Was Pythagoras a Cult Leader?

When Pythagoras moved to Croton in southern Italy, he did not just open a school. He started a community. His followers lived together. They shared all property. They swore oaths of secrecy. They believed that Pythagoras was a divine being who could remember his past lives. He told them he had been a Trojan warrior named Euphorbus.

The community was called the Pythagorean Brotherhood. It had two levels: the 'mathematikoi' (learners) who knew the advanced teachings, and the 'akousmatikoi' (listeners) who followed the basic rules. The rules were extensive: no beans, no meat, no wool, no breaking bread, no stirring a fire with a knife, no peering over a bed. The list goes on.

The Brotherhood was also political. They took over the government of Croton. They ruled for a while. Then the locals got tired of them. A rival faction attacked the Pythagorean meeting house. It was burned to the ground. Many Pythagoreans were killed. Pythagoras fled. He died in exile. The cult was scattered. But its ideas lived on, influencing Plato and, through him, the entire Western philosophical tradition.