Measuring Heaven: Pythagoras and his Influence on Thought and Art in Antiquity and the Middle Ages PDF
Preview Measuring Heaven: Pythagoras and his Influence on Thought and Art in Antiquity and the Middle Ages
MEASURING HEAVEN Pythagoras and His Influence on Thought and Art in Antiquity and the Middle Ages CHRISTIANE L. JOOST-GAUGIER CORNELL UNIVERSITY PRESS Ithaca and London View of Crotone, Calabria, home of Pythagoras and site of his teaching. The ruins of the sixth-century Greek city are in the foreground; the medieval city of Croton is in the back- ground. Photo by Judy Bonderman MEASURING HEAVEN Copyright O 2006 by Cornell University All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without pe rmi ssion in writing from the publisher. For information, address Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850. First published 2006 by Cornell University Press Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Joost-Gaugier, Christiane L. Measuring heaven : Pythagoras and his influence on thought and art in antiq- uity and the Middle Ages / Christiane L. Joost-Gaugier. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-8014-4396-1 (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-801 4-4396-2 (cloth : alk. paper) I. Art and philosophy. 2. Architecture and philosophy. 3. Pythagoras and Pythagorean school—Influence. 4. Philosophy, Ancient—Influence. I. Title. N61.]66 2006 701'.05—dc22 2005025053 Cornell University Press strives to use environmentally responsible suppliers and materials to the fullest extent possible in the publishing of its books. Such mate- rials include vegetable-based, low-VOC inks and acid-free papers that are recy- cled, totally chlorine-free, or partly composed of nonwood fibers. For further in- formation, visit our website at www.cornellpress.cornell.edu. Cloth printing Ιο 9 8 7 6 5 43 2 I Pittagora volse che tutte fossero d'una nobilitade, non solamente | le | umane, ma con le umane quelle de li animali bruti e de le piante, e le forme de le minere; e disse che tutta la differenza é de le corpora e de le forme. —Dante, Convivio, IV.xx1.3 CONTENTS List of Illustrations IX Acknowledgments ΧΙ Introduction PART Il. PvyrTHAGOR— AMSAN AND LEGEND I. Pythagoras in the Greek World The Beginnings: The Sixth Century Bc The Reputation of Pythagoras in the Fifth Century BC The Critical Fortune of Pythagoras from the Fourth to the Second Century ΒΟ Pythagoras in the Roman World The First Century Bc: Pythagoras Mythologized The First and Second Centuries Ap: The Vir Sagacis Animi Revered Pythagoras in the Late Pagan and Early Christian Worlds The Third and Fourth Centuries: The Divine Pythagoras as Apollo Reincarnated Pythagoras Remembered in the Fifth and Sixth Centuries Pythagoras in Medieval Memory PART Il. PYTHAGOREAN THOUGHT Pythagoreanism in Greek and Roman Antiquity S. Sappho: The First Pythagorean? The Culture of Early Pythagoreanism ΝΠ] CONTENTS Neopythagoreanism in the Late Pagan and Early Christian Worlds IOI The Revival of Pythagoreanism in the First Century AD: Arithmology and Arithmosophy 102 The Dissemination of Neopythagoreanism after the First Century 106 The Druids and Pythagoreanism 112. The Middle Ages: A New Pythagoreanism IIÓ Rules for Conduct in the Pythagorean/Christian World II7 The Enduring Classical Conception of Number II7 The New Enthusiasm for Numerical Organization in Learning 121 Number in Daily Life: Magic, Medicine, and Alchemy 127 PART Ill. PYTHAGOREANISM IN ART AND ARCHITECTURE 155 8. . Pythagoreanism in Ancient Art and Architecture 157 Antique Images of Pythagoras 138 Possible Pythagorean Impulses in Classical Antiquity 148 The Iconography of Apollo in Roman Art and Architecture and Its Pythagorean Connections I5o 9. The Oldest Surviving Pythagorean Building and Its Significance 154 IO. The Pythagoreanism of Hadrian’s Pantheon I66 II. Pythagoreanism in Medieval Art 182 Medieval Images of Pythagoras 182 The Dodecahedron in Early Medieval Art: Cosmos and Number 203 The Pythagorean Sphere in Later Medieval Art: Cosmos and Number 209 The Pythagorean Y as a Symbol of Choice 215 I2. Sacred Siting: The Pythagorean Heritage of Medieval Ecclesiastical Architecture 222 The Basilical Origins of the Medieval Church 224 Concepts of Order in the Gothic Cathedral 228 I3. Conclusions 246 Notes 259 Bibliography 327 Index 355 ILLUSTRATIONS Frontispiece. View of Crotone, Calabria, home of Pythagoras 1 1. Portrait of Pythagoras, coin from Abdera, ca. 430-425 BC 129 Portrait of Pythagoras, coin from Abdera, ca. 430-425 BC 129 Portraits of Pythagoras and Apollo-Helios, contorniate, date unknown 141 4. Portrait of Pythagoras, shield, early fifth century aD 142 O. Portrait of Pythagoras, herm, date unknown 144 o. Portrait of Pythagoras, herm, date unknown 145 . Portrait of Pythagoras, date unknown 146 NOC. Portrait of Pythagoras, mosaic, late fourth century AD 147 oN. Ruinnesa r oft hteh e sitTee mopf leth e ofS aAnpcotlulaor y ato f PuAnptoal loA liacte , Craontdo n,G reseikxt h ruciennst ury ΒΟ 149 . Subterranean Basilica at Porta Maggiore, interior view to apse 155 . Subterranean Basilica at Porta Maggiore, plan 157 . Subterranean Basilica at Porta Maggiore, interior view 160 . Subterranean Basilica at Porta Maggiore, view of apse 163 . Pantheon, AD 120-27 168 Pantheon, interior view showing oculus and ribs 169 Pantheon, view of facade and pronaos 170 Pantheon, plan I7I . Pantheon, interior showing (modern) attic 173 Pantheon, frontal view of facade 175 . Blacksmith's shop and Pythagoras, early twelfth century 184-85 . Pythagoras, twelfth century 186 . The Harmony of the Spheres with Pythagoras, Arion, and Orpheus, late twelfth century 187 . Music and Pythagoras, Dialectic and Aristotle, ca. 1146-60, royal portal, Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Chartres 188 . Pythagoras, detail from royal portal, Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Chartres 189 . Boethius and Pythagoras, and Plato and Nicomachus, from Boethius, De musica, twelfth century 192 Χ ILLUSTRATIONS . Pythagoras, detail, from Boethius, De musica 193 Music with Pythagoras, ca. 1225-30 194 . Pythagoras at the blacksmith's shop, and two musicians with monochord and harp, ca. 1225-30 195 . Cathedral of Clermont-Ferrand, north transept portal, ca. 1290 196 . Cathedral of Clermont-Ferrand, north transept portal, Seven Liberal Arts 197 . Pythagoras, early fourteenth century 198 . Capitello dei Sapienti, 1344, Venice, Palazzo Ducale 200 . Pythagoras, detail from Capitello dei Sapienti 201 . Andrea di Bonaiuto, Allegory of tbe Catbolic Religion witb Saint Thomas Aquinas and tbe Liberal Arts, 1360s, Florence, Sta. Maria Novella 202 . Arithmetic and Pythagoras, detail from Andrea di Bonaiuto, Allegory of tbe Catholic Religion 203 . Bronze dodecahedron, ca. third-fourth centuries AD 204 . Bronze dodecahedron, ca. third-fourth centuries AD 204 . Bronze dodecahedron, ca. third-fourth centuries AD 204 . Pythagorean Sphere, ninth century 210 . Pythagorean Sphere, tenth century 212 . Pythagorean Sphere, eleventh century 213 . Pythagorean Sphere, ca. 1120 214 . Pythagorean Sphere, fourteenth century 216 . Pythagorean Spheres, early fifteenth century 217 . Temptation, Clermont-Ferrand, Notre-Dame du Port, ambulatory capital, late twelfth century 218 . lemptation, ca. 1190 220 . Adam and Eve Admonisbed by God, ca. 1190 221 . St. Sernin, Toulouse, chevet 2.2ὃ . Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, plan 229 . Abbey Church, Fontenay, plan 230 . Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Chartres, plan 232 . Cathedral of St. Julien, Le Mans, chevet 235 . Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Paris, interior 238 San Nicola di Trullas, Semestene (Sardinia), plan 239 . Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Chartres, west facade 242 Mystical Paradise, ca. 1170-85 243
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