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> supposedly he met Thales, was initiated as Egyptian priest in Hermopolis, spent time in Babylon after being captured, and was initiated into every mystery cul
by p-e-w 3y ago
> supposedly he met Thales, was initiated as Egyptian priest in Hermopolis, spent time in Babylon after being captured, and was initiated into every mystery cult he could
It should be noted that such claims were made about many ancient sages to boost their "wisdom pedigree". Plato is said by ancient sources to have traveled to Egypt and Italy, but my understanding is that most modern scholars doubt that those journeys really happened.
- dr_dshiv 3y agoPythagoras’s father was a gem trader from the Levantine coast so the likelihood of him traveling around the Mediterranean is pretty decent. His Egyptian connection is attested early by Herodotus and his devotion to diverse schools of wisdom is attested in a critical statement by his contemporary, Heraclitus. Of course it’s hard to know. But Plato wrote several letters about his trip to Italy, because he was briefly enslaved there before being freed by his friend the Pythagorean Archytas (who is famous for creating a steam powered flying machine and wrote a work on mechanical engineering). https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1067&context=classicsfacpub https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1...