Comments on: Pythagoras’ Beans

By: Adam Hocking

Adam Hocking — Wed, 05 May 2010 21:42:49 +0000

Apologies i didn’t read through before submitting,
The tradition was for a man to walk past each person with a jug and each vote was made by putting a particular bean in the jug, and then the beans were counted out, this also allowed the votes to be hidden so as not to cause controversy.

By: Adam Hocking

Adam Hocking — Wed, 05 May 2010 21:36:29 +0000

Im a member of the Pythagorean and the term here is taken too literally, like the Alchemists task was to make base metals into gold.
These physical acts were also practiced but their was much deeper symbolism involved.
For example this statement could also be put ‘Do not become involved in politics’. The reason being that back then people used to vote by putting for example, a red or a white bean, representing agreed or disagreed upon a subject.
Hope this helps!

By: biotele

biotele — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 12:33:11 +0000

It is not all beans, but Fava bean. Many in the Mediterranean basin carry the G6PD enzyme deficiency which produces acute and painful hemolytic attack (similar to sickle cell anemia) if the person touches or eat fava bean.

“Keep your hands from beans, a painful food:
As Pythagoras enjoined, I too urge.2″

Pythagoras studied in Egypt where Fava was the main staple, as it is today.

By: Mark Barrows

Mark Barrows — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 23:03:07 +0000

Could it have been as simple as small classrooms with poor ventilation ?

By: Katerina Deligiorgi

Katerina Deligiorgi — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 08:17:13 +0000

On Pythagoras and beans: whilst other aspects of Pythagoras’s contributions have come in for criticism and debunking, the interdiction of beans can be plausibly connected to the condition of ‘favism’, a potentially lethal desease that effects Mediteranean males with a particular genetic script.