Socrates, the Disciple of Pythagoras
In this study we will question the conventional view that historical Socrates had no connection with Pythagoreanism. An experienced reader of Plato would notice that Socrates in Plato recites Pythagorean ideas. This has been commonly regarded as Plato's way of expressing his own sympathies. In this paper, Aristophanes' Clouds areconsidered as an independent source for establishing Socrates' relation to Pythagoreanism. A closer reading of the Clouds alongside with the Phaedo shows that there are several intersection points between the two images of Socrates. First, Aristophanes' mundane view of Socratics as half-dead beggars was criticized by Socrates in the Phaedo for its blindness to the philosophical understanding of death: a true philosopher may look dead to the many, yet in fact he or she is more alive than anyone. Second, Socrates and his students in the Clouds form an esoteric Pythagorean-like circle,which recalls the image of philosophy as initiation in the Phaedo, where philosophers are called Bacchants, who enter the realm of Gods in the afterlife. Third, Socrates' natural philosophy in the Clouds is similar to that of the young Socrates in the Phaedo. On the basis of this evidence, we assert that the Socrates of the Clouds and of the Phaedo is in many respects the same. Since most of this evidence portrays Socrates asa Pythagorean, the acquaintance of historical Socrates with Pythagoreanism seems not completely improbable. Moreover, word by word parallels in the works of Plato and Aristophanes show that Plato consciously refers to the image of Socrates in Aristophanes. Conclusion: while the idea of Socrates the Pythagorean did not become part of the currently accepted history of philosophy, since the Clouds has been mostly interpreted as a slander of Socrates with no historical value, the sources provide an opportunity to reconsider the existing status quaestionis.