The Greek philosopher and polymature Jonio, Pythagoras, was just over 40 when he settled in Metaponto, in southern Italy. In Greece he studied mathematics and philosophy. He was politically active, a vegetarian committed and believed that true friendship and harmony must determine the lives of people. In his new homeland, he gathered people who thought like him and vehemently defended their beliefs. This not only made friends, but to this day, Pythagoras, so to be called the Greek, is considered one of the most controversial figures of Greek philosophy. His life has remained somewhat mysterious to this day.
When I get to Metaponto, a green field extends before me. There are not many remains of the old city. Two thousand years of history were destroyed a long time ago and their remains transferred to other places. Maybe there is still much hidden underground, just below my feet. Even so, I am a little excited. Almost with reverence, on the way between the ruins, or rather among the few foundational stones that remain of the ruins.
Not only in antiquity, many people said that the Pythagorean school, originally from Metaponto, was a kind of religious sect. The philosophical teachings of Pythagoras and their political position were closely linked.
To this day, opinions differ as to whether he was actually a scientist or rather a shaman who juggled with the numbers and a charismatic preacher. I suppose the theory that Pythagoras was mathematical and philosopher. The high ideal of friendship can undoubtedly be preached by a person who works in science. At least I don’t see any contradiction there.
The community of people surrounded by Pythagoras and advocated friendship and harmony also involved politically. They were active and fought against the tyrannical government of Dionisio, who ruled Sicily.
In the time of Pythagoras, Tyran was still the general term to designate a unique and authoritarian ruler. The negative meaning that today dominates the word tyranny is probably due to this Dionysus and his son Dionisio II.
It seems almost logical that Pythagoras, which preached vegetarianism and friendship, rebel against the Government of the Tyrian of Syracuse. Many legends and stories about the philosopher and his followers have survived in the literature until this time. Among the Pythagoreans were Damón and Phinitas.
Cicero and many other Roman writers after him told the story of both, who had then had to reach Friedrich Schiller through literary channels. In his famous poem on the bond, he put exactly this story of the verse -shaped Pythagoreans.
The guarantee
We gave a sneaky to Dionisio, the tyrant, with
a dagger on your robe,
and his henchmen tied him.
What did you want with the dagger? Speaks!
The furious man responded darkly.
Liberate the city of the tyrant!
You will regret this on the cross.
I’m, he says, willing to die
And I don’t ask my life,
But if you grant me mercy,
I beg you for three days,
until she gave my sister to her husband.
I leave my friend as your guarantor;
You can strangle it if I escape.
Then the king smiles with evil cunning
And, after a moment of reflection, he says:
I give you three days.
But know! If the deadline has elapsed
before you return to me,
He must pale in your place,
But your punishment will be forgiven.
(…)
The story goes much further, of course. Some thieves attack the good man along the way, a bridge collapses and we almost drowned in the flood. Many terrible things happen to him, so he can barely rescue his friend in time. But we return at the last moment, just in time. His faithful friend already has the rope around his neck. The tyrant is impressed by such true friendship and grants both freedom.
By the way, Metaponto was founded by another intelligent Greek, Epeo, who was the one who had the ingenious idea of the Trojan horse.
At some point during the Punic wars, Metaponto found himself on the “wrong” side because he had allied with Aníbal against the Romans. Both the Great Carthage and the Greek Metaponto were defeated by the Roman soldiers, who conquered slowly but surely the whole Mediterranean.
Metaponto lost more and more importance and the city sank into the Flango alluvial field. In the Middle Ages, the stones of the houses and the temples were used to build churches and new palaces. It is also said that Matera’s cathedral was built with metapont stones.
Today Metaponto is known more for its beach than for its history. On the outskirts, a few kilometers from the small town, is the archaeological site of Metaponto. Unfortunately there is not much to see. Admission is free. You can park your car in a wide parking lot and start. There are either guides or information either. But it is said that in Metaponto there is a small museum. Maybe you can find more information there.
Hera’s temple is even further, on the other side of the road. The exit is marked as Tavole Paletine. You can see the high columns from the road while driving to Taranto. Here also the entrance is free and the visit is free.
You can find more information on this Italian website: www.sitiarheologiditalia.it
This article was reproduced with authorization from the author.
The photos were gently ceded by the author.
The author loves to travel, and he believes that it is not always necessary to go very far, because even in central Europe there are still small unknown places, exciting landscapes and exciting stories that expect to be discovered. After finishing his studies, Nicole Biarnés moved to Spain, where he has resided near Barcelona for 23 years. As an independent writer, she writes travel books, writes texts for several websites, conducts in situ research for television productions and reports life in the Mediterranean in her travel blog www.freibeuter-reisen.org.
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