By taking the reader back to the Greek colonies of Southern Italy more than 500 years BCE, the author, with unparalleled insight, tells the story of the Pythagorean quest for otherworldly knowledge - a tale of cultism, political conspiracies, and bloody uprisings that eventually culminate in tragic failure.
Intended for general readers, this edition of Hermann's scholarly work explores how philosophy became a speculative science, tracing its origins to the Greek colonies of southern Italy in the late sixth and early fifth centuries BC, focusing on Pythagoras and Parmenides. Illustrations.