Bulfinch’s Mythology · Chapter
Pythagoras explained
This chapter explores the life and teachings of Pythagoras, the ancient Greek philosopher born on Samos who later established a school at Crotona in Italy.
What happens
This chapter explores the life and teachings of Pythagoras, the ancient Greek philosopher born on Samos who later established a school at Crotona in Italy. It details his travels to Egypt and the East, his founding of a disciplined society of disciples, and his core doctrines: numbers as the essence of all things, the immortality and transmigration of souls (metempsychosis), the harmony of the spheres, and the musical ratios underlying the cosmos. The chapter also includes literary allusions to Pythagoras by Shakespeare, Dryden, Milton, and Longfellow.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
This excerpt marks the dramatic climax because it presents the emotional peak of Tristram’s brief reunion with…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Mortality and Immortality
The chapter centers on the immortality of the soul and its transmigration across bodies, a core Pythagorean belief.
- Cultural Transmission and Education
Pythagoras's travels and his establishment of a disciplined school illustrate the transmission of knowledge across cultures and the importance of education.
Characters to notice
Key passages
“Souls never die, but always on quitting one abode pass to another. I myself can remember that in the time of the Trojan war I was Euphorbus, the son of Panthus, and fell by the spear of Menelaus.”
The soul is immortal and continuously moves from one body to another; Pythagoras claimed to recall being Euphorbus during the Trojan War.
Ovid's representation of Pythagoras's doctrine of metempsychosis.
“From harmony, from heavenly harmony This everlasting frame began; From harmony to harmony Through all the compass of the notes it ran, The Diapason closing full in Man.”
The universe was created from divine harmony, and this harmony runs through all creation, culminating in humanity.
Dryden's poetic expression of the Pythagorean concept of cosmic harmony.
