GRECO-ROMAN MAGIC - 10/3/2022

A QUICK GUIDE TO MYSTERY CULTS

PYTHAGORAS

• Pythagoras was a cult leader and a wizard
• Pre-socratic, explain what that means to readers
• Lived around 6th-5th centuries BCE, one of the earliest we know
• Often called the “First Philosopher” and so theres a ton of legendary BS about him
• His followers, the Pythagoreans, were a distinct group in antiquity, who followed a specific way of life
• Pythagoras never wrote anything. Most accounts of him come centuries after he died.
• Its hard to tell what comes from Pythagoras, what doesnt, whats just a continuation of an early tradition etc
• Acusmata - Sayings of Pythagoras
• Best text we have is “The Life of Pythagoras” by Diogenes Laerius (d. 240)/Porphyry (d. 305) Remember that second name.
• And “On the Pythagorean Life” By the platonist Iamblichus (Also remember that name)
• These texts are deeply legendary
• Born on Samos
• Nothing is known about his early life
• Texts say he probably travelled to egypt, to learn their Wisdoms this was a common trope
• When he was 40 he moved to Kroton in what is now Italy where he began his cult
• He became famous as a sort of sage, a wonder-worker, not as a mathematician.
• GOLDEN THIGH THING Aristotle: “The son of Nicomachus (i.e. Aristotle) adds that Pythagoras was once seen by many people, on that same day and at the same hour, both at Metapontum and at Croton; and at Olympia during the games, he got up in the theatere and showed that one of his thighs was golden. The same writer says that while crossing the Coasas he was hailed by the river, and that many people heard him so hailed.”
• (Having a golden thigh was a sign of divinity)
• Supposedly killed a deadly serpent by biting and killing it himself, pretty cool.
• So what did he teach?
• The soul is distinct from the body, and survives after death.
• This was HELLA unusual for the time. Before this, the soul was seen as more of a “Shade” as a sort of footprint one leaves on the world.
• Plato picks this up
• This is something he might ACTUALLY have gotten from the egyptians, who did believe in a post-mortem life for the soul
• Also taught that after the body dies, the soul is reborn into another body. Reincarnation!
• There’s a story in Life of Pythagoras: “Once they said he was passing by when a puppy was being whipped, and he took pity and said “Stop, do not beat it; for it is the soul of a friend that I recognized when I heard it screaming.””
• We dont know much else about his actual theory of reincarnation
• He was seen as an expert on the soul
• It seems that his magic was based around manipulating his own soul
• His first followers were likely a sort of proto-mystery school who followed a specific way of life.
• This is how his followers were msot known.
• SO WHAT DID HE FOLLOW
• Vegetarian. Likely connected to vegetarianism
• Significant amount of ritual.
• Though he DID follow the existing greek religion, the pythagoreans followed their own specific rules around these rites.
• Ex: You were not allowed to enter the temple barefoot
• Ex: You had to pour libations from the “ear” or handle of the cup.
• Ex: You couldn’t wear images of the gods on your finger
• Ex: You cannot sacrifice a white cock
• Theres also stranger ones:
• Ex: You cannot bury your dead in wool
• Ex: Right shoe goes on first before the left foot
• Ex: No travelling on public roads
• Ex: Absolutely NO beans
• Oh wow
• From the Life of Pythagoras:
• “Pythagoreans enjoined abstention from beans either because they are like the privy parts, or because they are like the gates of Hades (for this is the only plant that has no joints), or because they are destructive, or because they are like the nature of the universe, or because they are oligarchical (being used in the choice of rulers by lot). Things that fall from the table when they were told not to pick up - to accustom them to eating with moderation, or because such things marked the death of someone. (...) They must not touch a white cock, because this animal is sacred to the Month and is a suppliant, and supplication is a good thing. (...) They must not break the load, nor must they divide the loaf which brings them together. Others explain the rule by reference to the judgment in Hades; others explain that it is from the loaf that the universe starts.”
• We dont know what like, half of these mean.
• “Step not over a balance, i.e. be not covetous;
• ‘poke not the fire with a sword’ i.e. do not vex with sharp words a man swollen with anger;
• ‘pluck not the crown’, i.e. offend not against the laws, which are the crowns of cities.
• Or again, ‘eat not Heart’, i.e. vex not yourself with grief;
• ‘Sit not on the corn ration’ i.e. live not in idleness;
• ‘When on a journey, turn not back’ i.e. when you are dying, cling not to this life.”
• This reminds us a lot of MYSTERY CULTS
• Many have connected Pythagoras and his Buds to the ORPHICS, the ancient mystery cult centered around the ancient mythical figure of Orpheus.
• They share a lot of features. It wouldn’t be a stretch to call the pythagoreans a sort of Mystery cult.
• “We can safely say that the name fo Orpheus was associated, from at least the fifth century on, with the institution of various rites, which included initiation into mysteries depicting terrors of Hades, and whose object was to procure a happy state for initiates before and after death” - G.S. Kirk, J.E. Raven, & M. Schofield
• You can probably say the same for Pythagoras, they were also based on secret initiations and a specific aesthetic way of life
• We know very little about what pythagoras actually taught, and this is likely On Purpose. They don't call it a mystery cult for nothing.
• They became famous for their practice of Silence, sources (who?) say that if one wished to become a pythagorean, they had to observe a 5-year silence.
• There also seemed to be Esoteric aspects to pythagorean teachings that initiates were forbidden from disclosing to outsiders.
• It seems that the group came under attack in the last few years of the 6th centuries bce, which forced Pythagoras to leave for Metapontum, where he is thought to have died around 490 bce
• 
  
• Okay but what about math?
• Well thats tough
• Oftentimes, when we see numbers and esoterica together, we point and say “Ah yeah, thats pythagorean.” But there’s actually very little evidence that Pythagoras himself engaged much in ideas about sacred mathematics. But that doesn’t mean they weren’t there.
• Gotta be careful not to mistake the platonist for the pythagorean and vice-versa
• Its thought that after he died, his followers were split into two camps
• The Acusmatici: Those who followed the rituals that outwardly characterized the movement
• The Mathematici: Those who focused more on the “Philosophical” elements, especially mathematics.
• 
  
• We also have self-identified Pythagoreans:
• Philolaus - Who believed that reality was based more on the concepts of the Unlimited and Limit, and that understanding the relationship between the two would explain the cosmos.
• Archytas - Innovations in math and geometry
• So LATER pythagoreans became heavily associated with things like Esoteric Geometry, arithmetic, and music theory
• These post-pythagoreans are more associated with the idea that reality itself is made of numbers
• They also developed geometric theories that supposedly explained the inner-workings of the cosmos
• Especially in works like Philolaus, the idea of Harmony becomes central. Mathematical and geometric ratios becomes key to their philosophy, which is often expressed in music. The pythagoreans
• Pythagoreanism is also associated with a specific cosmology, involving the “Music of the Spheres”
• Philolaus may have suggested that the earth was not the center of the universe, claiming that it revolved around a “great fire“ but this is speculation
• Is it possible that all of this comes from Pythagoras? Maybe!
• Its entirely possible that much of this comes from his “secret teachings” the Mathematici
• Sometime in the 4th century, they vanish
• It only in the 1st century bce that we see them re-emerge as:
• NEO-PYTHAGOREANISM
• This isn’t a specific school of thought either
• This is a loose group of thinkers who all hold pythagoras as a central figure in the history of philosophy
• This is probably where a lot of ideas that we consider to be Pythagorean come from
• NP’s were heavily influenced by Platonism
• The Pythagorean Theorem probably isn’t even his
• 
  

THE ELEUSINIAN MYSTERIES

• The ancient greek thinkers were largely not enlightened rationalists
• So what was more accurate? Lets get some more Nuance.
• Ideas like Esotericism or Mysticism were equally as important
• Mystery Cults
• The Eleusinian Mystery Cult was probably the most popular
• -
• Mystery Cult is a very difficult thing to define, they existed across broad geographic areas and time periods, and drawing similarities between any two was pretty hard.
• Generally defined by Initiatory Rituals, and often having a specific deity at its center
• Participation in the rituals would supposedly radically transform the initiates life, offering benefits in this life or the next
• Many also had a sort of Ceremonial Metaphorical Death and Rebirth
• The most popular was probably the Eleusinian Mysteries, centered around Demeter and Persephone (Kore)
• Based in the city of Eleusis
• At the height of its popularity, hundreds if not thousands of people would have taken place in its rituals and become initiated in its mysteries
• The idea being that you become initiated and now you’re part of the community.
• We know very little about what was actually going on
• This is by design!
• The secrets of the eleusinian mysteries were just that, secrets.
• There are stories of figures like Diagoras of Melos, who publicly revealed some of the secrets, only to be tried and exiled as a result.
• So this was serious!
• Plutarch (d. 120) (who was likely an initiate himself) has some descriptions of the Eleusinian mysteries. As does Clement of Alexandria, who was a christian.
• Plato even eludes to the mysteries
• They were a BIG thing. Theres even speculation (from whom?) that the majority of atheneans were initiates, and that the cult received state support.
• 
  
• So what do we actually know?
• This is an Annual Event with multiple stages
• Took place in Late Summer, like september, and lasted like 10 days in total
• Potential initiates would prepare themselves by ritually bathing in the local waters
• Animal sacrifice performed by a priest would open the festival
• On the 4th day, they would all begin to walk 22km from Athens to Eleusis on foot.
• On the way, they would sing songs in unison and swing branches called Bacchoi
• This would be an intense journey, especially in the summer heat
• Then they would fast for a day while continuing to observe various rituals, like an All-night vigil.
• The purpose is to induce an intense altered state of consciousness in the initiate.
• The fast was then broken with a barley drink known as Kykeon
• We dont know whats in it, but some argue that it contained mind-altering substances
• At this point, the initiates, referred to as Mustai, (which is where we get the word Mystic) would enter a big hall known as the Telesterion, and would come out a few days later completely transformed by whatever happened in there.
• We have no clue what happened in there. The secret was kept really well.
• It was probably pretty intense.
• The states are referred to in greek with words like Mania or Baccahea, and would supposedly have lasting effects that would effect the initiates for the rest of their life.
• -
• During the ritual, its thought that the initiates enact a sort of ritual death and rebirth, akin to the myth of Demeter and Persephone, in which they descend into the underworld and return reborn. Perhaps even a sort of near-death experience followed by an ecstatic rebirth.
• “Mystery rites were intended to unsettle, disturb, and horrify, as only in absolutely contrast to the initial terror could the initiate arrive at profound modification of his attitude to life.” - Yulia Ustinvova
• 
  
• So what actually happened in the Telesterion?
• There are references to a few classes of activity:
• Dromena - “Things Done”
• Deiknumena = “Things Shown”
• Legomena - “Things Said”
• What does this indicate? Well its thought that :
• Dromena = A re-enactment of what happened to Persephone
• Deuknumena = Something involving sacred objects connected to the myth revealed to the initiate
• Legomena = explanations of the meanings of the objects
• There were also likely numerous other factors like sounds, sensations, and movements
• Presided over by a group of priests, both men and women
• Groups of previous initiates would sit on the sidelines and watch the ritual, as if it were a performance.
• Music might have been a thing
• Its also possible that initiates were subjected to physical pain, being blindfolded etc
• Then followed the peak, which could have been a sort of spiritual unity with the divine. Accompanied by a vision of pure light, or experience of transcendence.
• Many report (who?) a feeling of complete transformation, even losing their fear of death.
• “Mystery festivals should be unforgettable events, casting their shadows over the whole of ones future life, create experiences that transform existence. That participation in mysteries was a special form of experience, a pathos of the soul, or psyche, of the candidate, is clearly stated in several ancient texts.” - Walter Burkert
• “At first there was wandering, and wearisome roaming, nd some fearful journeys through unending darkness, and just before the end (telos), every sort of terror, shuddering and trembling and sweat and amazement. Out of these emerges marvellous light, and pure places and emadows follow after, with voices adn dances and solemnities of sacred utterances and holy visions. Among these the completely initiated (mustes), walks freely and without restraint; cowned, he takes part in rites, and joins with pure and pious people; he observes the crowd of people living at this very tiem uninitiated and unpurified, who are driven together and trample each other in deep mud and darkness, and continue in their fear of death, their evils and their disbelief in the good things in the world. Then in accordance with nature the soul stays engaged with the body in close union thereafter.” - Plutarch
• This was a major element of religion in the ancient hellenic world
• Both Plato and Plutarch both referred to the Eleusinian Mystery as something that was contemporary to them.
• Lasted up to Christianity
• Alongside the rationalist writings of Aristotle and Plato, many people were involved in practices that would be considered today to be magical or mystical, and this was considered an equal if not more valid way to arrive at knowledge.

ORPHISM

PORPHYRY AND IAMBLICUS

THE PGM