Pythagoras was a 6th-century BCE intellectual from Samos whose lectures were incredibly influential in matters of ancient Greek mathematics and religion, as well as in music theory and astronomy. A Pythagorean cult quickly formed around his teachings, and followers collected sayings, verses, and maxims from their leader that detailed a proper Pythagorean lifestyle. Much about the Pythagorean code of ethics was fairly standard and universal, such as advising people to strive to be good, to shun evil thoughts and actions, to honor family, to be forgiving, to be thoughtful before speech or action, so on and so forth. Like other religious codes, the Pythagorean cult also had its own food restrictions. Several existent texts attributed to Pythagoras or his disciples advocated various degrees of vegetarianism. Along with anti-meat sentiment, it was also known that Pythagoreans were instructed by their beliefs to have a complicated relationship with beans. One version of the ancient so-called Symbols of Pythagoras stated “Abstain From Voting With Beans” (translation by University of Massachusetts Boston) while another, more popular, iteration of the Symbols simply commanded, “Abstain from beans” (translation by Bridgman). The latter abstinence from beans command was something that many ancient commentators were aware of and, unfortunately, no clear reasoning was given as to the exact reasoning behind the prohibition.
In the answerless vacuum, many ancient scholars (such as Aristotle, whose work on this matter has sadly been lost) went on to theorize and speculate about why Pythagoras did not approve of beans. Ideas ranged from religious and symbolic reasons, to digestive and health-related reasons, and it was also proposed that Pythagoras was merely a picky eater. The scholar Diogenes Laertius (3rd century), summarizing the ideas of various authors that came before him, wrote that Pythagoras advised followers to “abstain from beans because they are flatulent and partake most of the breath of life; and besides, it is better for the stomach if they are not taken, and this again will make our dreams in sleep smooth and untroubled” (Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, 8.1.24). Later, in a passage insinuating that the problem with the beans potentially resided in mystic ritual purification issues, Diogenes Laertius wrote that Pythagoras called for, “abstaining from meat and flesh of animals that have died, mullets, gurnards, eggs and egg‑sprung animals, beans, and the other abstinences prescribed by those who perform mystic rites in the temples” (Lives of Eminent Philosophers, 8.1.33). Finally, in terms of potential symbolic reasons for the bean ban, Diogenes wrote, “According to Aristotle in his work On the Pythagoreans, Pythagoras counselled abstinence from beans either because they are like the genitals, or because they are like the gates of Hades . . . as being alone unjointed, or because they are injurious, or because they are like the form of the universe, or because they belong to oligarchy, since they are used in election by lot” (Lives of Eminent Philosophers, 8.1.34). All in all, despite the imaginative theorization, no one quite knew why the Pythagoreans kept away from beans.
While the ancient philosophers, scholars, historians and biographers debated their various bean theories, the satirist Lucian of Samosata (c. 120-180+) opted to take the Occam’s Razor approach and propose a simple solution to the bean dilemma. What if, perhaps, Pythagoras simply was a picky eater who did not like beans. With this in mind, Lucian imagined Pythagoras in a fantastical afterlife scenario, where the Pythagorean founder was struggling to fit in among a troupe of bean-eating heroes. Lucian wrote, “Well, they then boiled beans, as they usually do when they have won a battle, and had a feast and a long holiday to celebrate the victory. Pythagoras alone did not take part in it: he sat apart without eating, because he loathed beans” (Lucian, A True History II, chapter 24). Whatever the reasoning for the bean ban, be it personal taste, or health, or symbolism, beans unfortunately became intertwined with the legends about Pythagoras’ life. According to a popular (but historically-rejected) legend, Pythagoras’ feelings toward beans were so strong that he died after he refused to escape through a field of beans while being chased by hostile pursuers.
Written by C. Keith Hansley
Picture Attribution: (Cropped print of Pythagoras, provided by the Austrian National Library, [Public Domain] via Creative Commons, Europeana and the Austrian National Library).
Sources:
- Lucian, Selected Dialogues, translated by C. D. N. Costa. Oxford: Oxford University Press (Oxford World Classics), 2005, 2006, 2009.
- The Oxford Dictionary of Classical Myth and Religion, edited by Simon Price and Emily Kearns. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.
- https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diogenes_Laertius/Lives_of_the_Eminent_Philosophers/8/Pythagoras*.html
- https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0258%3Abook%3D8%3Achapter%3D1
- https://sacred-texts.com/cla/gvp/gvp11.htm
- https://www.faculty.umb.edu/gary_zabel/Courses/Phil%20281b/Philosophy%20of%20Magic/Philosophy%20Texts/Pythagoras/pythagorean_symbols.htm
- https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pythagoras
- https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pythagoras/
