Episode #176- Was Pythagoras Killed By Beans?

Our Fake History

PodcastOne

History, Education, Society & Culture

4.7 • 3.7K Ratings

🗓️ 4 April 2023

⏱️ 86 minutes

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Summary

If you managed to get through elementary school math then you have almost certainly heard the name Pythagoras. The ancient Greek thinker has been celebrated as the man who first discovered the mathematical relationship between the sides of a right triangle. This has been known for centuries as the Pythagorean Theorem. But, if you poke your nose a little deeper into his story you will discover that he was also worshipped by some as a nearly divine figure who could communicate with animals, recall his past lives, and even had a thigh made out of pure gold. However, there were some who thought that Pythagoras was little more than a clever charlatan with a thirst for power. Who really was this strange character? Should he even be given credit for the famous triangle equation? Tune in and find out how Babylonian math homework, a prank drinking cup, and a taboo on beans all play a role in the story. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Friends, the time has come on this podcast for us to speak of men's thighs.
0:14.6	In a way, this has been a long time coming.
0:19.0	You see, there are some parts of the human body that just seem to have a deep mythological
0:25.0	significance.
0:27.5	In the body parts that are loaded with the most symbolism in ancient legends are our
0:32.6	sense organs.
0:34.6	The eyes in particular are often given special attention in ancient storytelling.
0:40.5	The metaphorical meanings associated with eyes are usually fairly easy for modern folks
0:46.0	to grasp.
0:47.6	We get that vision acts as a good metaphor for perceptiveness in general, being thoughtful,
0:55.0	being aware, being able to accurately make predictions, or simply being free of delusions
1:01.6	is easily understood as a type of vision.
1:06.3	Ancient authors loved playing with this trope.
1:09.8	They often added the ironic twist that the most wise or far-sighted character in a drama
1:16.0	was literally blind.
1:18.6	The blind prophet Tireseus was a stock character used in Greek drama.
1:25.0	Despite not having the use of his eyes, he always saw more than any other character in
1:30.9	the play.
1:32.3	In the famous tragedy of Edipus Rex, the titular king does not want to see the horrifying
1:38.6	truth about his family life.
1:41.8	When the truth becomes impossible to deny, when he finally sees, he of course punishes
1:48.2	himself by gouging out his eyes.
	...

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