neopythagorean

Etymology

From neo- + Pythagorean.

Why this word is great

NEOPYTHAGOREAN — Adjective. Pertaining to the Hellenistic and Roman revival of Pythagorean philosophy, blending its mathematical mysticism with later metaphysical and theosophical elements. From neo- ("new") + Pythagorean ("pertaining to Pythagoras or his philosophy"). Unlike "Pythagorean" (which denotes the original, number-centric cosmology of 6th-century BCE followers) or "Neoplatonic" (which extends Platonic idealism with hierarchical emanation), Neopythagorean thought elevates numerology to divine revelation, merges Orphic purification rites with geometric symbolism, and transforms the tetractys into a ladder of spiritual ascent. Where Pythagoras heard the music of the spheres, his later devotees decoded its cosmic harmonics as scripture.

adj

  1. Of or pertaining to Neopythagoreanism.“Nevertheless Neopythagorean treatises are extant that were written in Alexandria at the end of the first century B.C. Some of these treatises were written by women adopting as pennames the names of earlier female disciples and relatives of Pythagoras.”

noun

  1. An adherent of Neopythagoreanism.