Brontinus
Encyclopedia
Brontinus or Brotinus of Metapontum
, was a Pythagorean
philosopher, and a friend and disciple of Pythagoras
himself. Alcmaeon
dedicated his works to Brontinus as well as to Leon and Bathyllus. Accounts vary as to whether he was the father or the husband of Theano.
Some Orphic
poems were ascribed to Brontinus. One was a poem On Nature (Physika), another was a poem called The Robe and the Net which was also ascribed to Zopyrus of Heraclea.
His fame was sufficient for a spurious work to be ascribed to him in the Neopythagorean literature. Syrianus
(5th century CE) refers to "Brotinus" as an author of the view that the monad
, or first cause, "transcends all kinds of reason and essence in power and dignity," whereby an attempt was made to insert an element of Platonism
into Pythagoreanism
.
Metapontum
Metapontum, Metapontium or Metapontion , was an important city of Magna Graecia, situated on the gulf of Tarentum, between the river Bradanus and the Casuentus . It was distant about 20 km from Heraclea and 40 from Tarentum...
, was a Pythagorean
Pythagoreanism
Pythagoreanism was the system of esoteric and metaphysical beliefs held by Pythagoras and his followers, the Pythagoreans, who were considerably influenced by mathematics. Pythagoreanism originated in the 5th century BCE and greatly influenced Platonism...
philosopher, and a friend and disciple of Pythagoras
Pythagoras
Pythagoras of Samos was an Ionian Greek philosopher, mathematician, and founder of the religious movement called Pythagoreanism. Most of the information about Pythagoras was written down centuries after he lived, so very little reliable information is known about him...
himself. Alcmaeon
Alcmaeon of Croton
Alcmaeon of Croton was one of the most eminent natural philosophers and medical theorists of antiquity. His father's name was Peirithus . He is said by some to have been a pupil of Pythagoras, and he may have been born around 510 BC...
dedicated his works to Brontinus as well as to Leon and Bathyllus. Accounts vary as to whether he was the father or the husband of Theano.
Some Orphic
Orphism (religion)
Orphism is the name given to a set of religious beliefs and practices in the ancient Greek and the Hellenistic world, as well as by the Thracians, associated with literature ascribed to the mythical poet Orpheus, who descended into Hades and returned...
poems were ascribed to Brontinus. One was a poem On Nature (Physika), another was a poem called The Robe and the Net which was also ascribed to Zopyrus of Heraclea.
His fame was sufficient for a spurious work to be ascribed to him in the Neopythagorean literature. Syrianus
Syrianus
Syrianus ; died c. 437) was a Greek Neoplatonist philosopher, and head of Plato's Academy in Athens, succeeding his teacher Plutarch of Athens in 431/432. He is important as the teacher of Proclus, and, like Plutarch and Proclus, as a commentator on Plato and Aristotle. His best-known extant work...
(5th century CE) refers to "Brotinus" as an author of the view that the monad
Monad
-Philosophy:*Monad a term meaning "unit" used variously by ancient philosophers from the Pythagoreans to Plato, Aristotle, and Plotinus to signify a variety of entities from a genus to God....
, or first cause, "transcends all kinds of reason and essence in power and dignity," whereby an attempt was made to insert an element of Platonism
Platonism
Platonism is the philosophy of Plato or the name of other philosophical systems considered closely derived from it. In a narrower sense the term might indicate the doctrine of Platonic realism...
into Pythagoreanism
Pythagoreanism
Pythagoreanism was the system of esoteric and metaphysical beliefs held by Pythagoras and his followers, the Pythagoreans, who were considerably influenced by mathematics. Pythagoreanism originated in the 5th century BCE and greatly influenced Platonism...
.