Number (IBAN): NL48 RABO 0148 0000 45
BIC: RABONL2U
News from the library
We are very pleased each time a new edition of l’Annee Philologique (volume 77-2006) is being
published. It always contains a lot of new information for the Pythagoras Foundation.
On the other side it emphasizes that information in the non-English language is hard to find.
Even more difficult are publications in non-western script such as Greek, Russian, Arabic, Chinese,
Japanese a.s.o.
In case there is no abstract in the English language available, the publication is lost to us. Our aim
is to find a correspondent for each of the various languages. Suggestions on this subject are more
than welcome.
The Newsletter goes digital.
This is the last Newsletter sent by e-mail.
Newsletter 12 (June 2009) can be read via the website and can be downloaded. Soon you will find
this Newsletter (Newsletter 11) on the website and from that moment on the most recent Newsletter
will be on the website. You can ask for former editions by e-mail. By means of counting we try to get
an insight into the number of readers and their country of origine.
Well-known researcher
In each Newsletter we will pay attention to a well-known researcher in the field of the Pythagoras
study. In Newsletter 12 we will start with Constantinos Macris.
Nico Bader
Acknowledgements
The Pythagoras Foundation thanks the following individuals for their contributions and generosities:
Wouter Bleijenberg, Konstantine Boudouris, Marcus Clavinicus, Rosala Garzuze,
Jan Helmer, James B. Hopkins, Christiane L. Joost-Gaugier, Leonida Lazzari, Constantinos Macris,
Serge Mouraviev, Heidi Northwood, Jean-Claude Picot, Apostolos Pierris, Tony Preus, Giannis
Stamatellos, Kristen Szumyn, Johan Thom, Tomáš Vítek
Correction.
Newsletter 9, p 13 gives author’s name Lazzaro, L. This must be Lazzari, L.
This Newsletter (p 14) gives the right bookpresentation.
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View in PDF(opens in a new window)Pythagoras advocating Vegetarianism
http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/default.asp?action=article&ID=47
Sir Peter Paul Rubens and Frans Snyders, Pythagoras advocating Vegetarianism, c.1620
10 February 2009, 18:00 – 20:00
An introductory lecture (approximately 45 minutes in length), in front of Pythagoras advocating
Vegetarianism, from Desmond Shawe-Taylor (Surveyor of The Queen’s Pictures) and
Rosanna de Sancha (Conservator, The Royal Collection) is followed by a private view of the
exhibition.
For further information and to book, please telephone 020 7766 7323, or e-mail
adulteducation@royalcollection.org.uk
Reuters. Oct 16 2008.
Palace opens treasure trove of Flemish paintings
By Samantha Pearson
LONDON - Buckingham Palace opens its ornate gates to the public on Friday for an exhibition which
showcases 51 of the finest Flemish paintings in the Royal Collection, hoarded over centuries by British
monarchs.
………….
Rubens and Snyder's painting "Pythagoras Advocating Vegetarianism", bought by Queen Victoria, is
also on show, although not officially part of the collection. Only recently restored, it is one of the Royal
Collection's 7,000 paintings which are normally on loan or in storage.
Looming over the collection's golden chairs and ornate clocks, Rubens's giant painting depicts the
Greek mathematician and famous vegetarian. Pythagoras is shown trying to convince a group of men
to give up meat for fruit and vegetables while buxom naked women look on in admiration.
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View in PDF(opens in a new window)http://www.presocratics-online.net/
Vous êtes sur la première page du site (in statu nascendi) de Serge Mouraviev
ENCYCLOPÉDIE PERMANENTE, INTERACTIVE ET ÉVOLUTIVE,
SUR LES PENSEURS GRECS AVANT SOCRATE ET PLATON »,
— a pour vocation de devenir un site international coopératif consacré aux Présocratiques qui se
dotera, au fil des mois et des années, au sein d’une configuration unique en développement
permanent, des éléments suivants :
• une base de données sur les Présocratiques •
• une édition critique électronique, complète et tenue à jour, des sources et des témoignages sur les,
et des fragments des, Présocratiques •
• des traductions intégrales de ces textes antiques en langues vernaculaires •
• un répertoire des opinions modernes sur les Présocratiques •
• une bibliographie raisonnée, complète et tenue à jour, des travaux sur les Présocratiques •
• une bibliothèque électronique de manuscrits, livres et articles rares ou introuvables sur les
Présocratiques
• des index des mots, des concepts, des noms propres, des auteurs, des lieux etc. figurant chez les
Présocratiques et dans la littérature qui leur est consacrée •
• une galerie de photos relatives aux Présocratiques : portraits antiques, lieux de vie et autres
éléments picturaux importants •
• une plaque tournante et une tribune (un forum) pour échange de nouvelles, d'informations,
d'opinions et d'idées au sujet des Présocratiques •
• un réseau de liens avec divers sites apparentés ou complémentaires •
et bien d’autres choses encore.
Ce sera une encyclopédie, parce qu’elle a l’ambition de ne rien omettre de ce dont tout vrai chercheur
a (et aura) besoin pour mener à bien sa recherche. Et aussi parce qu’elle veut être aussi
rigoureusement scientifique que possible. Elle sera coopérative parce qu’elle sera le fruit de la
collaboration de savants du monde entier, avant tout d’Europe et d’Amérique, qui étudient ce
phénomène unique de l’histoire de la pensée des hommes que fut la naissance de la philosophie en
Grèce, entre le VIe et le IVe siècles avant notre ère.
Ce sera une encyclopédie permanente et évolutive, parce qu’elle ne pourra que grandir et s’améliorer
au fil des mois et des années, devenir de plus en plus riche, se libérer de ses défauts et se maintenir à
jour, grâce à la coopération de tous ses auteurs et lecteurs compétents. Elle sera interactive parce
tous ses usagers compétents auront la possibilité de contribuer en ligne à sa construction et à son
perfectionnement…
Auspices, auteur, associés
Ce projet commence sous les auspices de l’iaPS (International Association for Presocratic Studies –
Association internationale des Études présocratiques www.presocratic.org) fondée le 25 juin 2008 à
Provo, Utah, et dont le Conseil directeur se compose actuellement des chercheurs suivants : Daniel
Graham, Brigham Young University, Provo (président) ; Patricia Curd, Purdue University ; Enrique
Hülsz, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México ; Richard McKirahan, Pomona College ; Serge
Mouraviev, indépendant, Gaillard ; Alexander P. D. Mourelatos, The University of Texas at Austin ;
Livio Rossetti, Universitá degli Studi di Perugia ; David Runia, University of Melbourne ; Thomas M.
Robinson, University of Toronto. Mais nous comptons aussi sur le soutien d'autres institutions.
Il bénéficie de la complicité de : Apostolos Pierris (Institute for Philosophical Research, Patras), Aryeh
Finkelberg (Université de Tel Aviv), Jürgen Richarz (Sankt Augustin). D'autres « complices »
n'attendent qu'une occasion pour se manifester.
Serge N. Mouraviev est pour l'instant l'unique auteur et seul responsable du projet et du site.
Un Conseil scientifique est en cours de constitution.
Toutes les personnes et institutions désireuses de collaborer à ce projet sont priées de se faire
connaître et seront les bienvenues. Cf. infra. Nous écrire.
(premier affichage : 31.08.2008, 24 :00 GMT: A new format will be tested on January 1st. Critical
remarks most welcome)
e-mail : presocratics@orange.fr adresse postale : S. Mouraviev, 7 rue de la Paix, F-74240
GAILLARD France
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View in PDF(opens in a new window)DARIO VELLOZO AND CONTEMPORARY NEO-PYTHAGOREANISM
Annotations from the 12th class of the Course: Hystory of the Pythagoreanism, organized by Professor
Rosala Garzuze, given at the Temple of the Muses, the international headquarters of Pythagoreanism,
on July 21, 1939, transcribed on January 13, 1941, revised and completed on February 7, 2008.
Professor Rosala Garzuze is President of the Neo-Pythagorean Institute
(This 5 pages paper will be sent on request)
Conferences / Courses / Lectures
Billault, A. La représentation d'Apollonios dans la Vie d'Apollonios de Tyane
In: Religions et sociétés du monde gréco-romain. Ecritures et mises en scène de Vies. 19 et 20
septembre 2008 à Paris 12 et à l’ENS-Ulm. Colloque international en l’honneur de Françoise Prévot.
Chapman-Rietschi, P. Presocratic Cosmology
In: Cosmology Across Cultures. Granada, Spain, 8-12 September, 2008.
The XVIth SEAC (Societe Europeenne pour 1'Astronomie dans la Culture) Annual Meeting
Abstract: The talk aims at presenting in a short but deep way the different aspects of Presocratic
philosophical cosmology. Attention is on metaphor as well as rational and scientific thoughts and ideas
that gave rise to atomism and modern-day atomic theory. Presocratic cosmological thinkers, who tried
to explain the cosmic reality we live in, include Thales and Anaximander, as well as Pythagoras,
Xenophanes, Anaxagoras, and Democritus. Underlying their ideas is a cosmogony that borders
between philosophy, science, and religion.
Ancient Mesopotamian and Egyptian cosmogony and cosmology appear to have inspired Thales' and
Anaximander's Cosmic- and World picture. The evidence for this rests upon Egyptian Nun (watery
sheath around the Cosmos) and the Babylonian Map of the World, which in turn reminds of an Ancient
Chinese equivalent. Anaximander, an associate of Thales, believed in the existence of many worlds ~
an assumption championed also by other important materialist philosophers, among whom: Archelaus,
Diogenes of Apollonia, Democritus, and Leucippus. According to the Pythagorean Petron of Himera,
there exist one hundred and eighty-three worlds in all! In the presentation will be discussed the
Pythagorean governing principle of the Cosmos. The Pythagoreans upheld tenets centred on monistic
reality. Their ideas, closely related to Orphic mysteries and dualism of sensible and intelligible worlds,
led to mathematical philosophy, "central fire," and number forms and matter. The talk also focuses on
the principle of cosmotheology as advanced by Steven J. Dick. The principle concentrates on cosmic
design and the role of all life-forms in the visible Universe.
Grippe, E.J. The Pythagorean Contribution to Irony in Plato’s Republic
In: FORDHAM UNIVERSITY: Fourth International Conference on Ancient and Medieval Philosophy
(2008) Date: October 24, 26, 2008. Including the annual meetings of scholarly societies in the history
of ancient and medieval philosophy. The 26th joint meeting of Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy
(SAGP) with the Society for the Study of Islamic Philosophy (SSIPS)
Huffman, C.A. CLST 300: Topics: Before Socrates
DePauw University, Department of Classical Studies. 2008 Spring Topics Courses.
http://www.depauw.edu/acad/classical/currenttopicscourses.asp
The road up and the road down are one and the same. - Heraclitus
For in no way may this prevail, that things that are not, are. – Parmenides
And indeed all things that are known have number. For it is not possible that anything whatsoever be
known without this. – Philolaus
By convention, sweet; by convention, bitter; by convention, hot; by convention, cold... but in reality
atoms and void. - Democritus
Western philosophy had its origins among a group of Greek thinkers who were active in the 200 years
before the death of Socrates (600-400). Both Plato and Aristotle looked back to these Presocratics as
important precursors to their own work. This early Greek philosophy was in many ways an heroic age
of philosophy. These thinkers are characterized by the bold nature of their speculations and the
breadth of their interests. They were poets, scientists, shamans, sages and physicians as well as
philosophers. One of the central questions that they addressed was how the cosmos came to be and
what the requirements were for something to exist or to be known. Heraclitus is famous as the
philosopher of flux, who pictured the world as a river into which you cannot step twice without its
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View in PDF(opens in a new window)having changed. Parmenides’ account of the nature of what is has led many to argue that he thought
that all change and all plurality were illusory and that all that exists is one unchanging thing. Amazingly
it is as a response to Parmenides that Leucippus and Democritus developed the atomic theory.
Empedocles was the first to posit the four elements of Earth, Air, Fire and Water, which would be
adopted by Aristotle and dominated much of ancient and mediaeval thought. The Presocratics were
also concerned with ethical issues. Pythagoras believed in the transmigration of the soul and taught
his followers a way of life that was directed at obtaining the best possible rebirth. Alcmaeon gave the
first argument for the immortality of the soul. In this course we will try to do justice to the variety of
interests among the Presocratics, examine the cultural context in which their speculations arose, try to
define what it is that makes them philosophers, and most of all discuss the intriguing arguments they
developed to support their bold conjectures about the nature of reality and what constitutes a good
human life.
Macris, C. Traits néoplatoniciens attribués à Pythagore dans le traité de Jamblique Sur le mode de vie
pythagoricien.
In: Religions et sociétés du monde gréco-romain. Ecritures et mises en scène de Vies. 19 et 20
septembre 2008 à Paris 12 et à l’ENS-Ulm. Colloque international en l’honneur de Françoise Prévot.
Abstract: Le traité de Jamblique Sur le mode de vie pythagoricien (fin IIIe – début IVe siècle) constitue
un point d’accès privilégié à l’étude du jeu subtil entre tradition et innovation qui caractérise la
production culturelle, philosophique et littéraire de l’Antiquité tardive, y compris dans le domaine de la
biographie. Le propos de cette communication sera de mettre en lumière comment Jamblique, tout en
reproduisant fidèlement des sources anciennes et authentiques (ou au moins relativement fiables),
parfois même rares et précieuses, sur la biographie de Pythagore, les réinterprète selon des schémas
de pensée et des catégories qui sont celles du platonisme tardif.
Cette démarche de ré-appropriation et d’adaptation au « langage » culturel et philosophique de
l’époque se rencontre quasiment sur chaque page de la biographie jambliquéenne de Pythagore. Pour
les besoins de la démonstration l’attention ici sera focalisée sur quatre petits détails à première vue
insignifiants de ce Pythagore néoplatonisé qui jusqu'à présent ont été insuffisamment commentés ou
sont passés inaperçus par la recherche moderne :
a. Le souci typiquement néoplatonicien pour la rectitude des noms dont témoigne le père de
Pythagore, Mnémarque.
b. La façon subtile dont le jeune Pythagore incarne idéalement la triade de la paideia.
c. La comparaison de l’amour du disciple pour son maître avec la piété filiale de la cigogne.
d. Le parallélisme établi entre Pythagore et Minos, le roi de Crète et « confident novennal » du grand
Zeus (Odyssée, XIX, v. 178-179).
L’étude s’achèvera sur quelques remarques conclusives destinées à mettre en valeur les
préoccupations pédagogiques et proprement philosophiques qui animent le projet pythagorisant de
Jamblique et qui expliquent la plupart des « mises à jour » néoplatoniciennes qu’on y rencontre.
Macris, C. The Pythagorean funeral rites and observations revisited
In: International Conference “Ritual Dynamics and the Science of Ritual”. Ruprecht Karls University
Heidelberg. Sept 29 to Oct 2, 2008. http://www.rituals-2008.com/p_open.php#1
Abstract: According to Theanor, the fictitious Pythagorean character in Plutarch’s De genio Socratis
(585 E sq.), there were some peculiar rites performed at the burials of Pythagoreans, without the
performance of which the members of the sect were not thought to obtain the blessed afterlife they
expected. These rites of passage were performed in secrecy, and were unknown to the uninitiated. A
statement in Iamblichus’ Pythagorean way of life (§ 85) shows that these were transmitted orally, in
the form of akousmata (oral sayings). Some other sources (e.g. Herodotus 2, 81 ; Pliny the Elder,
Natural History, 35, 160 ; Iamblichus, On the Pythagorean way of life, §§ 85, 154-155 and 257) give us
glimpses of the funeral observances of the Pythagoreans, which included : (1) the maintaining of a
religious silence (euphēmia) at the time of “departure” of the dead ; (2) the wearing of white garments
made of linen ; (3) the prohibition of cremation, or of burial in coffins of cypress ; and (4) the use of
terracotta coffins as well as of olive and myrtle leaves.
The purpose of my paper is to examine once again – after P. Boyancé, F. Cumont and A.D. Nock –
the dossier of the funeral rites and observances of the Pythagoreans in the light of more recent
anthropological research, and to give some hints of possible answers to a set of questions:
To what extent were the rites attributed to the Pythagoreans really peculiar to them? (Some decades
ago, A.D. Nock supposed that those rites are no more than a canonization of elements of popular
practice.)
To what extent can they go back to ancient Pythagoreanism?
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View in PDF(opens in a new window)What was the rationale for the performance of these rites, and how were they possibly connected to
the expectations for a blessed afterlife?
How have they been explained and interpreted by the (neo) Platonists of Late Antiquity ?
Do they have parallels in other cultures? And if so, how can these parallels help our modern attempts
at interpreting the Pythagorean rites?
Macris, C. Les Acousmata pythagoriciens entre oralité, ritualisme, collections sapientiales et exégèse
allégorique
In: Collections sapientiales dans l’Antiquité méditerranéenne : sentences, proverbes, fabulettes entre
le rite et l’anthologie. Journées d’études 17-18 octobre 2008
Le but de cette contribution est quadruple :
1) Souligner l’importance du choix de la voie de l’oralité pour la transmission, sous forme de
«catéchisme» (selon le terme employé jadis par A. Delatte), des préceptes de sagesse pythagoriciens
appelés acousmata.
2) Focaliser l’attention sur ceux des acousmata pythagoriciens qui portent sur des prescriptions
rituelles, en commentant les listes conservées chez Jamblique et Diogène Laërce (IIIe siècle), afin
d’examiner comment et pourquoi les acousmata ont été choisis comme vecteurs de transmission du
savoir rituel de la secte pythagoricienne.
3) Examiner les conditions d’apparition et le caractère des différentes collections d’acousmata mises
en circulation dès Anaximandre le jeune (floruit ca 400 av. J.-C.) et les différencier d’autres types de
collections sapientiales à caractère pythagoricien avec lesquelles elles étaient en concurrence,
comme les Aphorismes pythagoriciens d’Aristoxène de Tarente, les Vers d’or ou les collections
tardives de gnômai (Conseils de Théanô ; Sentences de Démophile ; Sentences pythagoriciennes ;
l’original païen dont s’inspirent les Sentences christianisées de Sextus).
4) Se demander si le double sens énigmatique des acousmata présupposait, par le biais du secret, ou
a engendré dès le début l’interprétation allégorique et quel rôle a joué en cela le passage à l’écrit et la
constitution de collections moralisantes et rationalisées ; pourquoi l’exégèse symbolique semble avoir
laissé quasi-intacts les «symboles» ou acousmata rituels.
Northwood, H. The Hidden Harmony, the Hidden Logos: What Prometheus and Pythagoras Gave to
Us Humans
Lectures DEAN’S LECTURE AND CONCERT SERIES 2008. September 19
http://www.stjohnscollege.edu/resources/sept08comcal.pdf
In Aeschylus’ version of the Promethean myth, before Prometheus gave humans the gift of fire, “men
and women looking saw nothing, they listened and did not hear, but like shapes in a dream dragging
out their long lives bewildered, they made hodgepodge of everything, they knew nothing…” (639-644).
Fire and the arts, the gifts that changed all this, gave humans the ability to make shelters out of
bricks, to work with wood, to know the passing seasons, agriculture, medicine, divination, and so on.
But according to Socrates in Plato’s Philebus, while this itself “is easy to point out…[it is] very difficult
to follow” (16B). What Socrates seems to be getting at is that while it is easy enough to say that
humans were given fire and the arts, what it means to have been given the arts—and so what it
means to see or hear something when one looks and listens, what it means to understand, to
name, and to know—is much more difficult. This lecture endeavors to make the connection between
Prometheus and Pythagoras—between the arts and number— clearer by looking at what Socrates
says about them in the Philebus and the Protagoras.
Rawson, G. “Presocratic Roots of Theories of Innate Knowledge”
FORDHAM UNIVERSITY: Fourth International Conference on Ancient and Medieval Philosophy
(2008) Date: October 24, 26, 2008. Including the annual meetings of scholarly societies in the history
of ancient and medieval philosophy. The 26th joint meeting of Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy
(SAGP) with the Society for the Study of Islamic Philosophy (SSIPS)
Szumyn, K. Pythagorean Placita on the Substance of Sperm, Embryology and Foetal Development
In: Australasian Society for Classical Studies, 29th Conference and General Meeting. 27th January –
31st January 2008. (Department of Classics. University of Canterbury Christchurch New Zealand)
Summary: According to Aristotle’s account, there was a Pythagorean theory concerning the coming to
be of the cosmos which was expressed by way of an embryological metaphor or biomorphic model.
This paper seeks to examine whether there actually was a lucid Pythagorean theory concerning
embryology, foetal development or human gestation periods upon which this model might be founded.
By examining some texts which have been often overlooked this paper will both reassess the
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View in PDF(opens in a new window)commonly employed methodology applied to the available evidence and attempt a preliminary
reconstruction of this aspect of Pythagorean thought as it is presented within the various philosophical
traditions.
Forthcoming conferences
De Pauw University, Greencastle, Indiana in Association with Project Theophrastus
Aristoxenus: Music, Biography, and Philosophy in the Early Peripatetic School
September 10-12, 2009.
Aristoxenus is the author of important works on Pythagoreanism, lives of Pythagoras, Socrates, Plato
and Archytas, as well as central works on music theory, such as the Rhythmics and the Elementa
Harmonica, in which is preserved one of the famous accounts of Plato’s lecture on The Good.
Thom, J.C. Pythagoras’s Historiê and the Akousmata Collection
International Federation of the Societies of Classical Studies Kongress Berlin, 24. - 29. August 2009
http://www.fiec2009.org/proposals/thom2.doc
Outline of the content: In the ongoing debate about the nature of the contribution Pythagoras (c. 570-c.
480 BCE) made to the development of Greek thought two sets of evidence are of particular
importance: the first are the testimonia by contemporaries or near contemporaries, the second the
collection of sayings known as the akousmata or symbola. In this paper I wish to explore the
implications the testimonia on Pythagoras’s historiê (ἱστορίη) have for our understanding of the
akousmata, and conversely, the implications the proposed understanding of the akousmata have for
the character of the early Pythagorean movement. The Pythagorean akousmata are usually
considered cult precepts that were obeyed literally by the early Pythagoreans, only to be interpreted as
symbolic utterances in the later tradition. It is suggested in this paper that a tendency to interpret them
symbolically is already noticeable in the early tradition, and that this tendency gained momentum when
the sayings began to function as a collection. This has significant implications for our understanding of
the identity of the early Pythagorean community.
New books
Bangu, S.I. On the Pythagoreanism of modern physics
Canada: University of Toronto. 2006. Ph.D. dissertation. ISBN: 9780494220009
Abstract: Unsympathetic to abstracta, contemporary empiricists have attempted to purge physics of
mathematical concepts. But the 'science without numbers' project gradually waned and nowadays
many philosophers would agree that mathematics is indispensable to physics. However, even those
most sensitive to the importance of mathematics rarely endeavor to further challenge empiricism by
examining the question whether mathematics can play even more substantial roles in science, in
addition to the seemingly indispensable descriptive and derivational roles. This dissertation is an
attempt to argue for an affirmative answer to this question. I first outline and examine a 'Pythagorean'
tendency in the 20 th century fundamental physics, namely to construct and develop physical theories
primarily on the basis of mathematical or formal considerations. Then I spell out the epistemological
implications of this Pythagorean idea for the concepts of scientific prediction and scientific explanation.
In the first two chapters I investigate some of the greatest physicists' views on the role of mathematics
in theory construction and theory discovery. I scrutinize a recent version of Wigner's puzzle, claiming
that mathematics was unreasonably effective in leading to the discovery of several fundamental laws
of quantum mechanics. Although I criticize the anti-naturalist (or "anthropocentric") conclusions of this
neo-Wignerian argument, I maintain that the involvement of mathematics in constructing theories has
important epistemological consequences consisting in reframing the concepts of prediction and
explanation.
In chapter 3 I explore the effectiveness of group theory in the emergence of a new type of predictive
strategy in particle physics. I identify the novel methodological features of this type of prediction,
showing how the traditional conception of scientific prediction fails to capture them.
In chapter 4 I examine the role of group theory in reframing scientific explanation. More precisely, I
investigate the doctrine that explanation is unification, the motivation for carrying out this analysis
being the prominent role of mathematics in theory unification. I conclude by pointing out an important
consequence of this role, that a distinction should be drawn between two kinds of understanding
provided by modern physics, causal understanding and mathematical-structural understanding.
Page 9
View in PDF(opens in a new window)Bechtle, G. Iamblichus : Aspekte seiner Philosophie und Wissenschaftskonzeption : Studien zum
spateren Platonismus
Sankt Augustin : Academia Verlag, 2006.
ISBN: 3896653903 9783896653901
Contents:
I. Das Böse in Platonismus: Überlegungen zur Position Iamblichus';
II. Über die Mittelstellung und Einheit des Seelisch-Mathematischen im späteren Platonismus (mit
besonderer Berücksichtingung des Syrianus);
III. Les prolégomènes dans la littérature antique;
IV. Die wissenschaftlichen Methoden und ihre Grundlegung in Iamblichus' De communi mathematica
scientia;
V. Dihairesis, Definition, Analysis, Synthesis: Betrachtungen zu Iamblichus' Skopos-Lehre und der
Interpretation des platonischen Sophistes (253d1-e6);
VI. Bemerkungen zur Identität des Demiurgen im späteren Platonismus;
VII. Göttliche Henaden und platonischer Parmenides. Lösung eines Missverstandnisses?
Bernabé Pajares, A. Fragmentos presocráticos: De Tales a Demócrito
Alianza Editorial. 2008. ISBN: 9788420666976 978-84-206-6697-6 8420666971 84-206-6697-1
Description: De Tales a Demócrito (pasando por Anaximandro, Anaxímenes, Pitágoras, Alcmeón de
Crotona, Jenófanes, Heráclito, Parménides, Zenón de Elea, Meliso de Samos, Empédocles,
Anaxágoras, Diógenes de Apolonia y Leucipo), los presocráticos constituyeron un grupo relativamente
homogéneo y unitario dentro de la historia de la filosofía; pese a sus rasgos comunes y a la similitud
de las cuestiones con que se enfrentaban, cada uno de ellos dio, sin embargo, soluciones diversas y
en ocasiones totalmente antitéticas a los problemas que se planteaban. Traducida y anotada por
Alberto Bernabé, esta nueva edición de los FRAGMENTOS PRESOCRÁTICOS –enriquecida con
nuevos fragmentos de Heráclito y de Empédocles y del llamado Papiro de Derveni, descubiertos en
los últimos años– reúne los testimonios que la tradición ha conservado de sus obras, bien en citas
literales, bien en meras explicaciones o paráfrasis de sus teorías.
Brezina, P. Marcus Tullius Cicero: Scipionův sen / Somnium Scipionis
Srní : P. Brezina, 2008. ISBN: 9788025404805 8025404803
Extrema pars dialogi Ciceroniani De re publica, quae Somnium Scipionis appellatur, ad nos pervenit
separata a ceteris partibus dialogi. In comparatione splendoris caeli vanitas rerum humanarum
demonstratur atque de beata immortalitate disseritur, qua donantur ii, qui in hac vita virtutem
coluerunt. Byzantini Somnium Scipionis legere poterant, nam Maximus Planudes hoc opusculum in
Graecum convertit; interpretatio Planudea etiam in Occidente utilitatem viris doctis attulit, qui linguae
Graecae studendo delectabantur. Nunc lectoribus editionem Somnii Scipionis Latino-GraecoBohemicam proponimus, quae instructa est praefatione Bohemica et Latina atque indice operum,
quae ad textum Latinum et ad Maximum Planudem interpretationemque eius pertinent.
Burzio, P. Il pensiero delle origini. Da Talete ai sofisti.
Torino, Manzoni. 2007. EAM saggi. ISBN 978-88-6204-012-9
Un viaggio nelle parole e nei concetti delle origini della civiltà occidentale.
Un quadro completo e discorsivo sulla nascita del pensiero filosofico e sulla sua prima evoluzione,
dalle coste dell’Asia Minore alla Magna Grecia, per approdare ad Atene e alla stagione che prepara
l’avvento della filosofia socratica.
Da Talete a Eraclito, da Parmenide a Empedocle, da Anassagora ai sofisti Protagora e Gorgia, il
discorso si snoda lungo gli assi tematici della prima riflessione greca: i concetti di arché, phýsis, lógos,
«essere», «verità», vengono seguiti dal loro sorgere al loro articolarsi all’interno dei più importanti filoni
del pensiero delle origini, con un costante riferimento ai frammenti e alle testimonianze dei padri
fondatori della filosofia occidentale.
Carrizosa, D. El pensamiento de Empédocles a partir de sus versos
Universidad EAFIT. Colección: Bordes de Vida. Mes y año de edición: Octubre de 2003
ISBN: 958-8173-59-0
Reseña: Esta compilación de ensayos recorre los dos poemas de Empédocles, Sobre la naturaleza y
Purificaciones, en el intento de aportar una línea interpretativa para su pensamiento. Se trata, ante
todo, de una imagen unitaria, en la que la actividad teórica no excluye a la poesía, la preocupación
Page 10
View in PDF(opens in a new window)religiosa se hermana con la comprensión física del cosmos y la anécdota de vida se hace condición
para el pensar.
Chardak, H.E. El Enigma De Pitagoras/ The Pitagoras Enigma.
El Ateneo Editorial 2008.
ISBN: 9789500204330 9500204339
Descripción: Se sabe que Pitágoras fue un matemático griego, que nació en Samos casi seiscientos
años antes que Cristo y se hizo famoso por el teorema que lleva su nombre. Fue también héroe
olímpico, campeón de lucha, alumno de Tales, amigo del faraón Amosis, geómetra, filósofo, músico,
astrónomo. De su mujer Téano, en cambio, se conoce bastante poco. Fue sacerdotisa antes de
conocer a quien sería su marido. Bella e inteligente, alumna y luego maestra, fue una mujer
excepcionalmente moderna y desempeñó un rol fundamental en la vida de Pitágoras. Juntos fundaron
una escuela que predicó la tolerancia y la apertura hacia el mundo. El enigma Pitágoras sorprende
por varios motivos: la profusa investigación histórica; el empleo de textos específicos de matemáticas,
filosofía e historia; la erudición que sustenta el análisis de cada suceso de los protagonistas y, sobre
todo, porque se presenta como una biografía novelada relatada con sencillez y claridad.
Demoen, K. Theios Sophistes : essays on Flavius Philostratus' Vita Apollonii
Leiden ; Boston : Brill, 2008. ISBN: 9789004171091 9004171096
Serietitel: Mnemosyne : supplements, 305
Dentler, H.E. Johann Sebastian Bachs "Musicalisches Opfer". Musik als Abbild der Sphärenharmonie.
Mainz [u.a.] : Schott, 2008. Serie: Schott Musikwissenschaft. ISBN: 978-3-7957-0181-9 ; 3-79570181-3
Nach seiner bahnbrechenden Arbeit über Bachs "Kunst der Fuge" widmet sich Hans-Eberhard Dentler
einem weiteren rätselhaften Werk des großen Komponisten. Auf den ersten Blick ist der Anlass des
Werkes bekannt und vielfach dokumentiert: Bachs Begegnung mit Friedrich dem Großen und die
Geschichte des "Königlichen Themas", welches der Preußenkönig auf einem Fortepiano "vorzuspielen
geruheten" und welches Bach "in einer Fuge ausführen sollte". Die Forschung beschränkte sich
hauptsächlich auf das so genannte "Satzfolgeproblem". Dentler zeigt, dass sich die eigentliche
Bedeutung des Werkes erst vor dem Hintergrund einer aktiven Rezeption der pythagoräischen
Überlieferung durch Bach erschließen lässt. So wird in dieser Darstellung ihr sakraler, keinen Ritus
beanspruchender Charakter erkennbar, eine "Himmlische Musik" im Sinne der antiken Philosophie.
Diogenes Laertius: Von dem Leben und den Meinungen berühmter Philosophen.
2 Bände. In der Übersetzung von Otto Apelt unter Mitarbeit von Hans Günter Zekl neu herausgegeben
sowie mit Einleitung und Anmerkungen versehen von Klaus Reich.
Hamburg: Meiner, 2008. ISBN 9783787318810
Über : thales, solon, chilon, pittakos, bias, kleobulos, periander, anacharsis der skythe, myson,
epimenides, pherekydes, anaximander, anaximenes, anaxagoras, archelaos. sokrates, xenophon,
aischines, aristippos, phaidon, eukleides, stilpon, kriton, simon, glaukon, simias., kebes., menedemos,
speusippos, xenokrates, polemon, krates, krantor., arkesilaos, bion, lakydes., karneades.,
kleitomachos, aristoteles, theophrast, straton, lykon, demetrios., herakleides, antisthenes, diogenes,
monimos, onesikritos, krates, metrokles, hipparchia, menippos, menedemos, zenon, ariston, herillos,
dionysios metathemenos, kleanthes, sphairos, chrysippos, pythagoras, empedokles, epicharmos,
archytas, alkmaion, hippasos, philolaos, eudoxos, herakleitos, xenophanes, parmenides, melissos,
zenon, leukippos, demokritos, protagoras, diogenes von apollonia, anaxarchos, pyrrhon, timon,
epikuros.
Fabre d'Olivet, A. The Golden verses of Pythagoras explained and translated into French and
preceded by a discourse upon the essence of poetry among the principal peoples of he earth / By
Fabre d'Olivet ; done into English by Nayán Louise Redfield
San Rafael, Calif. : Hermetica, 2008. ISBN: 9781597312127, 9781597312134
Originally published: New York : G. P. Putnam's sons, 1917.
Includes text of verses in Greek, with French translation on facing pages and English translation in
footnotes; also includes some verses translated into Latin and German.
Page 11
View in PDF(opens in a new window)Ferrero, L. Storia del pitagorismo del mondo romano : dalle origini alla fine della Repubblica
Forlı : Victrix, 2008. Schriftenreihe: Sapientia ; 2. ISBN: 978-88-452-1134-8
SOMMARIO
La Storia del Pitagorismo nel mondo romano di Leonardo Ferrerò di Pierre Boyancé
p3
La Storia del Pitagorismo nel mondo romano di Leonardo Ferrerò a cinquantanni dalla pubblicazione:
un bilancio di Andrea Balbo ...
p 9-21
Premessa
p 21-30
PARTE PRIMA: Da Crotone a Roma 31
Capitolo Primo La Vicenda dei Pitagorici
p 33-110
Capitolo Secondo Pitagora Cittadino Romano
p 111-170
PARTE SECONDA: La Nobiltà Pitagoriziante
Capitolo Primo Concorrenza Culturale e Lotta Politica
p 171-220
Capitolo Secondo Scipione Emiliano e 1 ' organizzazione degli intellettuali
p 221-244
Capitolo Terzo Esoterismo Pitagorico ed Opposizione Restauratrice
p 245-350
EPILOGO: Aspetti e termini di una crisi
p 351-354
González Urbaneja, P. M.: Platón y la Academia de Atenas
NIVOLA LIBRO Y EDICIONES. 2006. Colección: LA MATEMATICA EN SUS PERSONAJES 27
ISBN: 978-84-96566-25-5
INDICE: Las matemáticas y la filosofía en el mundo griego — La Academia — La teoría platónica de
las ideas — Pitagorismo y platonismo — La filosofía de las matemáticas de Platón — Las
matemáticas como propedéutica de la filosofía — El quadrivium — El Timeo — La reminiscencia —
Las matemáticas de la Academia — El método de análisis — Los poliedros de Teeteto y El Libro XIII
de Euclides — Las cónicas de Menecmo y la duplicación del cubo — La crisis de los
inconmensurables — La teoría de la proporción de Eudoxo — Los problemas infinitesimales. el
método de exhaución — La estructura de la geometría griega — Los irracionales de Teeteto — El
idealismo platónico — La influencia de Platón — Bibliografía.
Graham, D.W. Explaining the Cosmos: The Ionian Tradition of Scientific Philosophy
Princeton University Press. e-Book. 2008. ISBN: 978-1-4008-2745-9
Summary: Explaining the Cosmos is a major reinterpretation of Greek scientific thought before
Socrates. Focusing on the scientific tradition of philosophy, Daniel Graham argues that Presocratic
philosophy is not a mere patchwork of different schools and styles of thought. Rather, there is a
discernible and unified Ionian tradition that dominates Presocratic debates. Graham rejects the
common interpretation of the early Ionians as "material monists" and also the view of the later Ionians
as desperately trying to save scientific philosophy from Parmenides' criticisms.
In Graham's view, Parmenides plays a constructive role in shaping the scientific debates of the fifth
century BC. Accordingly, the history of Presocratic philosophy can be seen not as a series of
dialectical failures, but rather as a series of theoretical advances that led to empirical discoveries.
Indeed, the Ionian tradition can be seen as the origin of the scientific conception of the world that we
still hold today.
Gyselinck, W. Talis oratio, qualis vita. Een tekstpragmatische benadering van de poëtica van Flavius
Philostratus' Vita Apollonii
Universiteit Gent. 2008. Griekse letterkunde. Dissertation.
Zie: http://hdl.handle.net/1854/11014
Helmer, J.F.M. Het mysterie van Pythagoras
Uitgever: Pythagoras project. 2007. ISBN: 9789081184311
Pythagoras komt op een verrassende wijze letterlijk en figuurlijk tot leven. Om zijn onschuld te
bewijzen moet hij uit een inrichting ontsnappen en heeft hij Matteo en Sophia nodig. Samen proberen
zij uit handen van de bewakers en de Zuid-Italiaanse Maffia te blijven. Het drietal is ze met wiskunde
steeds te slim af. Pythagoras toont zich in alle intriges en bij alle complotten een ware leermeester.
‘Het Mysterie van Pythagoras’ is een spannend boek voor middelbare scholieren die moeite hebben
met of juist plezier hebben in wiskunde, maar ook voor volwassenen die de huidige wiskunde nog
eens in een boeiende context willen tegenkomen. Na dit boek vraag je je nooit meer af waarvoor je
wiskunde eigelijk nog hebt.
Page 12
View in PDF(opens in a new window)Hopfner, T. U ber die Geheimlehren
Hildesheim [u.a.] : Olms, 2007. ISBN: 9783487079479 348707947X
2. Nachdr. der Ausg. Leipzig, Theosoph. Verl.-Haus, 1922
Opmerkingen: Urspru nglich erschienen als Bd. 1 der Reihe "Quellenschriften der griechischen
Mystik".
Beschrijving: XXIV, 277 S. ; 21 cm.
Horky, P.S. Plato's Magnesia and philosophical polities in Magna Graecia
University of Southern California; 2007. Ph.D. dissertation. ISBN: 9780549236900
Abstract: Since Aristotle's Metaphysics , scholars have recognized the influence of the
Pythagoreans on Plato's ontological theories; less well-known is the impact of the Pythagoreans'
theories of rule in the development of Plato's political philosophy. Plato's three visits to Magna Graecia
and Sicily (ca. 388, 367, and 361 BCE) exposed the Athenian philosopher to political communities that
had been established and given counsel by Pythagorean philosophers since the end of the 6 th
Century BCE. This exposure catalyzed revisions to Plato’s entire philosophical program ( pragmateia )
in response to the political and ontological theories of the mathematical Pythagoreans, especially the
heretic Hippasus of Metapontion and his followers in Southeastern Italy. Plato's post-Republic works,
including the Theaetetus, Parmenides, Sophist, Statesman, Timaeus, Critias, Philebus, Epistles VII
and VIII , and Laws , demonstrate Plato's recurring engagement with and adaptation of the
philosophical principles--derived from mathematics--of the Pythagoreans Philolaus of Croton
and Archytas of Taras, who led the massive Italiote League from 367-361 BCE.
Indeed, the political constitutions established by Pythagoreans and other philosophers in Magna
Graecia, especially those of Epizephyrian Locri, Thurii, Heracleia Italica, and Taras, provided Plato
with models from which to derive his own proposed colonial polity of Magnesia in the Laws . The polity
of Magnesia, a mixed constitution of the aristocratic type, finds its closest analogue in Taras, which, as
a mixed constitution of the democratic type, presented a competitive political system that was
influenced by the philosophy of Plato's friend and rival Archytas. By evoking and modifying the
philosophy of "mixture" advocated by the mathematical Pythagoreans, Plato was able to reconcile the
ontological schism between Being and Becoming and its political analogues in the "first-best" ideal
polity of Kallipolis in the Republic and the "second-best" imitative polity of Magnesia in the Laws ,
thereby providing both an answer to the problems raised against his Theory of the Forms in the
Parmenides and a means to resolve the issue of incommensurability in the city-state.
Thus, Plato's entire philosophical program ( pragmateia ) was demonstrably affected by the ontological
and political philosophy of the mathematical Pythagoreans Hippasus of Metapontion, Philolaus of
Croton, and Archytas of Taras.
Janssen, L. Empedocles : al 25 eeuwen inspirator
Lelystad : IVIO-Uitgeverij, 2008. ISBN: 9789085870937 9085870933
AO-reeks, 2913
Joost-Gaugier, C.L. Pitagora e il suo influsso sul pensiero e sull'arte
Roma : Ed. Arkeios, 2008. Schriftenreihe: La via dei simboli. ISBN: 978-88-86495-92-9
Descrizione: I frammenti superstiti su Pitagora (nato intorno al 570 a.C.) furono all'origine di un
crescente complesso di leggende sul famoso saggio e sui suoi seguaci, la cui reputazione in tutta
l'Antichità e nel Medioevo non è mai stata oggetto di uno studio sistematico. Questo libro esamina i
concetti unitari di armonia, proporzione, forma e ordine attribuiti a Pitagora nel corso del millennio
successivo alla sua morte, e gli importanti sviluppi da essi provocati nei campi dell'arte,
dell'architettura, della matematica, dell'astronomia, della musica, della medicina, della morale, della
religione, della legge, dell'alchimia e delle scienze occulte. In questo volume copiosamente illustrato,
Christiane L. Joost-Gaugier descrive il panorama dell'influsso di Pitagora e di quei pensatori cristiani
ed ebrei che seguirono le sue idee nel mondo greco, in quello romano, nel Cristianesimo antico e nel
Medioevo. Joost-Gaugier dimostra come il Pitagorismo - centrato sul ricordo confuso di una singola
persona che ha attraversato i secoli per divenire sempre più influente - abbia ispirato un nuovo
linguaggio per artisti e architetti, consentendo loro di essere "moderni".
Kardaras, N. Beyond reason: Transrational contemplation and Greek mystical philosophy
California: Institute of Transpersonal Psychology; 2007. Ph.D. dissertation. ISBN: 9780549183990
Abstract: The researcher hypothesized that participants engaged in a method informed by
Greek mystical philosophy could experience measurable increases in their levels of personal or
transpersonal awareness. Thematic Content Analysis, Narrative Analysis, and statistically significant t
Page 13
View in PDF(opens in a new window)-tests all confirmed the hypothesis that the Methodos Philosophia could increase levels of awareness.
Participants described meaningfully increased levels of personal as well as transpersonal levels of
awareness, and the Greyson/Ring Life Changes Inventory-Revised (LCI-R) yielded statistically
significant increases in values associated with an appreciation for life as well as death, a quest for
meaning or a sense of purpose, concern for others, spirituality, self-acceptance, and a concern with
social or planetary values. Metaphysical ancient Greek philosophers had emphasized an almostforgotten integral practice of deep "transrational" contemplation by which they used the rational,
reasoning mind as a key to unlock the noetic awareness of the higher Mind. These mystical
philosophers ranged their contemplations along a broad spectrum of subjects such as cosmology,
mathematics, philosophy, and music. Ancient Greek philosophers such as Pythagoras, Plato, and
Plotinus believed that such contemplative meditations could have profound consciousness-expanding
effects wherein the individual could have a deeper, more direct awareness of personal and
cosmological reality. For this study, the researcher developed a modern contemplative method, the
Methodos Philosophia , which was an interpretive revisioning of Greek philosophical mystical
contemplation. This 3-step method involved participants doing weekly readings, engaging in weekly
dialectically active group discussions wherein the assigned readings were discussed, and then
sitting for a guided contemplative meditation. Twelve persons, 6 males and 6 females, ranging in age
from 23 to 67, of varying spiritual and transpersonal temperaments, participated over an 8-week period
in a mixed-methods study that examined the experience as well as the accompaniments and
outcomes of the practice of this contemplative method. The researcher collected 4 types of data:
weekly qualitative questionnaires, poststudy semistructured interviews, phenomenologically informed
weekly interviews, and a postonly standardizedassessment of life changes (LCI-R).
Klug, S.U. Die Kathedrale von Chartres - Rekonstruktion des gotischen Bauablaufs mit Hilfe der
Heiligen Geometrie
Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn. Wissenschaftliche Studie. 2005, 24 p
Dateigröße: 1012 KB. ISBN (E-Book): 978-3-638-44863-5
Anmerkungen : Der Baumeister von Chartres, der die gotische Kathedrale ab 1194 errichtete, ist bis
heute unbekannt geblieben, ebenso wie die ursprünglichen Baupläne niemals gefunden wurden. So
ist das Wissen um die Konstruktionsprinzipien der Kathedrale verloren gegangen. Die Anwendung der
Heiligen Geometrie unter Verwendung der Blume des Lebens führt zu deren Wiederentdeckung.
Konkel-White, M. Perspectives on the division of musical space: An interdisciplinary study
California: The Claremont Graduate University; 2007. D.M.A. dissertation. ISBN: 9780549076827
Abstract: This interdisciplinary study investigates theoretical foundations for the division of musical
space from scientific, cultural, historical and musicological perspectives. The first chapter analyzes
pitch spectrum segmentation from linguistic, psychoperceptual, neurological, and evolutionary
viewpoints. Two fundamental dichotomies of aural perception are found to influence segmentation of
pitch space: (1) perception of tone from fundamental frequencies [ f 0 ] or spectral frequencies [ f sp ];
(2) pitch differentiation preferences grounded in innate capacities related to human physiology and
neurology and those preferences developed through acculturation and interaction with material
culture.
These dichotomies exist in both logarithmically and harmonically structured systems. In turn, both
logarithmically and harmonically structured systems subdivide into culturally determined prescriptive
and descriptive categories.
In the second chapter, the musical system of ancient Mesopotamia as a descriptive, musica practica
system is examined. Archeomusicological research examining the Old Babylonian 'tuning texts'
reveals a harmonically determined musical system shared by multiple Semitic cultures from 1800 to
400 B.C.E., thus predating the Greek Pythagorean system by more than a millennium.
The third chapter examines ancient Chinese music theory as a prescriptive system that evolved
towards equal tempered regimes built on concatenation of spiraling fifths. This development is evident
in the lü system and subsequent microtonal tuning systems. Segmentation schemes, as evidenced in
instruments found in the Mausoleum of Zenghou Yi, as well as theoretical texts of the Huai Nan Tzu,
Chino Fang, Ho Ch'eng-T'ien, and Ch'ien Lo-chih, are examined.
Chapters four through seven survey Ancient Greek music theory. The syncretic nature of early
Greek segmentation systems, whose source was ultimately Mesopotamian, is established by
archeological evidence and proto-historic accounts. Music theories ranging from those of the early
Pythagoreans of the late seventh century B.C.E. to the theorists of the Hadrianic Revival of the second
century C.E. are analyzed in testimonia, fragmenta, and major texts. Major text portions in Classical
Greek, as well as one in Latin, are presented with translations by the author. The conflict of
Page 14
View in PDF(opens in a new window)prescriptive Pythagorean theories (whose goals were philosophical and cosmological) with descriptive
Aristoxenian theories (whose goals, following Aristotelian methodologies, were scientific musicological
investigation) is discussed.
Lazzari, L. Pitagora. Il metodo e lo sguardo alla realtà attraverso l'esperienza scientifica
Pitagora. 2007. 1 DVD allegato. ISBN 88-371-1682-9
Collana: "Proposte
Indice: Prefazione. Introduzione. Pitagora. La nascita di Pitagora. Teorema di Pitagora. Una
dimostrazione un po' complessa del teorema di Pitagora. L'irrazionalità della radice quadrata di due.
La coccinella e il camaleonte. L'alimentazione di Pitagora. Educazione. Pitagora è dotato del dono
dell'ubiquità. Pitagora prevede e arresta terremoti e catastrofi e cura le malattie. Pitagora ammansisce
l'orsa di Daunia. Pitagora fa un sacrificio agli Dei per la scoperta del teorema. I matematici e gli
acusmatici. I precetti della vita. L'invidia del nobile Cilone contro Pitagora. La rivolta contro i pitagorici.
La morte di Pitagora. La fine dei pitagorici. La pentalfa. La cosmologia. Bibliografia. Indice analitico.
Losso, G.G.B. ÉTICA E POLÍTICA NO SOMNIVM SCIPIONIS DE CÍCERO
Dissertação de Mestrado apresentada ao Programa de Pós-Graduação em Letras Clássicas da
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro como quesito para a obtenção do Título de Mestre em Letras
Clássicas. Rio de Janeiro Abril de 2008
http://www.letras.ufrj.br/pgclassicas/GuilhermeLosso.pdf
ABSTRACT This research aims to analyze the employ of antitheses as a stylistic resource in the
Somnium Scipionis, a part of the sixth book of Cicero's De Republica, considering the philosophical
implications of its use and the philosophical sources used by Cicero in the elaboration of this text. The
starting point of this research is the realization of the presence of stylistic and philosophical
motivations for the use of antitheses in Somnium Scipionis, making their understanding vital for a more
accurate reading of its text. In De Republica, Cicero appeals to Platonism, Aristotelianism, Noua
Academia, and Stoicism in order to build a concept of State that would be suited to the Roman
Republic, offering thus a solution for its flaws. This solution would necessarily demand a
reconstruction of the character of Roman leaders, whom Cicero exhorts in the text of Somnium
Scipionis. Antitheses play an essential role in his exhortation, as an aid to the expression of the
philosophical basis of his reasoning.
Mannucci, E.J. La cena pitagorica : storia del vegetarianismo dall'antica Grecia a internet
Roma : Carocci, 2008. Serietitel: Quality paperbacks, 246 ISBN-13: 9788843045747
Descrizione: Oggi i vegetariani volontari sono milioni in Occidente e la loro forza numerica è un
fenomeno moderno che si manifesta con mezzi altrettanto moderni, come internet, dando luogo anche
a una robusta dimensione produttiva e commerciale. Gli argomenti dei vegetariani, tuttavia, hanno
radici antiche e hanno mantenuto una notevole continuità nel corso della storia, evolvendo, insieme
alla riflessione e al profondo scontro culturale di lunga durata sul rapporto uomo-animale, nel contesto
delle tematiche e dei fenomeni distintivi di ciascuna epoca. Questo libro, non senza sfatare alcuni miti
e stereotipi, ricostruisce la storia delle idee e del movimento vegetariani, le motivazioni plurali, i legami
col pensiero critico ed eretico di tutti i tempi, dall'orfismo a Leonardo, dalle Rivoluzioni inglese e
francese e dai medici illuministi alle femministe abolizioniste dell'Ottocento americano, fino agli
sviluppi solo in parte più noti del Novecento.
Nuccio, D'A. Publio Nigidio Figulo : un pitagorico a Roma nel 1. secolo a.C
Milano : Archè ; San Donato (Milano) : PiZeta, 2008
ISBN: 9788872522820 887252282X
Publius Nigidius Figulus (d. 45 B.C.). 2nd EAN: 978-88-87625-37-0.
Serietitel: La biblioteca dell'unicorno., Serie italiana ;, 7; Tradizione, 1
Nyvlt, M.J.. Aristotle and Plotinus on the simplicity of "Nous"
Massachusetts: Boston University; 2005. Ph.D. dissertation. ISBN: 9780496904136
Abstract: The goal of this dissertation is to examine Plotinus' criticism of Aristotle's noetic doctrine.
Chapter One examines Aristotle's critique of the Pythagorean Table of Opposites, Plato's TwoPrinciples doctrine (the One and the Indefinite Dyad), the alleged Platonic doctrine of the Ideal
Numbers, and Speusippus' theory of the One. By reconstructing Speusippus' argument as presented
by Iamblichus, I argue that Aristotle's critique of Speusippus is a potential anticipated response to
Plotinus' interpretation of Aristotle's noetic doctrine. Chapter Two discusses Aristotle's henology and
Page 15
View in PDF(opens in a new window)Paul, D. PISA, Bach, Pythagoras : Ein vergnügliches Kabarett um Bildung, Musik und Mathematik
Wiesbaden : Friedr. Vieweg & Sohn Verlag | GWV Fachverlage GmbH, Wiesbaden, 2008
Online-Ressource. : v.: digital. ISBN: 978-3-8348-9466-3
Peterman, J.E. On ancient philosophy.
Australia ; United Kingdom : Thomson Wadsworth, 2008.
SERIES: Wadsworth philosophical topics.
Index. Historical and cultural background -- The Presocratics -- The sophists -- Socrates -- Plato -Aristotle -- Greek philosophy after Aristotle.
Primavesi, O. Empedokles Physika I. Eine Rekonstruktion des zentralen Gedankengangs
Oktober 2008. ISBN 978-3-11-020925-9.
Reihe: Archiv für Papyrusforschung und verwandte Gebiete - Beihefte 22
Produktinfo: Aus dem verlorenen Lehrgedicht Über die Natur des vorsokratischen Philosophen
Empedokles von Agrigent (um 450 v. Chr.) wird ein größerer Abschnitt des 1. Buches rekonstruiert
und im griechischen Wortlaut sowie in deutscher Übersetzung vorgelegt. Hierzu werden die
Textstücke des Straßburger Empedokles-Papyrus mit einer Zitatfolge kombiniert, die der spätantike
Kommentator Simplikios demselben Abschnitt des Gedichts entnahm. So ergibt sich ein
Gedankengang, der vom Nachweis der Prinzipien (vier Elemente, Liebe und Streit) zu einer ersten
Skizze des Kosmischen Zyklus führt.
Remes, P. Neoplatonism
Acumen Publishing Limited. 2008. Ancient Philosophies, 4. ISBN 978-0-520-25834-1
Description: Although Neoplatonism has long been studied, until recently many had dismissed this
complex system of ideas as more mystical than philosophical. Recent research, however, has
provided a new perspective on this highly influential school of thought, which flourished in the pagan
world of Greece and Rome up through late antiquity. Pauliina Remes's lucid, comprehensive, and upto-date introduction reassesses Neoplatonism's philosophical credentials, from its founding by Plotinus
(204-70, C.E.) through the closure of Plato's Academy in 529. Using an accessible, thematic
approach, she explores the ideas of leading Neoplatonists such as Porphyry, Iamblichus, Proclus,
Simplicius, and Damascius, as well as less well-known thinkers. She situates their ideas alongside
classical Platonism, Stoicism, and the neo-Pythagoreans as well as other intellectual movements of
the time, including Gnosticism, Judaism, and Christianity. She also considers Neoplatonism's enduring
legacy in the history of philosophical thought, providing a gateway to Neoplatonism for contemporary
readers.
Renneisen, E.M. Discordia concours in Tolkien's musical universe
Middle Tennessee State University; 2008. Ph.D. dissertation. ISBN: 9780549564652
Abstract: In J. R. R. Tolkien's myth "The Ainulindalë," Ilúvatar constructs the world of Middle-earth
through music. While the Ainur, Tolkien's idea of angelic beings, interweave melodies to reflect the
beauty of the world, one Ainu, Melkor,interjects dissonance of his own that is responsible for the evil in
Middle-earth. The act of creation through music seems to be Tolkien's own device; however, music as
an essential component in cosmogony does have philosophical precedents, including ideas
propounded by Pythagoras and Boethius. This interjection of discord has a significant effect on The
Silmarillion as a mythology for England. All mythologies have some basis in reality, whether they
explain the origins of customs, ideas, or even people. Melkor's influence can be traced throughout The
Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings . Ultimately it is Sauron, minion of Melkor, that is responsible for
the emergence of Man as the dominant being in the Fourth Age, thus tying Middle-earth to our own
history and lending Tolkien's stories credibility in terms of a national mythology--not as a fantasy.
Rojcewicz, R. Basic concepts of ancient philosophy / Martin Heidegger
Bloomington : Indiana University Press, c2008.
SERIES: Studies in Continental thought. ISBN: 9780253349651, 0253349656
Basic Concepts of Ancient Philosophy presents a lecture course given by Martin Heidegger in 1926 at
the University of Marburg. First published in German as volume 22 of the collected works, the book
provides Heidegger's most systematic history of Ancient philosophy beginning with Thales and ending
with Aristotle. In this lecture, which coincides with the completion of his most important work, Being
and Time, Heidegger is working out a way to sharply differentiate between beings and Being. Richard
Rojcewicz's clear and accurate translation offers English-speaking readers valuable insight into
Page 16
View in PDF(opens in a new window)Heidegger's views on Ancient thought and concepts such as principle, cause, nature, unity,
multiplicity, Logos, truth, science, soul, category, and motion.
Russos. E.N. Proso kratikoi 4 Empedokle s
Athe na Stigme 2007. ISBN: 9789602691984 9602691980
Serietitel: Bibliothe ke archaio n syngrapheo n, 25
Sarota, D. Pythagoras von Samos in Friedrich Nietzsches Vorlesungsaufzeichnungen vom WS
1871/72 - WS 1874/75. Grenzen und Problemstellungen bei der Klassifizierung Pythagoras als
Philosoph.
GRIN Verlag. 2008. ISBN: 3638905187
Sauer, H. Pythagoras und der Pythagoreismus
Universität Wien (Philologisch-Kulturwissenschaftliche Fakultät, Institut für Musikwissenschaft)
Seminararbeit. 2006, 16 p.
Dateigröße: 187 KB. ISBN (E-Book): 978-3-638-50569-7, ISBN (Buch): 978-3-638-85348-4
Abstract In dieser Seminararbeit sollen die Grundgedanken Pythagoras’ und des Pythagoreismus’
beschrieben werden, wobei der Schwerpunkt auf der Musikauffassung liegt. Diese läuft aber mit der
jeweiligen Weltanschauung kongruent. Die Einheit der Ideen „Zahl“, „Himmel“ und „Harmonie“ stand
im Zentrum der (antiken) Auffassung. Im Laufe der Jahrhunderte geriet aber immer mehr die
mathematische Seite der Musiktheorie in den Vordergrund der Rezeption. Um die Arbeit abzurunden,
werden zusätzlich noch die Gegenströmungen kurz beleuchtet. Vor allem die Anschauung von
Aristoxenos, die sich ebenfalls wie ein roter Faden durch die Musikgeschichte zieht, soll als Antipode
vorgestellt werden. Demnach stehen die Sinne des Menschen über dessen Ratio. Auch die
Unterteilung der Oktave in die einzelnen Ganztöne gestaltet sich bei Aristoxenos grundsätzlich
anders.
Schmidt, B.J. Utopia and community in the ancient world
University of Colorado at Boulder; 2008. Ph.D. dissertation. ISBN: 9780549508687
Abstract: Strong-minded individuals whose conversion to religious and philosophical ideas
led them to reject their former world, created radically communitarian groups based on their
conception of the ideal life. Through their charismatic personalities, Pythagoras, the "Teacher of
Righteousness", (an Essene), Pachomius and Proclus inspired groups of dedicated followers to live
according to these same values. As leaders they simultaneously justified their religious
authority and strengthened the moral and common purpose of the members of their community
through education. Gradually their powerful ideals and the resulting communal practices seem to have
mutually influenced one another. Over time each founder modified his community and its ideals. Soon
each community became larger and different roles within it became more specialized.
However, this was difficult as the Pythagoreans, Esseneans, Pachomians and late pagan Athenians
attempted to combine ideals with practice. Ancient communities continually strove to reach their
founder's ideals. As each began to form, it required the dedication, hard work and financial support of
its relatively few members. Ancient utopias were neither constructed in paradise nor through
idleness. Mentoring future leadership constituted a crucial element in some of these communities.
These regulations further transformed and regimented the daily living arrangements of members in
each community. Hierarchy was an important motif of leadership but was also a source of friction
within each utopian community.
Certainly each community had good and bad characteristics and achieved some measure of success.
But their success in creating a framework within which members could achieve a considerable degree
of concord would seem to be confirmed by their abilities to endure, at least for much of the time.
Therefore as a result of their perceived successes these communities inspired and influenced later
ones. Each community survived for varying lengths of time depending on different factors but hostility
from outsiders often proved detrimental to some ancient utopian communities. These communities
also provide examples of somewhat successful utopian experiments that belie the twentiethcentury notion that the application of utopian principles must always lead to dystopia or not function at
all.
Schnackenberg, M.W. Capturing kairos: A theory of rhetorical cunning
Washington: Washington State University; 2006, Ph.D.dissertation. ISBN: 9780542801624
Abstract: Capturing Kairos presents a contemporary definition of the ancient Greek term kairos for
rhetoric in English studies. Kairos is the quality of rhetorical timeliness, often translated as a
Page 17
View in PDF(opens in a new window)combination of "opportunity" and "due measure." Though the dissertation is in part a response to
James Kinneavy's 1983 call for contemporary work on the concept, the dissertation engages in a neosophistic and culturally critical reading of the term.
Essential to this reading is the interaction of kairos with the related concept of mêtis , translated as
"cunning intelligence" in contrast to more rationalist philosophies. The interaction of the two concepts
provides a theory of civic rhetoric that adds a dimension of context that often goes unconsidered in
rhetorical situations. Additionally, the interaction offers insights regarding how ethically to engage
multiple, competing perspectives in the process of applying singular, decisive actions in civic work.
Points of discussion include: (1) a reflection on the use of neo-sophistic or sophistical, dialectical
translation to adapt ancient concepts to contemporary practice, (2) a review of the kairos literature
organized into a four-part taxonomy according to the degree that each source reinforces or questions
cultural givens, (3) an introduction to the Pythagorean School and the tradition of mêtis , (4) an
exploration of the part of competition in rhetoric, which concerns the balancing of the sometimes
contradictory drives toward winning and wisdom, and (5) a redefinition of phronesis , or "prudent
foresight," in light of the interaction of kairos and mêtis , focusing on the use of conjecture to navigate
the complex contingencies of rhetorical work.
Skarsouli, P. Empédocle et Ulysse, le double aspect de l’errance
Journées doctorales en philosophie ancienne Rencontres doctorales en philosophie ancienne, 13 juin
2008
Résumé de la communication et exemplier:
http://gramata.univ-paris1.fr/IMG/pdf/P_Skarsouli_Empedocle_et_Ulysse.pdf
Snider, G.C.F. In Defense of Music’s Eternal Nature: On the Pre-eminence of Musica theorica Over
Musica practica
University of Saskatchewan. Thesis. 2005
Contents:
Chapter 1: Introduction: Musica theorica, Musica practica, and hilosophy
1
Chapter 2: A Return to Greek Antiquity: The Pythagoreans and Non-Pythagoreans
5
2.1. The Pythagoreans
6
2.2. The Non-Pythagoreans
18
Chapter 3: An Extension of Pythagorean Thought into the Middle Ages and the Ensuing Controversy:
from Boethius to Descartes
34
Chapter 4: A Shift from Musica theorica to Musica practica: Contemporary Arguments in Philosophy of
Music
56
Chapter 5 Conclusion: Redefining the Interdisciplinary Nature of Philosophy of Music
76
Bibliography
80
Stahmer, C. Romanticism, hypertextuality, and metavisual information theory
California: University of California. 2005. Ph.D. dissertation. ISBN: 97805421192010
Abstract: Given the fact that words necessarily constitute the building blocks of written texts, it is
logical to connect scholarly readings of theories of poetics and textuality with contemporaneous
models of language and cognitive function familiar to their authors. While a great deal of scholarly
attention has been paid to the philosophical and psychological models that influenced romantic era
authors, very little of this attention has been directed specifically to the subject of the theories of
linguistic function that these authors inherited and their relationship to underlying theories of mind. In
this treatise, I examine dominant trends in linguistic, cognitive models of the seventeenth and
eighteenth century, noting their strong reliance on Pythagorean, as opposed to strictly Platonic,
philosophy. I argue that these early theories of language and cognition distinguished sharply between
visual thinking--thoughts and ideas about which one can form a "mental image"--and metavisual
thinking--thoughts and ideas with no visiospatial analogue. This distinction set the stage for divergent
modes of understanding the nature of knowledge at the beginning of the romantic era. Our culture has
tended to privilege visual forms of cognition. But I argue that the works of William Wordsworth, Percy
Shelley, and Ada Lovelace Byron, the world's first computer programmer, are rooted in metavisual
models of linguistic, cognitive function. I further argue that the work of these figures continues to exert
a metavisual influence to the present day, particularly in the area of electronic text production and
theory.
Page 18
View in PDF(opens in a new window)Suri, G. Eine gewisse Ungewissheit oder Der Zauber der Mathematik Roman Originaltitel: A Certain
Ambiguity. A Mathematical Novel
DuMont Buchverlag GmbH. 2008. ISBN 3832180672
Heimlich belegt Ravi in Stanford - statt, wie die Familie es von ihm erwartet, brav BWL zu büffeln - ein
Seminar über die Unendlichkeit. Das führt ihn durch zweieinhalbtausend Jahre abstraktes Denken von Pythagoras und Euklid zu Riemann, Hilbert und Cantor. Eines Tages findet der junge Inder durch
eine Fußnote zufällig heraus, dass sein über alles geliebter Großvater, ein berühmter
Mathematikprofessor, 1919 in den USA inhaftiert war: Er hatte gegen das Blasphemie-Gesetz von
New Jersey verstoßen, als er öffentlich erklärte, die Glaubensgrundlagen des Christentums seien
unbeweisbar und in ihrer Unlogik einer aufgeklärten Nation unwürdig. Gebannt vollzieht Ravi in den
Gerichtsakten die Diskussion des indischen Freigeists mit dem konservativen Untersuchungsrichter
nach. Schon bald bröseln die Selbstverständlichkeiten im Denksystem des Richters und auch er fängt
sich den Mathematik-Virus ein ... Ein Buch, das jedem die Wunderwelt der Mathematik erklärt. Ein
didaktischer Abenteuerroman, eines der seltenen Bücher, bei denen man auf der letzten Seite kindlich
wünscht, es ginge noch unendlich weiter ...
Svenbro, J. Försokratikern, Sapfo och andra studier i antikt tänkande. Med ett bihang om Martin P.
Nilsson och den genetiska determinismen.
Göteborg, Glänta. (2007). Logos Pathos; 8.
Therme, A.L. Toute errance est-elle cause d’erreur : est-ce par la Haine (neikos) que nous nous
trompons ?
Journées doctorales en philosophie ancienne Rencontres doctorales en philosophie ancienne, 13 juin
2008:
http://gramata.univ-paris1.fr/IMG/pdf/AL_Therme_-_toute_errance_est-elle_cause_d_erreur.pdf
Tubbs, R. What is a number? : mathematical concepts and their origins
Baltimore, Md. : Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008.
ISBN: 9780801890178 9780801890185 0801890179 0801890187
Contents: Mysticism, number, and geometry : an introduction to Pythagoreanism -- The Elgin Marbles
and Plato's geometric chemistry -- An introduction to infinity -- The flat Earth and the spherical sky -Theology, logic, and questions about angels -- Time, infinity, and incommensurability -- Medieval
theories of vision and the representation of space -- The shape of space and the fourth dimension -What is a number? -- The dual nature of points and lines -- Modern mathematical infinity -- Elegance
and truth.
Vítek, T. Empedoklés. 2, Zlomky
Praha : Herrmann a synové, 2006. ISBN: 80-87054-02-4
Empedoklés II / Zlomky - anotace
Po teoretické studii, v níž se autor zaměřil na výklad života a díla předsokratovského filosofa
Empedoklea (Praha 2002), přináší druhý svazek edici všech řeckých zlomků a svědectví, kterou
provází paralelní český překlad. Svazek obsahuje také detailní analýzu filosofova jazyka, výklad
edičních a překladatelských postupů a zvláštní studii o nově objeveném zlomku (jeho edice a překlad
jsou připojeny rovněž).
Vítek, T. Empedoklés. 3, Komentar
Praha : Herrmann a synové, 2006. ISBN: 80-87054-03-2
Empedoklés III / Komentář - anotace
Závěrečný díl rozsáhlého empedokleovského opusu nabízí detailní komentáře textů vydaných v
předcházejícím druhém svazku. Autor se snažil podchytit všechny sporné a nejasné prvky, přehledně
představit jejich možná řešení a zasadit je do kontextu minulého i současného bádání. Jedná se o
nejpodrobnější a nejinformativnější výklad, jaký byl kdy předsókratovskému filosofu věnován.
Wersinger, A. G. La sphère et l'intervalle. Le schème de l'Harmonie dans la pensée des anciens
Grecs d'homère à Platon.
2008 ISBN: 2-84137-230-0
TABLE DES MATIÈRES
PREMIÈRE PARTIE LA SPHÈRE: DE L’HARMONIE INFINIE À LA LIMITE (HOMÈRE,
EMPÉDOCLE, HÉRACLITE, PARMÉNIDE)
Chapitre Premier: HOMÈRE, L’HARMONIE SANS L’UN INTRODUCTION
Page 19
View in PDF(opens in a new window)Chapitre Deux: EMPÉDOCLE, L’HARMONIE INFINIE COMME UN INTRODUCTION
Chapitre trois: HÉRACLITE, L’HARMONIE INVISIBLE ET LE LOGOS DE L’UN-CONJONCTION
Chapitre quatre: PARMÉNIDE, L’HARMONIE OU LA LIMITE
DEUXIÈME PARTIE. L’INTERVALLE: DE L’UN COMME EFFET DE L’HARMONIE À L’UN
COMMENSURABLE (ANAXIMANDRE, LES PYTHAGORICIENS, PHILOLAOS ET ARCHYTAS,
ANAXAGORE)
Chapitre Premier: LE «CHAîNON MANQUANT» ANAXIMANDRE, L’HARMONIE DE L’INFINI ET
L’HARMONIE DU KOSMOS
Chapitre deux: L’INFINI COMME «EXCÈS ET DÉFAUT» LES PYTHAGORICIENS
Chapitre trios: PHILOLAOS ET L’INTERVALLE
Chapitre quatrième L’HARMONIE SANS LIMITE D’ANAXAGORE
Conclusion «LE DÉLAISSEMENT DU MULTIPLE»
Wood, M.S. The first actuality. Interpretations of the "De Anima" in "Enneads" IV.7 and V.3: Plotinus,
Aristotle and Alexander of Aphrodisias
Dalhousie University (Canada); 2005. M.A. dissertation. ISBN: 9780494085455
Abstract: The study begins by examining Enneads IV.7.1-8.4 and the ways in which Plotinus is
dependent on Aristotelian concepts in his attack on Stoic and Pythagorean psychologies, with a focus
on Plotinus' use of the terms 'simple bodies ([Special characters omitted.] )' and 'ruling principle
([Special characters omitted.] )' to the extent that they bear comparison with similar concepts in both
Aristotle and his Hellenistic commentator, Alexander of Aphrodisias. It then proceeds in the second
chapter to examine Plotinus' critique at IV.7.8.5 of Aristotle's psychological position in the De Anima ,
with a view to showing that Plotinus reduces the position to a point where it cannot properly be
understood as belonging to Aristotle's argument in that text. There follows an examination of
Metaphysics , A 1-2 and Z 12-13.
The third chapter concerns Enneads V.3 and its relation to Alexander's De Anima commentary.
The study concludes by reiterating the general differences between Plotinus and Aristotle which are
considered at the end of chapter 2. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
Zuschin, D.A. Correspondences in style between music and painting of the High Renaissance in Italy
Ohio: Kent State University; 2006. Ph.D. dissertation. ISBN: 9780542787478
Abstract : When Leonardo called music the "sister of painting" in the Trattato della Pittura , his aim
was to raise the status of painting to that enjoyed by music as a traditional member of the liberal arts.
He saw a parallel between the proportions of the Pythagorean tektraktys that governed the perfect
consonances, and the proportions painters used in one-point perspective. Other writers, such as Luca
Pacioli in De Divina Proportione (Milan, 1499) made similar comparisons based on the proportions of
the perfect consonances.
There are significant parallels between the two arts that go beyond mathematics, grounded in the style
of music and painting in the decades surrounding the turn of the sixteenth century, that reveal what
was unique to both arts in the High Renaissance. Josquin des Prez in music, and Leonardo da Vinci in
painting, synthesized innovations in space and form, the polyphonic interaction of these forms,
expression, and harmony into a classical balance. Aspects of this style were subsequently developed
in similar ways in the two arts, in music by composers such as Adrian Willaert, Giovanni Pierluigi da
Palestrina, and Tomás Luis de Victoria, and in painting by Raphael and Michelangelo. Identifying
these parallels helps to clarify the attributes of style that define the period as a whole for music and
painting
Forthcoming books
Chambers, P. L. The Attic nights of Aulus Gellius : an intermediate reader and grammar review
Norman : University of Oklahoma Press, 2009. ISBN: 9780806139937
Complete contents: Aulus Gellius -- The Attic nights (excerpts from the Praefatio) -- How Pythagoras
calculated the height of Hercules (bk. i, i) -- The difficult decision of Chilo the Lacedaemonian (excerpt
from bk.i, iii) -- The taunting of Demosthenes of Athens and likewise of Hortensius of Rome (bk. i, v) -The method and order of pythagorean training (excerpt from bk. i, ix) -- The sibylline books and King
Tarquinius (bk. i, xix) -- Papirius praetextatus (bk. i, xxiii) -- Why Fabricius Luscinus campaigned for
Cornelius Rufinus (bk. iv, viii) -- Androcles and the lion (bk. v, xiv) -- Hannibal's joke about the army of
King Antiochus (bk. v, v) -- Julius Caesar and the filibuster of Marcus Cato (bk. iv, x) -- Memorable
censorial reprimands (bk. iv, xii) -- Three examples of severe censorial reprimands (excerpt from bk.
Page 20
View in PDF(opens in a new window)iv, xx) -- The strength and nature of the palm tree (bk. iii, vi) -- A saying of practical value (excerpt
from bk. xvi, i) -- A fable of Aesop's worth remembering (excerpt from bk. ii, xxix) -- Compiled grammar
charts.
Crease, R.P. The great equations : breakthroughs in science from Pythagoras to Heisenberg
New York : W.W. Norton, 2009. ISBN: 9780393062045
Flashar, H. Über die Lehrmeinung der Pythagoreer
Hrsg. v. Primavesi
Berlin : Akad.-Verl., 2009. ISBN: 3050037342 9783050037349
Serietitel: Werke in deutscher Ubersetzung / Aristoteles.
Joost-Gaugier, C.L. Pythagoras and Renaissance Europe : finding heaven.
Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2009. ISBN: 9780521517959
Macris, C. Dans l’ombre de Pythagore : pour une archéologie de la tradition pythagoricienne
Paris : Belin (forthcoming in 2008) (coll. “L’Antiquité au présent”),
O'Brien, D. Empedocles' Cosmic Cycle. A Reconstruction from the Fragments and Secondary
Cambridge Classical Studies. 2009. ISBN-13: 9780521100373
The cosmic cycle described in the surviving fragments of Empedocles’ poem is the alternation, in
endless succession, of Love and Strife. Love is the cause of happiness and unity; Strife the cause of
separation and misery. These forces rule in turn as they cause the One and the Many. Love makes
the elements into a blissful whole, the Sphere; Strife breaks into the Sphere and causes movement
and division - the condition of the world, according to Empedocles, in which we now live. Dr O’Brien’s
book is primarily an analysis of this elaborate system. It seeks to determine the positions which Love
and Strife occupy in the world at different times, the processes involved in becoming one and
becoming many and the duration of being one and being many. It examines such associated themes
as Empedocles’ view of the nature of the soul and his use of the traditional motif ‘like to like’. Finally,
Dr O’Brien considers Empedocles; place in the subsequent development of Greek philosophy. He
sees Empedocles’ work as a primitive anticipation of Plato, a significant union of spiritual otherworldliness with the philosophical and scientific traditions of the Presocratics.
Contents
Acknowledgement; System of references and abbreviations; 1. The Proposed Reconstruction; 2. Rest
and Movement; 3. Speed; 4. Time; 5. The Place of Love and Strife; 6. The Shape of Love and Strife;
7. The Separated Elements; 8. The Cyclic System; 9. The Zoogonical Stages; 10. Conclusion; Notes;
Bibliography; Author/date index to the bibliography; Index locorum; General Index.
Book chapters
Assmann, J. Gottesbilder - Menschenbilder : anthropologische Konsequenzen des Monotheismus
p 313-329
In: Götterbilder, Gottesbilder, Weltbilder : Polytheismus und Monotheismus in der Welt der Antike. 2,
Griechenland und Rom, Judentum, Christentum und Islam / hrsg. von Reinhard Gregor Kratz und
Hermann Spieckermann. Tübingen : Mohr Siebeck, 2006. Forschungen zum Alten Testament. 2.
Reihe; 18
Résumé : Zu der Frage nach dem Primat von Monotheismus oder Polytheismus, zu den
anthropologisch-soziologischen Konsequenzen, die sich aus dem Monotheismus ergeben, sowie zu
einer generell konstatierbaren Sehnsucht nach « Lebensheiligung » in antiken
Religionsgemeinschaften, z. B. bei den Orphikern, den Pythagoräern, den Platonikern, den jüdischen
Sekten oder den frühen Christen.
Berra, A. Pythagoras’ riddles : the use of the Pythagorean akousmata. p. 245-258.
In: C. Galewicz (éd.), Texts of power - The power of the text. Readings in textual authority across
history and cultures.
Kraków : Homini, 2006. ISBN: 83-89598-87-67
Page 21
View in PDF(opens in a new window)Bodnár, I. M. Wissenschaft und Philosophie in der Akademie p 257-268
In: Wissen und Bildung in der antiken Philosophie / hrsg. von Christof Rapp und Tim Wagner
Stuttgart : Metzler, 2006
Résumé : Eine Untersuchung der Rolle der mathematischen Wissenschaften zeigt, dass in der
Akademie philosophische Reflexionen zu Fragen der Methode und Ontologie mit den
einzelwissenschaftlichen Forschungen zusammenhingen. Eine Trennlinie zwischen Philosophie und
den mathematischen Wissenschaften konstituierte sich schrittweise in den Diskussionen, die im Kreis
Platons über die Natur mathematischer Gegenstände und den Status des mathematischen Wissens
geführt wurden. Indem sie die Geschichten der verschiedenen Wissenschaften auf eine deren
methodologische und ontologische Unabhängigkeit anerkennende Weise darstellten, schufen
Aristoteles und seine Schüler einen neuen und sehr erfolgreichen Rahmen für diese Trennlinie. Damit
konnten sie definitiv mit der pythagoreischen Tradition brechen, die philosophische Einsicht und
mathematische Forschung miteinander verschmolz.
Bonazzi, M. Eudorus of Alexandria and early imperial Platonism, p 365-377
In: Greek and Roman Philosophy 100 BC-200 AD / Richard Sorabji, Robert W. Sharples (ed.),. 2 vols.
Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies. Supplement 94. London: Institute of Classical Studies,
University of London, 2007.
Casadesús Bordoy, F. Orfismo : usos y abusos p 155-163
In: « Koinòs lógos » : homenaje al profesor José García López / Esteban Calderón Dorda, Alicia
Morales Ortiz, Mariano Valverde Sánchez (ed.)
Murcia : Universidad de Murcia, Servicio de Publicaciones, 2006
Résumé : Se intenta demostrar que en Grecia no existió nunca un movimiento órfico organizado bajo
la dirección de una secta u organización religiosa. Lo que conocemos como orfismo no sería más que
la amalgama de todos los que, por muy diversas intenciones e intereses, se cobijaron bajo el nombre
de Orfeo para propagar sus creencias y doctrinas. Se estudia principalmente el uso de elementos
órficos por parte de filósofos como Pitágoras, Platón y los estoicos.
Conway, C.M. Constructing the lives of divine men : Divus Augustus, Philo’s Moses, and
Philostratus’s Apollonius p 35-66
In: Behold the man : Jesus and Greco-Roman masculinity / Colleen M. Conway.
New York ; Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2008.
Dillon, J. Numenius: some ontological questions, p 397-402
In: Greek and Roman Philosophy 100 BC-200 AD / Richard Sorabji, Robert W. Sharples (ed.),. 2 vols.
Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies. Supplement 94. London: Institute of Classical Studies,
University of London, 2007.
Dion, J. Immortalité poétique et immortalité politique : Ennius et les Scipions. P 383-394
In: « Aere perennius » : en hommage à Hubert Zehnacker / Jacqueline Champeaux et Martine
Chassignet (dir.). Paris : Pr. de l'Université de Paris-Sorbonne, 2006. Roma antiqua
Résumé : Le songe de Scipion et celui d'Ennius reflètent une conception pythagoricienne de
l'immortalité
Fowden, G. Sages, cities, and temples : aspects of late antique Pythagorism p 145-170
In: : The philosopher and society in late antiquity : essays in honour of Peter Brown / ed. by Andrew
Smith
Swansea : Classical Pr. of Wales, 2005
Résumé : Evidence from a range of neoplatonist authors
Garani, M. Cosmological oaths in Empedocles and Lucretius p 189-202
In: A.H. Sommerstein, Judith Fletcher (ed.), Horkos. The Oath in Greek Society. Exeter: Bristol
Phoenix Press, 2007. ISBN 978-1-904675-67-9.
Horn, C. Der Begriff der Selbstbewegung bei Alkmaion und Platon p 152-173
In: Frühgriechisches Denken/ Georg Rechenauer (Hg.). Göttingen : Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht,
2005
Résumé : Das Konzept der Selbstbewegung bei dem den Pythagoreern nahestehenden Arzt
Alkmaion von Kroton ist gerade deshalb für die Weltsicht der frühgriechischen Philosophie signifikant,
Page 22
View in PDF(opens in a new window)weil es sich auf einer gedanklichen Verbindungslinie von Kosmologie und Anthropologie, von
göttlicher und menschlicher Welt entfaltet. An der Wiederaufnahme und Fortführung des Konzeptes
bei Platon wird deutlich, in welchem Umfang Formen des frühgriechischen Denkens ihre Tauglichkeit
und Wirksamkeit in späteren philosophischen Kontexten entfaltet haben.
Kenny, A. Life after Etna : Empedocles in prose and poetry
In: Kenny, A. From Empedocles to Wittgenstein : historical essays in philosophy
Oxford: Clarendon Press. 2008. ISBN: 978-0-19-955082-1
Lorite Mena, J. Pitágoras y los orígenes de la antropología griega p 60-73
In: Jenófanes y la crisis de la objetividad griega
Universidad de Murcia. Lugar y año de edición. Murcia, 2003. ISBN 84-8371-426-4
Lorusso, A. M. Dal semplice al complesso : valenza strutturale e didattica della tecnica dell'eco in
Empedocle p 109-124
In: Quaderni del Dipartimento di filologia linguistica e tradizione classica Augusto Rostagni. N. S. 4,
2005
Bologna : Pàtron, 2006. Università degli Studi di Torino. Pubblicazioni del Dipartimento di filologia,
linguistica e tradizione classica ; 24. ISBN: 8855529056
Résumé : Studio sulla tecnica empledoclea detta « dell'eco », cioè l'uso costante di ripetizioni e
autocitazioni, in bilico tra identità e variazione formale ; esame del rapporto di consapevole
derivazione dalla tecnica formulare omerica
Macris, C. Autorità carismatica, direzione spirituale e genere di vita nella tradizione pitagorica.
p. 75-102.
In: G. Filoramo (éd.), Storia della direzione spirituale, vol. I. L’età antica, Brescia : Morcelliana, 2006,
Melazzo, L. Ancora su musica e fonetica nella Grecia antica p 165-179
In: Fonologia e tipologia lessicale nella storia della lingua greca : atti del VI Incontro internazionale di
linguistica greca (Bergamo, settembre 2005) / a cura di Pierluigi Cuzzolin e Maria Napoli
Milano : F. Angeli, 2006. Materiali linguistici ; 55
Résumé : A prosecuzione di, sulla conoscenza dei processi fonatori nella tradizione pitagorica
Nucci, M. La morte dell'amicizia in Empedocle p 45-74
In: Amicizia e concordia : etica, fisica, politica in età preplatonica / a cura di Emidio Spinelli
Roma : EUROMA La Goliardica, 2006
Résumé : Sulla concezione empedoclea dell'amicizia e dell'amore
Pattoni, M. P. Sofocle fr. 941 R. : testo e interpretazione p 223-252
In: Il dramma sofocleo : testo, lingua, interpretazione / Guido Avezzù (a c. di)
Stuttgart : M und P, 2003. Drama : Beiträge zum antiken Drama und seiner Rezeption ; 13
Résumé : Das Fragment, das die Macht der Aphrodite beschreibt, unterscheidet sich von anderen
Tragikerfragmenten durch den Aufzählungscharakter, von epischen Katalogen durch die
Charakterisierung der Aphrodite. Es lassen sich u. a. Verbindungen zu Il. 14, zum homerischen
Aphroditehymnus und zu Aischylos' Zeusbeschreibung erkennen. Detailuntersuchungen ermöglichen
Vorschläge zum Text. Dabei zeigt sich u. a., dass das Bild von Aphrodite als derjenigen, die erzeugt
und Antrieb für die Bewegung gibt, Parallelen zum lukrezischen Aphroditehymnus aufweist, was
nahelegt, dass Sophokles hier Empedokles als Vorbild verwendet hat.
Pungs, B. Vegetarismus, Naturbeherrschung und Politik: die Pythagoreer chapter 1.4.1.
In: Birgit Pungs. Vegetarismus. Religiöse und politische Dimensionen eines Ernährungsstils
Dissertation zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades doctor philosophiae (Dr. phil.)
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. 2006.
http://edoc.hu-berlin.de/dissertationen/pungs-birgit-2006-05-02/HTML/
Pungs, B. Das Herbarium der Pythagoreer
Ch 2.7.
In: Birgit Pungs. Vegetarismus. Religiöse und politische Dimensionen eines Ernährungsstils
Dissertation zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades doctor philosophiae (Dr. phil.)
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. 2006.
http://edoc.hu-berlin.de/dissertationen/pungs-birgit-2006-05-02/HTML/
Page 23
View in PDF(opens in a new window)Quack, J. F. Die Rolle der Hieroglyphen in der Theorie vom griechischen Vokalalphabet p 75-98
In: Die Geburt des Vokalalphabets aus dem Geist der Poesie: Schrift, Zahl und Ton im
Medienverbund / Wolfgang Ernst, Friedrich Kittler (Hrsg.) München : Fink, 2006. Kulturtechnik
Résumé : Eine kritische Auseinandersetzung mit den Arbeiten von E. A. Havelock, J. Goody (The
domestication of the savage mind, Cambridge University Pr. 1977) und B. Powell kommt zu dem
Ergebnis, dass die Rolle der Hieroglyphen bei der Ausbildung des griechischen Alphabets allgemein
unterschätzt bzw. zu wenig beachtet wird. Die Griechen haben keinesfalls grundsätzlich darauf
verzichtet, die älteren Schriftsysteme zu lernen. Berühmte geistige Grössen wie Pythagoras oder
Eudoxos verstanden das Erlernen dieser Kompetenz als wichtiges Mittel für Kenntnisgewinn. Das
ägyptische Schriftsystem ist keineswegs in einem freien Wettbewerb aufgrund geringerer
Leistungsfähigkeit untergegangen, sondern weil es von politisch und sozial dominierenden Schichten
nicht gewollt wurde.
Ramelli, I. Archita o Ps. Archita? Il primo utilizzatore del sintagma p 48-89
In: Ramelli, I. Il basileus come nomos empsychos tra diritto naturale e diritto divino. Spunti platonici
del concetto e sviluppi di età imperiale e tardo-antica. Napoli : Bibliopolis, 2006.
Schriftenreihe: Memorie dell'Istituto italiano per gli studi filosofici ; 34.
ISBN: 88-7088-528-3, 978-88-7088-528-6
Ramelli, I. Medioplatonici e pitagorizzanti: Filone e i trattatisti De regno p 89-96
In: Ramelli, I. Il basileus come nomos empsychos tra diritto naturale e diritto divino. Spunti platonici
del concetto e sviluppi di età imperiale e tardo-antica. Napoli : Bibliopolis, 2006.
Schriftenreihe: Memorie dell'Istituto italiano per gli studi filosofici ; 34.
ISBN: 88-7088-528-3, 978-88-7088-528-6
Rubenson, S. Antony and Pythagoras : a reappraisal of the appropriation of classical biography in
Athanasius' « Vita Antonii » p 191-208
In: Beyond « reception »: mutual influences between antique religion, Judaism, and early Christianity /
David Brakke, Anders-Christian Jacobsen, Jörg Ulrich (eds.)
Bern ; Frankfurt am Main : Lang, 2006. Early Christianity in the context of Antiquity ; 1
Résumé : Athanase dans sa « Vita Antonii » reprend les structures de la biographie de Pythagore par
Iamblique, mais s'approprie le genre pour le dépasser
Schäfer, C. Zur Vorsokratikerdarstellung im « Phaidon » p 407-422
In: Frühgriechisches Denken/ Georg Rechenauer (Hg.). Göttingen : Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht,
2005
Résumé : Anhand von drei Beispielen aus dem « Phaidon » (der pythagoreische Hintergrund, die
Lehren des Anaxagoras, das parmenideische Lehrgedicht) werden implizit wie explizit in den Dialog
eingearbeitete Lehren und Motive der Vorsokratiker untersucht. Als wesentliche Erkenntnis ergibt sich,
dass Platon aus der Kontrastierung apodiktisch-autoritativer Wissensvermittlung mit dem dialogischdialektischen Prinzip des Sokrates die Vermittlungsformen vorsokratischen Philosophierens subtil
kritisiert.
Schwabl, H. Frühgriechische Seelenvorstellungen p 29-64
In: Der Begriff der Seele. 2, Der Begriff der Seele in der Philosophiegeschichte / hrsg. von HansDieter Klein. Würzburg : Königshausen und Neumann, 2005
Résumé : Psukhe und soma bezeichnen bei Homer den Lebensodem und den Leichnam. Eine
Untersuchung verschiedener homerischer Passagen geht der Frage nach, in welcher Weise Homer
psychische Prozesse, die nicht mit dem Begriff psukhe, sondern mit einer Reihe von anderen
Begriffen ausgesagt werden, darstellt. Neben die psychologische Problematik tritt hier auch eine
theologische, so z. B. in der Epiphanierede in Ilias 1. In den Jahrhunderten bis Platon (Herodot,
Pindar, Empedokles) findet eine Verschiebung und Veränderung der Begriffsfelder des Seelischen
statt. Wichtige erkenntnistheoretische Konzepte der Seele finden sich auch bei den Vorsokratikern.
Swami, V. What Pythagoras unleashed upon the world p.1-9
In: The psychology of physical attraction. London ; New York : Routledge, 2008.
ISBN: 0415422507, 0415422515
Page 24
View in PDF(opens in a new window)Thadeusz, F. GETREU SEINEN ZAHLEN. Der Mathematiker Pythagoras stilisierte sich als
Sektenführer zur Kultfigur. P 110-115
In: Saltzwedel, J. Götter, Helden, Denker Die Ursprünge der europäischen Kultur im antiken
Griechenland. Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt. 2008. ISBN 3421043841
Thom, J.C. The passions in Neopythagorean writings p 108-127
In: Passions and moral progress in Greco-Roman thought / John T Fitzgerald.
London ; New York : Routledge, 2008. ISBN: 9780415280693 0415280699
Trapp, M. 'Neopythagoreans', 347-363 + 467-482
In: Greek and Roman Philosophy 100 BC-200 AD / Richard Sorabji, Robert W. Sharples (ed.),. 2 vols.
Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies. Supplement 94. London: Institute of Classical Studies,
University of London, 2007.
Wardhaugh, B. From Pythagoras to Kircher
In: Music, experiment and mathematics in England, 1653-1705. Aldershot, Hants, England ;
Burlington, VT : Ashgate, 2008. ISBN: 9780754665267
Forthcoming
Flinterman, J.J. The ancestor of my wisdom : Pythagoras and pythagoreanism in the life of Apollonius
In: Bowie, E. Philostratus. Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, available from April
2009. ISBN: 9780521827201 0521827205
Horn, C. Cusanus über Platon und dessen Pythagoreismus,
In: H. Schwaetzer (Hg.), Nikolaus Cusanus [im Druck].
Macris, C. Le pythagorisme érigé en hairesis, ou comment (re)construire une identité philosophique :
remarques sur un aspect méconnu du projet pythagoricien de Jamblique.
In : N. Belayche – S.C. Mimouni (éds), Les identités religieuses dans les mondes grec et romain
d’Alexandre à Justinien (“Collection de la Revue des Études Juives”),
Louvain : Peeters (forthcoming in 2008)
Macris, C. Pythagoras
In: Gr. Oppy – N. Trakakis (éds), The history of Western philosophy of religion, London : Acumen
Publishing (à paraître en 2007)
Macris, C. Abaris théurge : retour sur le récit jambliquéen de l’épiphanie apollinienne de Pythagore
In: J.-D. Dubois – M.A. Amir-Moezzi (éds), Études orientales et classiques offertes à Michel Tardieu (à
paraître en 2008)
Platt , V. Virtual visions : phantasia and the perception of the divine in the life of Apollonius of Tyana /
In: Bowie, E. Philostratus. Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, available from April
2009. ISBN: 9780521827201 0521827205
Slaveva-Griffin, S. Multiplicity as Number. Surfacing from "the Neopythagorean Underground"
Outward and Inward Direction of Multiplicity in VI.6. Multiplicity as Effluence and Unity (Ch 2)
In: Svetla Slaveva-Griffin. Plotinus on Number.
Oxford University Press. Feb 2009. ISBN13: 9780195377194ISBN10: 0195377192
Page 25
View in PDF(opens in a new window)Book reviews
Barker, A. The science of harmonics in Classical Greece. 2007.
Reviewed by: Solomon, J.
The Classical Review. 2008, 58, 2, p 403-404
Callataÿ van der Mersch, C. de. Les quatre sens du nombre. 2007.
Reviewed by: Stenuit, B.
Latomus, 2008, 67, 3, p 846
Carrizosa, D. El pensamiento de Empédocles a partir de sus versos. 2003
Reviewed by: Naranjo Boza, N.
Estudios de Filosofía. 2007, 36, p 252-257
Chitwood, A. Death by philosophy : the biographical tradition in the life and death of the
archaic philosophers Empedocles, Heraclitus, and Democritus. 2004.
Reviewed by: Mansfeld, J.
Phronesis. 2005, 50, 4, p 337-340
Deakin, M.A.B. Hypatia of Alexandria: Mathematician and martyr.
Reviewed by: Burns, E.
Isis. 2008, 99, 3, p. 609
Reviewed by: Gouvêa, F.Q. MAA Reviews. 2007, August 30.
Reviewed by: Wilson, E.
The Times literary supplement. 2008, 5499-5500, p 12
Ferguson, K. The Music of Pythagoras: How an Ancient Brotherhood Cracked the Code of the
Universe and Lit the Path from Antiquity to Outer Space.
Reviewed by: Albright, E.D. Library Journal. 2008, 133, 9, p121
Reviewed by: Anonymus
Publishers Weekly. 2008, 255, 7, p148-149
Reviewed by: Anonymus
Science News. 2008, 173, 14, p 223
Reviewed by: Anonymus
Kirkus Reviews. 2008, 76, 2, p 73-74
Graham, D.W. Explaining the Cosmos: The Ionian Tradition of Scientific Philosophy. 2006.
Reviewed by: Zhmud, L.
Gnomon. 2008, p 481-484.
Reviewed by: Hahn, R.
Journal of the History of Philosophy. 2008, 46, 3, p 475-476
Huffman, C. A. Archytas of Tarentum : Pythagorean, philosopher, and mathematician king.
2005.
Reviewed by: Barker, A.D.
OSAPh 2006 31 : 297-321
Reviewed by: Palmer, J.
Phoenix. 2007, 61, 3-4, p 364-365
Reviewed by: Johnson, M.R. Ancient Philosophy. 2008, 28, p 173-199
(Review and discussion: see also journal article, p 30 )
Humm, M. Appius Claudius Caecus. La republique accomplie. Ecole Francaise de Rome, 2005.
Reviewed by: Poucet, J.
Latomus, 2008, 67, 3, p 810-812
Joost-Gaugier, C.L. Measuring Heaven. Pythagoras and His Influence on Thought and Art in
Antiquity and the Middle Ages. 2007.
Reviewed by: Vallozza, M.
Rivista di filologia e d'istruzione classica. 2007, 135, 1, p 96-100
Laks, A. Introduction to "presocratic philosophy"
Reviewd by:
Castelnerac, B. Dialogue-Canadian Philosophical Review. 2007, 46, 4, p 797-801
Osborne, C. Presocratic Philosophy: a very short introduction. 2004.
Reviewed by: Dillon, J.
HERMATHENA, (180): 121-122 SUM 2006
Phelps, N. The Longest Struggle: Animal Advocacy from Pythagoras to PETA.
Reviewed by: Bent, N.
Booklist. 2007, 103, 22, p 11
Pierris, A.L. (ed.), The Empedoclean Kosmos: Structure, Process and the Question of Cyclicity.
Proceedings of the Symposium Philosophiae Antiquae Tertium Myconense., 2005.
Reviewed by: Bryan, J.
Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2008.10.37
Page 26
View in PDF(opens in a new window)Ramelli, I. Il basileus come nomos empsychos tra diritto naturale e diritto divino. Spunti
platonici del concetto e sviluppi di età imperiale e tardo-antica. 2006.
Reviewed by: Nuffelen, P. van
Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2007.06.21
Response by: Ramelli, I.
Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2007.07.02
Reale, G. (ed.), I Presocratici. Prima traduzione integrale con testi originali a fronte delle
testimonianze e dei frammenti nella raccolta di Hermann Diels e Walther Kranz. 2006.
Reviewed by: Mihai, A.
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/bmcr Bd. 2008.09.38.
Riedweg, C. Pythagoras: His Life, Teaching, and Influence. 2005
Reviewed by: Huffman, C.A. Ancient Philosophy. 2008, 28, p 201-225
(Review and discussion: see also journal article, p 30)
Sassi, M.M. (ed.), La costruzione del discorso filosofico nell' età dei Presocratici.
Pisa: Edizioni della Normale, 2006.
Reviewed by: Bonazzi, M.
RIVISTA DI STORIA DELLA FILOSOFIA, 63 (2): 381-382 2008
Sorabji, R. (ed.) Greek and Roman Philosophy 100 BC-200 AD. 2007.
Reviewed by: O’Brien, C.
Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2008.08.47
Stamatellos, G. Plotinus and the Presocratics. 2007.
Reviewed by: Fleet, B.
The Classical Review. 2008, 58, 2, p 441-443.
Warren, J. Presocratics. Ancient Philosophies. ISBN 978-1-84465-092-7. 2008
Reviewed by: Bryan, J.
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/bmcr. Bd. 2008.08.41.
Journal articles
D'Ancona, C. Concerning the 'De Anima' of Iamblichus
Revue des sciences philosophiques et theologiques. 2006, 90, 4, p 617-640
Abstract: Post-Plotinian Platonism rejected Plotinus' doctrine of the not totally fallen soul. For
philosophers of this sort, the soul by all rights does not belong to the intelligible world. To rise up to it,
it must hand itself over to the power of the theurgy. Iamblichus' De Anima plays an important role in
the development of this new doctrine. His treatice has been partially transmitted to us in Stobaeus'
Anthology and its importance has been underscored by A.-J. Festugiere in Revelation d'Hermes
Trismegiste. Festugisre considered lamblichus' treatise a witness to the manner in which, a century
earlier, Tertullian had developed his De anima. Yet it can be shown that Iamblichus' approach is best
understood in the context of Plotinus' philosophy and its interpretation by Pophyry. This is why the
author has endeavored to read Iamblichus in comparing his text to the treatises IV 7[2], IV 8[6] and
I1[53] of Plotinus' Enneads and to Porphyry's Sentences
Anonymus. From the Pythagorean Void to Crescas' God as the Place of the World
Zutot: Perspectives on Jewish Culture. 2008, 5, 1 p 87-94
Baldi, J. Una congettura alla Cosmogonia di Strasburgo
Prometheus. 2007, 33, 2, p 167-168.
Battezzato, L. Le vie dell'Ade e le vie di Parmenide : filologia, filosofia e presenze femminili nelle
lamine d'oro « orfiche »
Seminari romani di cultura greca. 2005, 8, 1, p 67-99
Résumé : Riflessioni sull'ambito culturale e filosofico nel quale si collocano le lamine orfiche,
nell'intento di comprenderne alcuni aspetti contenutistici (in talune la fonte a cui abbeverarsi
all'ingresso dell'aldilà sarebbe a destra, mentre in una laminetta essa è a sinistra) e formali (nelle
lamine vengono riutilizzati testi formulari diversi a seconda del sesso degli iniziati) ; analisi dei legami
tra le lamelle orfiche e la riflessione filosofica magno-greca, particolarmente quelle di Pitagora e
Parmenide
Page 27
View in PDF(opens in a new window)Bonazzi, M. Continuité et rupture entre l'Académie et le platonisme
EPlaton. 2006, 3, p 231-244
Résumé : Calling into question the idea that the Hellenistic Academy represents a mere sceptical
deviation in the otherwise unified history of Platonism, studies the testimony of Cicero (« Lucullus »),
and Plutarch (« Aduersus Colotem »). In addition to its suspicion with regard to the sensible world and
its reactivation of Pythagoreanism, post-Antiochan Platonism may be considered as a response to the
challenges of Aristotelianism
Braga, C. Terrestrial paradise, millennium and utopia (I): Three versions of the "perfect place" of the
renaissance
Transylvanian Review. 2008, 17, 2, p 139-150
Abstract: The study discusses three versions of an imaginary construct extremely recurrent in
European and world literature, namely, the "perfect place": the terrestrial paradise, the millennium, and
utopia. As opposed to other representations of die ideal place, such as the astral Elysium of the
Pythagoreans or the Celestial Paradise of the Christians, these three topoi share a distinct feature, in
that they are located in the empirical world, in terrestrial history In order to reach them, heroes must
not transcend their human condition, they must not die or undergo a process of transfiguration
Brandt, O. Peas, beans, and the Pythagorean theorem - the relevance of glucose-6-phosphate
dehydrogenase deficiency in dermatology
Journal der Deutschen Dermatologischen Gesellschaft. 2008, 6, 7, p 534-539
Abstract: Glucose-6-phosphate (G6PD) deficiency is a common disease characterized by acute
hemolysis induced by oxidative stress. More than 400 million subjects throughout the world carry the
hereditary enzyme defect with the highest prevalences in Africa, Asia, and the Mediterranean region.
Broze, M. Er the Pamphylian, angel and messenger. On the angelic soul in Iamblichus and Proclus
Revue des sciences philosophiques et theologiques. 2007, 91, 2, p 323-334
Abstract: In his expose on the hierarchy of superior beings, Iamblichus surprising mentions an "angelic
order". This is not about an order of beings who are themselves angels, but rather one of souls placed
among the ranks of angels. As Iamblichus would have it, it is possible that souls, by divine will, leave
their rank and rise in the hierarchy in a process and movement opposite those of the Incarnation in
which the soul descends into matter by free choice. It appears however that the angelic soul is not
disembodied - it is the pure soul of the theurge. Proclus gives an illustration of it in advancing an
interpretation of the Myth of Er, in which Er, the simple messenger of Plato, rises to the rank of the
angels. He supports this interpretation by the theurgic practices which thus become the symbol in act
of the myth. So it is that theurgic practice validated the Platonic discourse, and vice versa.
Caleon, I. From Music to Physics: The Undervalued Legacy of Pythagoras
Science & Education. 2008, 17, 4, p 449-456
Abstract: This paper presents the early investigations about the nature of sound of the Pythagoreans,
and how they started a tradition that remains valid up to present times—the use of numbers in
representing natural reality. It will touch on the Pythagorean notion of musical harmony, which was
extended to the notion of universal harmony. How the Pythagorean ideas have inspired many great
works in physics, such as those of Galileo, Kepler and Newton, will also be presented. In exploring the
legacy of Pythagoras to physics and the study of the universe, some valuable insights on the nature of
science that can inspire budding physicists are extracted.
Cerri, G. Empedocle narratore di miti : la vicenda cosmica
AION (filol). 2006, 28, p 49-63
Résumé : Analisi della teoria cosmologica di Empedocle attraverso i suoi frammenti : all'esposizione
teoretica Empedocle ne affianca una coscientemente mitica, con essa non in contraddizione bensì
complementare. Proposta di annoverare Parmenide fra i « costoro » (toi) con cui Empedocle
polemizza riguardo alla teoria delle sensazioni nel fr. 3 D.-K. (v. 1)
Cosgrove, J.K. Simone Weil’s Spiritual Critique of Modern Science: An Historical-Critical
Assessment
Zygon. 2008, 43, 2, p 353-370
Abstract: Simone Weil is widely recognized today as one of the profound religious thinkers of the
twentieth century. Yet while her interpretation of natural science is critical to Weil's overall
understanding of religious faith, her writings on science have received little attention compared with
Page 28
View in PDF(opens in a new window)her more overtly theological writings. The present essay, which builds on Vance Morgan's Weaving
the World: Simone Weil on Science, Necessity, and Love (2005), critically examines Weil's
interpretation of the history of science. Weil believed that mathematical science, for the ancient
Pythagoreans a mystical expression of the love of God, had in the modern period degenerated into a
kind of reification of method that confuses the means of representing nature with nature itself.
Beginning with classical (Newtonian) science's representation of nature as a machine, and even more
so with the subsequent assimilation of symbolic algebra as the principal language of mathematical
physics, modern science according to Weil trades genuine insight into the order of the world for
symbolic manipulation yielding mere predictive success and technological domination of nature. I
show that Weil's expressed desire to revive a Pythagorean scientific approach, inspired by the
"mysterious complicity" in nature between brute necessity and love, must be recast in view of the
intrinsicallysymbolic character of modern mathematical science. I argue further that a genuinely
mystical attitude toward nature is nascent within symbolic mathematical science itself.
Crivellato, E. Soul, mind, brain: Greek philosophy and the birth of neuroscience
Brain Research Bulletin. 2007, 71, 4, p 327-336
Abstract: The nature of "soul" and the source of "psychic life", the anatomical seat of cognitive, motor
and sensory functions, and the origin of neural diseases were broadly debated by ancient Greek
scientists since the earliest times. Within the space of few centuries, speculation of philosophers and
medical thinkers laid the foundations of modern experimental and clinical neuroscience. This review
provides a brief history of the leading doctrines on the essence of soul and the properties of mind
professed by Greek philosophers and physicians as well as the early attempts to localize brain
faculties and to explain neural disorders
Dana, D. Zalmoxis et la quête de l’inmortalité: pour la révision de quelques théories récentes
Les études classiques. 2007, 75, 1-2, p 93-110
De Paolis, P. Medieval tradition and critical edition of 'Somnuim Scipionis'
Latomus. 2008, 67, 1, p 172-179
Étienne, R. La volière cosmique de Varron à Casinum (Italie)
Revue des etudes anciennes. 2006, 108, 1, p 299-312..
Résumé : À Cassino (Casinum), Varron avait fait construire une somptueuese villa qui le classait
parmi les « piscinarii ». Celle-ci était en effet accompagnée d'une volière en forme de tablette à écrire,
intégrant des viviers. Sa construction répondait à l'arithmologie pythagoricenne fondée sur le chiffre 8,
et l'on peut l'interpréter comme un temple du système astral.
Falco, R. Marsilio Ficino and Vatic Myth
MLN. 2007, 122, 1, Italian Issue, p. 101-122
Abstract This essay analyzes the relationship of charismatic authority to different kinds of
remythicization in the work of Marsilio Ficino, using the theories of Max Weber and Hans Blumenberg
as background. Ficino had unorthodox views on poetry and rejected the human component of
composition, reducing even the vatic poet to a mere instrument of divine will. Paradoxically, however,
Ficino manipulated the myths of the prisci poetae and the furor poeticus, along with the myth of
Orpheus, in creating his own personal charismatic agency among the members of his inner circle of
Neoplatonists. The essay discusses Ficino's means of reconciling this paradox, drawing on such texts
as the De amore, the De divino furore, and the Platonic Theology. Ogni dipintore dipigne s. Cosimo
de' Medici The idea of renovatio would have been as meaningless to the Neoplatonists themselves as
to those who later took up their standard if it had not been couched in highly rational terms -- in other
words, "remythicized." "Remythicization" is Hans Blumenberg's concept, and, drawing on his approach
to myth, this essay will analyze the relation of charismatic authority to forms of remythicization in the
work of Marsilio Ficino. Blumenberg claimed that myth, despite appearances to the...
Fernández Fernández, Á. Bibliographia daemonologica Antiquitatis Graecae et Romanae
MHNH: revista internacional de investigación sobre magia y astrología antiguas. 2006, 6, p 243-298
Résumé : Comporta los siguientes apartados : repertorios bibliográficos sobre religión, demonología y
magia ; diccionarios y léxicos ; actas y monográficos colectivos ; estudios generales relativos al
mundo griego, romano y bizantino ; autores antiguos ; comedia, hagiografía y tragedia ; el término «
daemon » y otros afines ; filosofía presocrática, pitagórica, platónica, estoica y gnóstica ;
Agathodaimon y Eros ; cristianismo ; adivinación, magia y sueños ; dioses, démones, héroes y
Page 29
View in PDF(opens in a new window)personajes mitológicos ; alimentos, enfermedades y medicina ; animales ; religiones mesopotámica,
judía, etrusca, e indo-búdica ; e iconografía minoico-micénica, griega, etrusca y romana
French, C. Norman Bluhm: Station Museum of Contemporary Art
ARTnews. 2007, 106, 9, p. 221
Bluhm,-Norman: Pythagorean Icon (illustration)
Giardina, G. R. Procl. In Eucl. 35, 17-42,8 : sullo statuto delle « scienze matematiche miste »
Elenchos. 2006, 27, 2, p 345-375
Résumé : Traces the history of the division of mathematics into intelligible - that is, following the
Pythagorico-Platonic tradition - and practical - that is, applied or « mixed » -, a distinction presented
most fully in passage of Proclus' commentary on Euclid, where it is attributed to Geminos. The gradual
emergence of the importance of applied mathematics is due, on the one hand, to the success of
Hellenistic engineering and technology, and on the other to the influence of Aristotelianism. Sources
examined include Plato, Resp. 7 ; Aristotle, Anal. Post. A 13, Phys. B 2, Metaph. B 2 ; M 2-3.
Goncalves, C.H.B. An alternative to the Pythagorean rule? Reevaluating Problem 1 of cuneiform
tablet BM 34568
Historia mathematica. 2008, 35, 3, p 173-189
Abstract: The first problem of the Seleucid mathematical cuneiform tablet BM 34568 calculates the
diagonal of a rectangle from its sides without resorting to the Pythagorean rule. For this reason, it has
been a source of discussion among specialists ever since its first publication, but so far no consensus
in relation to its mathematical meaning has been attained. This paper presents two new interpretations
of the scribe's procedure, based on the assumption that he was able to reduce the problem to a
standard Mesopotamian question about reciprocal numbers. These new interpretations are then linked
to interpretations of the Old Babylonian tablet Plimpton 322 and to the presence of Pythagorean triples
in the contexts of Old Babylonian and Hellenistic mathematics.
Gregory, R. Piece of Pie
The Architectural Review. 2007, 222, p. 79
Museo-di-Pitagora-Crotone-Italy
Habinek, T. The wisdom of Ennius
Arethusa. 2006, 39, 3, p 471-488
Résumé : The larger significance of Ennius' dream in ann. 211-212, in which he equates « sapientia »
with « sophia », and defends or celebrates his previous dream of Homer, has received less attention
than it deserves. His reference to a dream of wisdom intervenes in a Roman debate over the nature,
meaning, and class identification of « sapientia ». The dream presents « sapientia » as, in effect, a
new player on the stage of intellectual history. Pythagorean « sophia » is interpreted as yielding to the
« sapientia » of the Roman aristocrat. Thus Ennius not only founds the Roman tradition of hexameter
epic, he also inaugurates an aspect of Roman imperial ideology : Greece's past finds its fulfillment in
Rome's present.
Holland, B. Not Much to Discover, but Quite a Bit to Ponder.
New York Times. 2007, 12/23, p 30
Abstract: I HAVE found precious little music to rediscover this year, but several concerts have helped
me rediscover other things. If none were significant musical events or, for that matter, very successful,
they set me to thinking about bigger matters, and for that I am grateful. Was it just wild coincidence or
a message from beyond that brought forward the Music of the Spheres to New York twice in three
days in February? The Music of the Spheres Society played at Weill Recital Hall on a Friday, a trio
called Music of the Spheres at the Frick Collection on Sunday. Just a month or so ago the American
Symphony Orchestra played a program about the four temperaments. Pythagoras, Galen and the
theories of ancient Greece have been knocked down by modern science, but evidently have still not
been counted out.
Hosle, V. Cicero's Plato
Wiener Studien. 2008, 121, p 145-170.
Summary: The essay explores the relation of Cicero to Plato. First, Cicero interprets Plato
fundamentally as a sceptic (and so in a way radically different from Middle and Neoplatonism);
Page 30
View in PDF(opens in a new window)secondly, Cicero is proud of the superiority of the Roman culture in various repects; thirdly, Cicero
vies with the dialogues written by Plato.
The essay shows how even more than the explicit statements on Plato, the indirect criticism in the
conception of Cicero’s dialogues sheds light on his relation to Plato. Cicero’s insistence on Plato’s
Pythagoreanism must be taken very seriously, since it does not fit well with his general view of Plato.
Huffman, C.A. The Pythagorean Precepts of Aristoxenus: Crucial evidence for Pythagorean moral
philosophy
The Classical Quarterly. 2008, 58, 1, p104-119
Abstract:The article provides a discussion on the Pythagorean precepts of Aristoxenus of Tarentum.
Aristoxenus was a student of Aristotle who was expected to succeed him. He is regarded as one of the
first biographers of philosophers and his works are referred to in the study of Pythagoreanism. One of
his works, the "Pythagorean Precepts," contain moral commands on how people should lead their
lives. The article discusses the exposure of Aristoxenus to Pythagoreanism and examines his work in
comparison to Pythagorean ethics and the works of Plato and Aristotle.
Huffman, C.A. Another Incarnation of Pythagoras
Ancient philosophy. 2008, 28, 1, p 201-226
Review and discussion of Riedweg, C. Pythagoras: His Life, Teaching, and Influence. 2005
Johnson, M.R. Sources for the Philosophy of Archytas
Ancient philosophy. 2008, 28, 1, p 173-200
Review and discussion of Huffman, C. A. Archytas of Tarentum : Pythagorean, philosopher, and
mathematician king. 2005.
Labecki, A. The One and the Many: Part I: The One »,
Dionysius. 2006, 24, p 75-98.
The paper investigates the question as to how the Plotinian One can be the cause of all things without
implying that it is implicitly multiple. To this end a methodology of two aspects, implicit in the writings of
Plotinus, is developed. The first aspect is "simple" because it argues negatively according to
necessity. The second aspects is "progressive" because it permits us to apply minimal discursively
upon that which is properly beyond discursively. The combination of these two methods permit us to
characterize the One as the intensive potency whose inward progressive activity is excluded (i.e.,
generated).
Labecki, A. The One and the Many: Part II: The Many
Dionysius. 2007, 25, p 129-152
Lazzari, L. "The importance of mathematical creativity in the process of youth growing"
Emmeciquadro. Scienza, Educazione e Didattica. 2008, July.
Nel breve saggio sulla figura di Pitagora e della scuola pitagorica, ho voluto evidenziare non solo il
fascino dell’universo greco, ma anche il lato giocoso/creativo della disciplina stessa. Con questa
pubblicazione, intitolata Pitagora – Il metodo e lo sguardo alla realtà attraverso l’esperienza scientifica
(Pitagora, Bologna 2008) «ho voluto mettere in risalto per tutti i curiosi del mondo e della civiltà greca
la poliedricità di una "figura leggendaria” quale è quella di Pitagora, nella cui opera scientifica si
affaccia anche l’idea dell’infinito (vd. numeri irrazionali) che non ha tutt’ora smesso di porre
interrogativi, stimolando ricerche e paradossi» (dall’Introduzione).
Ho cercato in questo modo di portare in superficie gli aspetti creativi/interattivi di questa materia al fine
di rendere l’astrattezza della matematica più facilmente accessibile ai non «addetti ai lavori» e
soprattutto a quei ragazzi che attraverso la creatività di un adulto, un insegnante in questo caso,
scoprono una coscienza rinnovata di se stessi rispetto a un mondo superficiale che talvolta li depreda
e li delude. Diceva il matematico tedesco Georg Cantor: «L’essenza della matematica è la sua
libertà».
Lech, M. L. A note on Aristophanes, Clouds 76
Classica Mediaevalia. 2005, 56, p 49-55
Résumé : Studies some of the meanings of the word atrapos, usually denoting some kind of path,
which might have been chosen by Aristophanes in order to play on its philosophical meaning : the
path of the (Platonico-Pythagorean) philosopher, its martial meaning of backstabbing, the path of
Ephialtes, and its proverbial contrast with hodos.
Page 31
View in PDF(opens in a new window)Macris, C. Les « hommes divins » et leurs dieux : le cas des cultes « orientaux »
Mediterranea. 2007, 4, p 219-235
Martínez Pérsico, M. Pentagrama de paisajes
Extravío: revista electrónica de literatura comparada. 2008. 3, p 27-44
Abstract: The present work analyzes the nature of the sonorous landscape composed by Federico
García Lorca in his youthful notes: Impresiones y paisajes, written in 1918. In order to explain the
peculiar cosmovision of the Andalusian writer, I will develop different conceptions about the
linkage between language, world and music forged by thinkers of the old and contemporary
world (Pitagoras, Baudelaire, Wittgenstein) to evidence that the Lorquian musicality depends on
the principle of iconicity or isomorphism. Some literary scenes will be also analyzed to show
that Lorca was an early diffuser of musical resources developed by numerous composers of the
last century.
Monchy-Brulin, P. Pythagore à la croisée des savoirs
Cahiers pédagogiques : mensuel pendant l'année scolaire. 2008, 466, p 30
Pavone, C. Definizione di tempo e di moto in Varrone
Giornale italiano di filologia. 2006, 58, 2, p 287-291
Résumé : Nella definizione del tempo in de ling. lat. 5, 10-13 e del tempo legato al moto in 6, 3 la
matrice non è pitagorica, ma aristotelica con contaminazioni stoiche e probabilmente mediata da fonti
pseudopitagoriche
Picot, J.C. Aristote, Poétique 1457 b 13-14 : la métaphore d'espèce à espèce
Revue des etudes grecques. 2006, 119, 2, p 532-551
Résumé : Dans le prolongement de l'article de l'auteur, notes exégétiques et critiques sur ce passage
où Aristote mentionne deux brefs fragments d'un poète dont il ne précise pas le nom. C'est à tort
qu'on y a vu des citations d'Empédocle et qu'ils ont été inclus dans les éditions de cet auteur (fr. 138
et 143 DK)
Reger, G. On the road to India with Apollonios of Tyana and Thomas the Apostle
Mediterranean historical review. 2007, 22, 2, p 257-271
Abstract: This article explores some ways in which the authors of the Life of Apollonios of Tyana and
the Acts of Thomas use mechanisms of social networking familiar to their readers to lend verisimilitude
to tales of travel in distant India. In both works, the protagonists rely on mundane social networking
through claims of ethnicity, religion, language, and commerce to overcome barriers of communication
and obtain access to locals. Use of these mechanisms to achieve verisimilitude and secure the
reader's belief fits well with recent scholarship that sees these works and others like them as most
closely related to the genre of Greek fiction. At the same time, achieving verisimilitude serves the
authors' larger purposes of presenting their protagonists as extraordinary figures engaged in
extraordinary missions.
Salas, O.A. Alma, cosmos e intelecto en el pensamiento presocrático: de Tales a Heráclito
Nova Tellus. 2008, 26, p 19-54
Skarsouli, P. La « paroimia » en tant que forme discursive chez les Présocratiques : réflexions sur
Empédocle et Héraclite
Revue de philosophie ancienne. 2005, 23, 2, p 39-54
Slaveva-Griffin, S. UNITY OF THOUGHT AND WRITING: ENN. 6.6 AND PORPHYRY'S
ARRANGEMENT OF THE ENNEADS.
Classical Quarterly. 2008, 58, 1, p 277-285.
Abstract: A literary criticism of the book "The Enneads," by Porphyry is presented. It examines the
arrangement of Poryphyry of the book in relation to the concept of Plotinus of multiplicity and number
and the late Pythagorean thought of the theology of arithmetic. The author believes that Porphyry
regards his work as a natural continuation of the Hellenistic and Roman publishing trend.
Page 32
View in PDF(opens in a new window)Tang, C. The Tragedy of Popular Sovereignty : Hölderlin's Der Tod des Empedokles
Deutsche Vierteljahrsschrift für Literaturwissenschaft und Geistesgeschichte. 2007, 81, 3, p 346-368
Tell, H. Sages at the Games. Intellectual Displays and Dissemination of Wisdom in Ancient Greece.
Classical Antiquity. 2007, 26, 2, p 249-276.
Abstract: This paper explores the role the Panhellenic centers played in facilitating the circulation of
wisdom in ancient Greece. It argues that there are substantial thematic overlaps among practitioners
of wisdom (sophoi), who are typically understood as belonging to different categories (such as
presocratics, sophists, poets, et al.). By focusing on the presence of sophoi at the Panhellenic centers
in general, and Delphi in particular, we can acquire a more accurate picture of the particular expertise
they possessed, and of the range of meanings the Greeks, attributed to the word sophos. This
approach seeks to challenge the conventional categories of modern scholarship and to offer a broader
and more inclusive interpretive framework in its stead. One such thematic overlap is the way in which
many sophoi are described as exerting an almost uncanny, yet highly conventional ability to attract
listeners and enchant them with their verbal performances. There is plenty of material to support the
view that sophoi, through tapping into the repository of sophia that Delphi constituted and by aligning
themselves with its authority, were seen as themselves being a conduit for a similar type of
charismatic speech
Villegas Guillén, S. Un fresco de Rafael, un desconocido Boecio y un diapasón
Estudios clasicos. Madrid. 2006, 48, 129, p 131-135
Résumé : Boecio, en su tratado « De musica », explica cómo Pitágoras comprobó experimentalmente
que todos los intervalos musicales posibles dentro de una octava se deducen de los distintos pares
de proporciones que pueden formarse con los números 6, 8, 9 y 12. Estas proporciones las
representa Rafael en su fresco « La escuela de Atenas » en un dibujo que observa Pitágoras.
Wallner, G. Pythagoras philosophus cantico religioso celebratus
Latinitas. 2005, 3, p ..?
Wilson, R. The Philamath's Alphabet: P.
Mathematical Intelligencer. 2008, 30, 1, p80
Abstract:The article features several classic postage stamps that are related to the field of athematics.
It includes the postage stamps of Pacoili, of Pascal's Triangle, of Plato's Academy and of Pythagoras.
The article also provides information about the persons or concepts that were featured on the classic
postage stamps.
Zamfir, K. Text-Critical and Intertextual Remarks on 1 Tim 2:8-10
Novum Testamentum. 2008, 50, 4, p 376-406
Abstract: After reassessing the various ways of dealing with the ellipsis in 1 Tim 2:9, it is argued that
βoνλoµαι πρoσενχεσθαι offers a plausible resolution. Yet the ambiguity of the text suggests that 1 Tim
2:8-15 resulted from using several sources. The intertextual analysis shows that 1 Timothy very likely
used as a pre-text the cultic rule found in 1 Cor 11 and its context. A second pre-text consists of a
station code tradition and of Neo-Pythagorean exhortations. This complex intertextual enterprise
allows 1 Tim to "correct" Paul's more permissive attitude regarding the role men and women can play
in public worship.
Internet
Athenaeum of Hermes-Thoth Online Library
http://www.hermesthoth.org/library/index.shtml
Welcome to the Athenaeum of Hermes-Thoth online library. On the following pages you will be able to
find a wide selection of Platonic, Neoplatonic, and Hermetic writings, as well as several books on the
traditional Hellenic religion.
Because of their age, many of these works are no longer under copyright, but the English translations
may still be under copyright. However, this online library only features those English translations, and
other related works, which have now fallen out of copyright and are thus in the public domain. It is
therefore possible to make these works freely available for your use.
Among other interesting texts:
Page 33
View in PDF(opens in a new window)The Golden Verses Of Pythagoras
The Golden Verses of Pythagoras are among the most important Hellenic "scriptures", given moral,
ethical, and religious guidance. This book also contains other Pythagorean verses as well.
The Orphic Hymns
The Orphic Hymns are a collection of ancient hymns and prayers given in veneration to the gods.
Ocellus Lucanus - On the Nature of the Universe
An early scientific treatise speculating on the nature of the cosmos. Ocellus Lucanus was a
Pythagorean, and his view of the grand cosmological scheme is important to understanding the view
held by later Neoplatonists.
Cicero - On the Nature of the Gods
The Roman philosopher and statesman Cicero wrote an excellent book on the nature of the gods that
is of considerable importance to Platonic and Neoplatonic studies.
Sallustius - On Gods and the World
The late Hellenistic philosopher, Sallustius, was commissioned by Emperor Julianus to write a short
introduction to Iamblichaean Neoplatonism on the nature of gods and the cosmos, which could be
easily understood by "the common man". Presented here is that essay.
The Life of Apollonius of Tyana, Volume 1
The Life of Apollonius of Tyana, Volume 1, by Philostratus (translated by F. C. Conybeare) gives us
the most comprehensive biography of this great traveling philosopher and holy man that we have
today. The first volume covers Books I - V.
The Life of Apollonius of Tyana, Volume 2
The Life of Apollonius of Tyana, Volume 2, is the second volume of Philostratus' The Life of Apollonius
of Tyana, Volume 1, and covers books VI - VIII.
The Neoplatonists - A Study in the History of Hellenism
The Neoplatonists - A Study in the History of Hellenism, by Thomas Whittaker (1918). Graeco-Roman
Civilization in its Political Development; The Stages of Greek Philosophy; Religious Developments in
Later Antiquity; Plotinus and his Nearest Possessions; The Philosophical System of Plotinus; The
Mysticism of Plotinus; The Diffusion of Neoplatonism; The Polemic against Christianity; The Athenian
School;and The Influence of Neoplatonism. This is a very large file.
Biographicon
http://www.biographicon.com/view/r6sko/Alcmaeon_of_Croton
http://www.biographicon.com/view/46mm9/Empedocles
http://www.biographicon.com/view/60q2q/Philolaus
http://www.biographicon.com/search?q=pythagoras
http://www.biographicon.com/view/rnvob/Zalmoxis
and others.
The Biographicon is the place for everyone's biography. All your friends' biographies are welcome
here - you can get started on them now. You can edit or create any biography. Be bold. If you can
make something better, click the [edit] link and fix it on the spot.
You are who you know. We focus on connections between people and have a place to write about the
relationship two people share.
Christian Classics Ethereal Library
http://www.ccel.org/search?qu=divTitle:pythagoras%20&category=fulltext&order=score
Pythagoras in chapter title: Search Results 22 hits.
Empedocles in chapter title: Search Results 7 hits.
Jan Helmer. Pythagoras project: Materiaal
http://www.pythagorasproject.nl/index.php?p=home
Voor iedereen die na het lezen van het boek wil oefenen is er oefenmateriaal. Ook het proefwerk van
Matteo is met uitwerkingen te downloaden.
Docenten die op hun school een project Pythagoras willen starten kunnen op deze site gratis
materiaal downloaden.
Voor de wiskunde is er dan Het Trio van Pythagoras. Er volgt nog een les aan de hand van een
getallenraadsel over binaire getallen en voor de collega's.
Er staat een voorbeeld van een wiskundewandeling, maar ook opdrachten voor Geschiedenis,
Nederlands, Maatschappijleer, Levensbeschouwing, Muziek, (natuurkunde volgt) op. Ook het
Pythagoraskaartspel is als opdracht bij tekenen/handvaardigheid, techniek of informatica te maken.
Page 34
View in PDF(opens in a new window)Als afsluiting kan er dan een kaarttoernooi worden georganiseerd. Projectmateriaal te over om er een
geslaagd Pythagorasproject van te maken. En neem gerust contact op voor wat praktische tips.
James Hopkins HarmonixHealing 3 juli 2008
Alternative Healing through Sound, Vibration and Harmonix. An overview with Dr. James Hopkins
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9eQpVQk_wQ Contributions of Pythagoras
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOqX2X5nmVM Harmony of the Spheres
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwz1jyzcGWE
HARMONIA
Hobart Huson: Pythagoron
http://name.umdl.umich.edu/afx0159
Pythagoron; the religious, moral, and ethical teachings of Pythagoras, [electronic resource] /
reconstructed and ed. by Hobart Huson.
[San Antonio ?] : , 1947.
http://mirlyn.lib.umich.edu:80/F/?func=direct&doc_number=004939822&local_base=MIU01_PUB
The Hans Kayser Translation Project
Hans Kayser: a brief biography. by Ariel Godwin. 2007
http://hanskayser.com/EZ/kayser2/kayser2/index.php
For many years we have been in possession of a number of important cosmological
masterpieces in various languages, which we always dreamed of having translated
into English. The Sacred Science Translation Society began with the inspiration of an anonymous
Angel Benefactor, who offered to support the majority of our first project, the translation of Hans
Kayser's Textbook of Harmonics.
While considering our options to produce the most exact, and highest quality translations possible, we
were extremely fortunate to connect with Ariel & Joscelyn Godwin, and to establish an ongoing
relationship with them in which Ariel would produce the translations, under the oversight of his father,
Joscelyn, one of the most respected scholars and translators of works in these fields.
Open library
http://openlibrary.org/search?q=pythagoras&ftokens=mhsncqbxgkup
Among others complete texts of:
Political fragments of Archytas, Charondas, Zaleucus, and other ancient Pythagoreans, preserved by
Stobæus; and also, Ethical fragments of Hierocles ... preserved by the same author. door Taylor,
Thomas (Printed by C. Whittingham for the translator, 1822)
The life of Pythagoras door André Dacier (Printed for J. Tonson, 1707)
The dream of Pythagoras, and other poems door Emma Tatham (Weslyan Conference Office, 1872)
The dream of Pythagoras and other poems door Emma Tatham (Longman, 1855)
The secret history of Pythagoras. door Samuel Croxall (R. Griffiths, 1751)
Ancient philosophy door Epictetus. (Lovell, 1872)
Geschichte der pythagorischen philosophie. door Ritter, Heinrich, 1791-1869. (F. Perthes, 1826)
On a donkey's hurricane deck door R. Pitcher Woodward (I.H. Blanchard Co., 1912)
Plato or Protagoras? door Schiller, F. C. S. (B. H. Blackwell, 1908)
Bygone beliefs door H. Stanley Redgrove (Rider, 1920)
Dionysii Lambini De vitis, dogmatis & apophthegmatis eorum qui in philosophia claruerunt, libri X door
(Excudebat Henricus Stephanus, 1570)
Little journeys to the homes of great teachers door Hubbard, Elbert (The Roycrofters, 1908)
Sacred Science Institute
www.sacredscience.com/archive/TranslationSociety.htm
Details on currently available Hans Kayser titles:
www.sacredscience.com/archive/Kayser.htm
Sacred texts
http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/index.htm
Among others the following texts of interest:
ORPHEUS The Hymns of Orpheus by Thomas Taylor [1792]
PRE-SOCRATIC PHILOSOPHERS Ancilla to the Pre-Socratic Philosophers
by Kathleen Freeman [1948]. The fragmentary textual remains of the oldest ancient Greek
philosophers.
Page 35
View in PDF(opens in a new window)PLATO The Dialogues of Plato
PYTHAGORAS The Golden Verses of Pythagoras by Florence M. Firth [1902]
The Golden Verses of Pythagoras by Fabre d'Olivet [1917] The full Greek text with English and
French translations; featuring extended essays by a prominent 18th century French estoteric writer.
Pythagoras and the Delphic Mysteries by Edouard Schuré [1906] The philosopher, his times and
thought, and the modern esoteric interpretation of his legacy.
Apollonius of Tyana by George Robert Stowe Mead [1901] Mead's review of the literature around
Apollonius
The Life of Apollonius of Tyana by Philostrates, tr. F.C. Conybeare [1912] Philostrates' Life of
Apollonius is our primary contemporary account.
PLUTARCH Works of Plutarch: Plutarch's Morals: Theosophical Essays tr. by Charles William King
[1908] Six essays by Plutarch, rich with details of ancient mythology and natural philosophy.
The Roman and Greek Questions of Plutarch, tr. by Frank Cole Babbitt [1938] A treasure trove of
classical pagan lore.
PROCLUS Fragments that Remain of the Lost Writings of Proclus By Proclus, tr. by Thomas Taylor,
[1825] Some writings of the last classical era neo-Platonist philosopher.
PLOTINUS The Enneads of Plotinus by Plotinus, tr. by Stephen MacKenna and B. S. Page [19171930]
OVID Metamorphoses English and Latin
The Mysteries of Mithra by Franz Cumont [1903] The religion that might have taken the place of
Christianity.
The Oriental Religions in Roman Paganism by Franz Cumont [1911] Roman paganism later
incorporated a diverse set of beliefs including ecstatic near-eastern religions, a wide range of goddess
cults, dualism from Persia, and astrology.
Astrology and Religion Among the Greeks and Romans by Franz Cumont [1912]
Giannis Stamatellos
Ancient Greek philosophy
http://www.philosophy.gr/
Ancient Greek Philosophy studies the philosophical activities and enquiries of the Greco-Roman
thinkers. It covers a period of 1,000 years; from the 6th century BC to the 6th century AD. It starts from
the theoretical novelty the early Presocratic thinkers such as Thales and Anaximander and ends to the
late Neoplatonic and Aristotelian commentators such as Simplicius and Philoponus. Ancient Greek
philosophers can be found throughout the Greek-speaking Mediterranean regions such as South Italy,
Sicily, Asia Minor, Egypt and North Africa. The questions posed from the Greek thinkers concern the
philosophical areas of Cosmology, Ethics, Epistemology, Logic, Metaphysics and Aesthetics such as:
What is the origin of the Universe? What is the nature of Cosmos? Is there any transcendental reality
beyond perceptual existence? Is there any true knowledge? Is there any ethical standard for good life?
The Philosophers
Ancient Greek Philosophers were mainly pagans and for this reason their philosophical activities were
not totally welcomed by the rising Christianity. Hence the end of ancient philosophy is usually marked
by the close of the Platonic Academy of Athens by the emperor Justinian in 529AD. The last director of
the Academy was Damascius.
The Writings
Unfortunately only a small part of the ancient philosophical writings survive nowadays. It is noteworthy
that the works of the Presocratic thinkers as well as of the Hellenistic philosophers survive only in
fragments mainly from late doxographical sources. On the other hand, despite the fragmentary
evidences of the Greek philosophical thought, its theoretical completeness and originality can be
undoubtedly observed in the survived texts.
Time Periods
Ancient Greek Philosophy is usually divided into four time-periods: (1) Presocratic Period (6th – 5th
century BC); (2) Classical Period (4th century BC); (3) Hellenistic Period (late 4th – 1st century BC);
(4) Imperial Period (1st BC – 6th century AD). Eminent thinkers and schools of these philosophical
periods are the following:
· Presocratic Philosophy (6th – 5th century BC)
- The Ionians (Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes, Xenophanes, Heraclitus)
- The Pythagorean School (Pythagoras, Philolaus, Archytas, Alcmaeon)
- The Eleatic School (Parmenides, Zeno and Melissus)
- The Pluralists and the Atomists (Empedocles, Anaxagoras and Democritus).
· Classical Philosophy (4th century BC)
Page 36
View in PDF(opens in a new window)- The Sophists (Protagoras, Gorgias, Antiphon, Hippias and Prodicus).
- Socrates
- Plato
- Aristotle
· Hellenistic Philosophy (late 4th century BC – 1st century AD)
- Cynics (Antisthenes, Diogenes, Crates)
- Stoics (Zeno of Citium, Cleanthes, Chrysippus)
- Epicureans (Epicurus, Metrodorus, Hemarchus, Polyaenus, Lucretius)
- Sceptics (Pyrrho of Elis, Carneades)
· Imperial Philosophy (1st century AD – 6th century AD)
- Middle-Platonism (Plutarch, Albinus, Apuleius, Atticus, Maximus Ammonius, Philo)
- Neo-Pythagoreanism (Nicomachus, Moderatus of Gades, Numenius)
- Early Neoplatonism (Plotinus, Porphyry, Amelius)
- Later Neoplatonists (Iamblichus, Proclus, Damascius)
Copyright 1997-2006 Giannis Stamatellos E-mail: gstamap@yahoo.com
Winter, T.N. Mechanical problems in the corpus of Aristotle
Classics and Religious Studies. Faculty Publications, Classics and Religious Studies Department
University of Nebraska - Lincoln Year 2007. 25 p.
http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1067&context=classicsfacpub
Summary: When I was translating the Mechanical Problems, which I did from the TLG Greek text, I
was still in the fundamentalist authorship mode: that it survives in the corpus of Aristotle was then for
me prima facie evidence that Aristotle was the author. And at many places I found indications
that the date of the work was apt for Aristotle. But eventually, I saw a join in Vitruvius, as in the brief
summary below, “Who Wrote the Mechanical Problems . . .”
To “cut to the chase,” I conclude that the likeliest author is Archytas of Tarentum.
CD
Baird, F.E. Three solitary figures-Pythagoras, Xenophanes, and Heraclitus
In: Philosophic classics. Volume I, Ancient philosophy / Forrest E Baird; Walter Arnold Kaufmann;
Princeton, N.J. : Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic, 2008. Audioboek op CD; Engels.
Baird, F.E. Pluralists-Empedocles, Anaxagoras, Democritus (and Leucippus);
In: Philosophic classics. Volume I, Ancient philosophy / Forrest E Baird; Walter Arnold Kaufmann;
Princeton, N.J. : Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic, 2008. Audioboek op CD; Engels.
Schweizer, S. Turning-points for the West from Pythagoras and Plato through Gnosticism and
Neoplatonism.
Wheaton, Ill. : Theosophical Society in America, ©2008. DVD; Engels
ISBN: 9780835698955 0835698955
Beschrijving: 3 videodiscs (149 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in.
Colophon
Pythagoras Foundation Newsletter.
Semi-annual Newsletter of the Pythagoras Foundation.
Editors:
Nico Bader, Marie-Anne de Roode.
Translation :
Nellie Kaarsbergen
Address:
Thorbeckelaan 46. 1412 BR Naarden. The Netherlands.
E-mail :
nico.bader@stichting-pythagoras.nl
Website:
http://www.stichting-pythagoras.nl/
Editorial Board, in progress.
Advisory Board, in progress.
ISSN: 1872-3241 (online version); 1872-3233 (print version).