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Measuring Heaven: Pythagoras and His Influence on Thought and Art in Antiquity and the Middle Ages
Surviving fragments of information about Pythagoras (born ca. 570 BCE) gave rise to a growing set of legends about this famous sage and his followers, whose reputations throughout Antiquity and the Middle Ages have never before been studied systematically. This book is the first to examine the unified concepts of harmony, proportion, form, and order that were attributed to Pythagoras in the millennium after his death and the important developments to which they led in art, architecture, mathematics, astronomy, music, medicine, morals, religion, law, alchemy, and the occult sciences. In this profusely illustrated book, Christiane L. Joost-Gaugier sets out the panorama of Pythagoras's influence and that of Christian and Jewish thinkers who followed his ideas in the Greek, Roman, early Christian, and medieval worlds. In illuminating this tradition of thought, Joost-Gaugier shows how the influence of Pythagoreanism was far broader than is usually realized, and that it affected the development of ancient and medieval art and architecture from Greek and Roman temples to Gothic cathedrals. Joost-Gaugier demonstrates that Pythagoreanism―centered on the dim memory of a single person that endured for centuries and grew ever-greater―inspired a new language for artists and architects, enabling them to be "modern."
- GenresPhilosophyHistoryArt
376 pages, Hardcover
First published January 19, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 28, 2017
the author mentions at the very beginning that she wants to restore the centrality of Pythagoras, how for at least 1 500 years in Europe, particularly Greece and Rome, his thought, his legend, his final deification, his christianization, he is a name that persists, that has never been eclipsed or lost in the Middle Ages...
part 1) is about the man, his followers, the growing legend, from birth in Greece, through antiquity in Rome, even into Christian Europe. mostly this follows what else i have read. from immediate success to persecution to diaspora of his ideas, how they were picked up, changed, argued, first by philosophers like Plato, eventually by emperors like Hadrian...
2) is more on evolution of his thought, much of which is recalled, transformed, corrupted, by the centuries since his death. there is his concept of 'cosmos' and essential 'harmony' which could be found in numbers. unfortunately this seems to lean towards 'numerology' in which the world is read to fit the number. this reminds me much of the playful conspiracy theorists of umberto eco's 'Foucault's Pendulum', so it is hard to take seriously...
3) is art history. here the symbolism of numbers is not found in 'nature' but introduced by human creation. there are readings of coinage, there are legends, there are bios, but the one site that i remember best is Hadrian's Pantheon, where everything, everything, can be relevant to values of numbers from the number of niches for statues, number of ribs of the dome, number of columns in the porch... there are also the bronze dodecahedrons the Druids used in some pythagorean way, then the pythagorean spheres used in medical diagnosis and acts...
so Pythagoras was everywhere. there is the ongoing implication that Plato lifted his ideas of Forms from Pythagoras' idea of Numbers... but does she make the arguments stick? well i have to read more to decide. if you like art history this is the one to read...
part 1) is about the man, his followers, the growing legend, from birth in Greece, through antiquity in Rome, even into Christian Europe. mostly this follows what else i have read. from immediate success to persecution to diaspora of his ideas, how they were picked up, changed, argued, first by philosophers like Plato, eventually by emperors like Hadrian...
2) is more on evolution of his thought, much of which is recalled, transformed, corrupted, by the centuries since his death. there is his concept of 'cosmos' and essential 'harmony' which could be found in numbers. unfortunately this seems to lean towards 'numerology' in which the world is read to fit the number. this reminds me much of the playful conspiracy theorists of umberto eco's 'Foucault's Pendulum', so it is hard to take seriously...
3) is art history. here the symbolism of numbers is not found in 'nature' but introduced by human creation. there are readings of coinage, there are legends, there are bios, but the one site that i remember best is Hadrian's Pantheon, where everything, everything, can be relevant to values of numbers from the number of niches for statues, number of ribs of the dome, number of columns in the porch... there are also the bronze dodecahedrons the Druids used in some pythagorean way, then the pythagorean spheres used in medical diagnosis and acts...
so Pythagoras was everywhere. there is the ongoing implication that Plato lifted his ideas of Forms from Pythagoras' idea of Numbers... but does she make the arguments stick? well i have to read more to decide. if you like art history this is the one to read...
February 27, 2025
This unique, well written and researched book dives into the biography, cultural aspects and myths of Pythagoras and his ideas. The strongest aspect of the work is the astounding research by the author of classical sources of writing, art and architecture in her search for the real Pythagoras but even more so on the influence of his thought and how predecessors viewed him.
Everything I’d read previously on Pythagoras was totally muddled, specific to just a few areas of his thought (typically mathematics or music) or present him as a cult figure. This book is not afraid to explore all these areas in holistic way.
After reading the book the author convinced me that Pythagoras, or at least the classical and medieval views of him and his influences, have not been fully appreciated. I will not go into the details here but suffice it to say this feature compels me to recommend this book even if all the examples given aren’t convincing.
Now for the questionable aspects of the work. While convincing in a general way, the author speculates “Pythagoreanism” in so many later people’s thoughts and works that some seem far-fetched or unlikely. For example, so many architectural features of later centuries are noted to have some special relationship with Pythagorean’s special numbers. But so many numbers were special to Pythagoras that this isn’t always convincing and it seems she may have not considered Hebrew thought into the Christian era.
There are other examples like this. Equally problematic at times are the confounding influences of Plato and Apollo, both tightly liked with Pythagoras. The author makes a strong and important case that both Plato and the worship of Apollo in Italy were influenced by Pythagoras, but it is not always clear how important, if at all some of the later works of Plato or worshipping of Apollo is directly linked to Pythagoras. I’m guessing the author would not totally disagree.
Despite some reservations I definitely recommend reading this intriguing snd thoughtful work.
Everything I’d read previously on Pythagoras was totally muddled, specific to just a few areas of his thought (typically mathematics or music) or present him as a cult figure. This book is not afraid to explore all these areas in holistic way.
After reading the book the author convinced me that Pythagoras, or at least the classical and medieval views of him and his influences, have not been fully appreciated. I will not go into the details here but suffice it to say this feature compels me to recommend this book even if all the examples given aren’t convincing.
Now for the questionable aspects of the work. While convincing in a general way, the author speculates “Pythagoreanism” in so many later people’s thoughts and works that some seem far-fetched or unlikely. For example, so many architectural features of later centuries are noted to have some special relationship with Pythagorean’s special numbers. But so many numbers were special to Pythagoras that this isn’t always convincing and it seems she may have not considered Hebrew thought into the Christian era.
There are other examples like this. Equally problematic at times are the confounding influences of Plato and Apollo, both tightly liked with Pythagoras. The author makes a strong and important case that both Plato and the worship of Apollo in Italy were influenced by Pythagoras, but it is not always clear how important, if at all some of the later works of Plato or worshipping of Apollo is directly linked to Pythagoras. I’m guessing the author would not totally disagree.
Despite some reservations I definitely recommend reading this intriguing snd thoughtful work.
August 25, 2020
an engaging read that traces the history of the perception of one of the most enigmatic, yet at the same time most influential, figures of antiquity, joost-gaugier writes an engaging study that is both historiography and art history. pythagoras is here presented both as socrates and christ, a mystical figure who left no writings and yet left an indelible mark on history as one who communicated with the heavens. indeed, joost-gaugier goes further and tries to argue for the influence of pythagoras on the conception of both, citing plato and early christians as if not themselves early (neo?)pythagoreans then indubitably influenced by his thought.
that pythagoras is influential is unarguable. his impact on philosophy, and thus the course of knowledge in general, is far-reaching. joost-gaugier makes a slim book feel doubly impactful with her comprehensive sources, her extensive bibliography, and a tone that is at all times concise, never boring, and endlessly informative.
i've learned a lot in the course of reading this book. some arguments may be easily accepted than others, but this all adds to the rather alluring mystique of pythagoras as we know him. i say as we know him because joost-gaugier makes it explicitly clear in her introduction that she would rather trace how he was perceived throughout the ages. this is reasonable: considering the lack of primary sources, we might never get around to making a biography of the man, and so a historiography would have to suffice.
in summation, this is a rather informative read and i very much recommend it to anyone who wishes to learn more about pythagoras, the history of philosophy, or the history of art in general.
that pythagoras is influential is unarguable. his impact on philosophy, and thus the course of knowledge in general, is far-reaching. joost-gaugier makes a slim book feel doubly impactful with her comprehensive sources, her extensive bibliography, and a tone that is at all times concise, never boring, and endlessly informative.
i've learned a lot in the course of reading this book. some arguments may be easily accepted than others, but this all adds to the rather alluring mystique of pythagoras as we know him. i say as we know him because joost-gaugier makes it explicitly clear in her introduction that she would rather trace how he was perceived throughout the ages. this is reasonable: considering the lack of primary sources, we might never get around to making a biography of the man, and so a historiography would have to suffice.
in summation, this is a rather informative read and i very much recommend it to anyone who wishes to learn more about pythagoras, the history of philosophy, or the history of art in general.
February 9, 2018
Awesome, awesome exegesis. Meticulously crafted and highly informative! Would recommend to any History buff or anyone interested in Pythagorean concepts. Unfortunately, I never got around to returning this book to my college library..:)
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews