Marly Winckler – Brazil
Marly Winckler
Climbing the stairway that leads to Pythagoras’ Cave on the island of Samos is no simple task. The ascent is steep, long, demanding — and perhaps precisely for that reason, deeply symbolic.
During the gathering of the European School of Theosophy, Theosophy & Ancient Hellenic Wisdom: from Pythagoras to Christianity, held in October 2025 on the native island of Pythagoras, around 50 people participated. Only four, however, ventured to climb Mount Kerketeas, where the famous Cave of Pythagoras is located. Upon arriving there, we found two more people from our group. One can drive to the foot of the mountain, but afterward it is necessary to climb more than 300 steps leading to the cave.
The ascent itself becomes a singular experience, marked by a succession of stone steps requiring breath, perseverance, attention to the path, and the conscious decision to continue. The climb is not easy — but neither is it impossible. With some effort, persistence, and rhythm, one eventually arrives.
Beginning of the Stairway to Pythagoras’ cave
The tradition that Pythagoras inhabited a cave on the island goes back to Antiquity and is recorded by Iamblichus in his work De Vita Pythagorica (On the Pythagorean Life). In this text, the author describes the ascetic, initiatory, and reserved character of the Pythagorean way of life, reinforcing the idea that withdrawal from the external world formed an essential part of the master’s spiritual and philosophical discipline.
According to tradition, Pythagoras sought refuge in the cave to distance himself from the city and escape the wrath of the tyrant Polycrates, whose authoritarian rule deeply marked the history of Samos during the 6th century BCE. The grotto is said to have offered not only isolation and safety, but also suitable conditions for life and teaching: there are accounts that Pythagoras lived there and instructed some of his disciples far from political tensions and public scrutiny.
The Cave and Silence
The author with her three companions inside Pythagoras’ Cave
According to tradition, Pythagoras used this cave as a place of retreat, contemplation, and instruction. After his travels through Egypt, Babylon, and other centres of ancient wisdom, the cave may have served as a secluded environment where he could meditate upon and transmit the teachings he had received concerning the harmony of the cosmos, the science of numbers, and the purification of the soul.
Silence was essential. For the Pythagoreans, silence did not mean merely the absence of sound, but the presence of attention. Before speaking, one had first to learn how to listen — not only to others, but to the invisible order governing the universe itself. The cave, austere and stripped of excess, taught more than many words ever could.
Vegetarianism: Ethics, Not Merely Diet
Among the central principles of Pythagoreanism was vegetarianism — understood not as a passing cultural tendency or a mere dietary preference, but as an ethical and spiritual foundation. For Pythagoras, life was one and indivisible. To kill animals for food meant to disrupt this harmony and to dull the sensitivity of the soul. It is no coincidence that he came to be regarded as the “Father of Vegetarianism” in the Western world.
Abstinence from flesh was viewed as essential to the refinement of perception, the mastery of the passions, the practice of nonviolence, and reverence for life in all its forms.
This teaching endured through the centuries, influencing Platonism and Neoplatonism and inspiring classical authors who explicitly defended abstinence from flesh, such as Plutarch (c. 46–120 CE), author of On the Eating of Flesh, and Porphyry (c. 234–305 CE), author of De Abstinentia (On Abstinence). During the Renaissance, renewed interest in Pythagorean thought emerged among thinkers such as Marsilio Ficino, Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, and Giordano Bruno, helping revive aspects of this philosophical and spiritual tradition.
In the nineteenth century, Helena Blavatsky and the Theosophical movement also contributed to rekindling modern interest in Pythagoras, presenting him not merely as a mathematician or philosopher, but as an initiate belonging to an ancient tradition of spiritual wisdom. Blavatsky emphasized the ethical, spiritual, and symbolic dimensions of Pythagoreanism, particularly its teachings concerning universal harmony, the transmigration of the soul, inner discipline, and reverence for life. In many Theosophical and vegetarian circles associated with the spiritual revival of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Pythagoras once again became a symbol of a life grounded in simplicity, contemplation, and fraternity among all beings.
Mount Kerketeas
In modern times, these ideals reappeared as ethical inspirations in writers and reformers such as Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822), author of A Vindication of Natural Diet, and Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910), who associated vegetarianism with nonviolence and moral responsibility.
A spring located near the cave high on Mount Kerkis likely provided potable water, making prolonged stays there possible. The diet associated with the Pythagorean tradition appears to have been simple and functional, consistent both with the isolation of the mountain and with the principles of discipline and frugality cultivated by the disciples of Pythagoras. Ancient sources and later traditions suggest that Pythagoras valued light foods such as fruits, herbs, honey, and simple bread — items requiring little preparation and well suited to contemplative life. Such modest nourishment reduced the time devoted to meals and favoured concentration on study, meditation, and philosophical practice. The retreat in the cave seems to have formed part of a pedagogical and spiritual discipline sustained by an organized community, in which disciples probably supplied food and support in a discreet and regular manner.
This ideal of dietary simplicity endured through the centuries and reappeared in various later spiritual, philosophical, and naturist movements. In many of these traditions, it was believed that the less time and energy consumed by the material demands of food, the greater the inner availability for contemplation, self-knowledge, and the pursuit of wisdom. It is no coincidence that communities such as Monte Verità in the early twentieth century revived similar principles, advocating a natural, light, and minimally elaborate diet as part of a life devoted to ethical, spiritual, and intellectual refinement.
The Cup of Pythagoras
A small café at the foot of Mount Kerketeas where visitors can purchase the famous Cup of Pythagoras
The Cup of Pythagoras is a traditional artifact associated with the Pythagorean tradition that illustrates, in a simple yet ingenious way, the principle of self-control and right measure. Equipped with a hidden internal siphon, the cup functions normally as long as the liquid remains below a certain level. However, once that limit is exceeded, the entire contents drain out through the bottom, leaving the cup completely empty.
The mechanism conveys a clear ethical lesson: whoever seeks more than what is necessary ultimately loses everything. Although there is no proof that the cup was invented by Pythagoras himself, it is entirely consistent with his teachings concerning moderation (sophrosýne), balance, and justice. In Greek thought, Sophrosyne was also personified as a minor divinity or daimon embodying moderation, discretion, self-restraint, and inner harmony — often understood as a counterbalance to excess and unbridled passion. In this sense, the cup functions as a pedagogical symbol, demonstrating in practical form that excess carries within itself its own consequence.
Worth the Climb
Reaching Pythagoras’ Cave does not merely mean arriving at a geographical destination. It means experiencing, even if only for a few moments, the spirit of a tradition that teaches that true knowledge requires effort, simplicity, and moral coherence.
For the few who completed the ascent, the fatigue was richly rewarded — not only by the beauty of the landscape or the historical significance of the site, but also by the intimate feeling of having participated in something greater: a silent dialogue with one of the oldest schools of wisdom in human history.
For, as Pythagoras taught, to live well is to live in harmony — with the cosmos, with other beings, and with oneself.
Saint Paul of Latros
Saint Paul of Latros
Nearly a thousand years after Pythagoras, in the tenth century, Saint Paul of Latros also sought refuge and solitude on the island of Samos, establishing himself in a cave on Mount Kerkis in order to withdraw from the growing notoriety that already surrounded him at Mount Latros. According to tradition, he may even have lived in the very same cave associated with Pythagoras — something impossible to verify historically, yet deeply suggestive of the spiritual symbolism long attributed to the place across the centuries.
A Byzantine hermit and monk who died in 956, Saint Paul pursued a life marked by extreme simplicity, contemplation, and compassion. During his retreat, he chose to sustain himself only with foods obtained without causing suffering to living beings, living mainly on vegetables and acorns. His austere diet bears a certain resemblance to the ancient Pythagorean tradition, which associated abstinence from flesh with inner purification and spiritual elevation.
His reputation for holiness eventually attracted numerous disciples, and many caves in the surrounding mountains became inhabited by monks wishing to follow his example of austerity and contemplative withdrawal.
Like Pythagoras, Saint Paul found in the rugged and isolated geography of Samos an environment favourable to the inner life. Yet while Pythagoras sought a space devoted to philosophical reflection and the mysteries of universal harmony, Saint Paul dedicated himself above all to prayer, contemplation, and the restoration of ancient monasteries that had fallen into ruin.
