Disclaimer: (The following story is pure fiction. All names, places and events are coincidental and are only used to embellish the story.)
The Golden Harp of Pythagoras
by Mark Ryan © 2010
During May 2009, the Romeo gang met for lunch at a local restaurant. The conversation was lively and eventually we talked about taking a fall cruise to the Mediterranean and decided to book our passage within the next month. We had been playing with this idea for several months and finally bit the bullet. We needed to book at least 6 month’s in advance if we wanted to get specific dates and accommodations. The group decided to fly from Boston, MA to Barcelona, Spain and then board the ship there for a fourteen day cruise in November. The ship was the Norwegian Jade from Norwegian Cruise Lines and we got group accommodations with ocean view, making stops in six ports including Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey and Egypt. Although there are more than 12 Romeos that meet for lunch regularly, only four decided to take the cruise (Marco Greico, Joe Pignato, Joe Loduccio, and Joe Laprusso).
On the departure date in November, we boarded our plane at Logan International Airport and after a 10 hour flight on British Airlines; we finally arrived in Barcelona, Spain and boarded the ship. As we walked up the gangway, the ship stewards and officers graciously welcomed us aboard. Our assigned steward’s name was Tony and he was a handsome young man of Italian decent that could be mistaken for a movie star, at least that is what my wife kept on telling me. Tony was tall, had black curly hair, and had dark tanned skin. He talked with a deep Italian accent and would make the most mundane discussion sound exotic with his proliferation of adjectives. He brought us to our assigned stateroom and showed us the amenities as he put the luggage on the corner rack.
When I tried to tip him for the services, he said that instead of tipping everyday we could leave any gratuities in an envelope in our staterooms at the end of the cruise. As he moved his hand, I noticed a tattoo on his right wrist. It was a two inch pentagram (an outside pentagon with five interior triangles forming a five pointed star in the middle). I commented to Tony about the tattoo and he said that it was for a social group that he belonged to from his hometown in Crotona, Italy. He also said that he was a college student and was studying mathematics as were some of the other stewards onboard the ship. In addition, he heard that we were retired teachers and out of respect for this worthy profession he would treat us with special care.
Before Tony left he showed us the Cruise Itinerary Booklet and pointed to the various activities available. He also reminded us that our first dinner would be in the second deck dining room at 5:00 PM. However, he said that we had the rest of the afternoon free to wander about the ship and to find the various attractions and get our bearings. Tony also said that we had three days to explore the ship before our first port of call in Rome, Italy where we would dock for 12 hours and do some sight seeing.
The ship had set sail about an hour after we boarded and was now cruising along at about 8 knots. The sea was calm and we could see some land off in the far distance. There were some flying fish swimming along side the ship as they continued to jump in and out of the water. As we strolled along the outside deck we met some of the other Romeos and their wives and decided to stop at the pool area for drinks at a side bar. Although we were not rich and famous we were enjoying the surrounding luxury as we watched some of the passengers and their children already splashing around in the pool.
Sitting at the bar I glanced at the Cruise Booklet which described some of the ship amenities that included a Spa, Casino, Hot Tub, Exercise Room, Running Track, Golf Driving Nets, Sports Deck with Basketball and Tennis Court, Shuffle Board, Swimming Pools, Dinning Rooms, Internet Café, Teen Sports and Arcade, Dance Club, Lounges and Bars, Gift Shops, Theater for Broadway Style Shows, Parties and Theme Nights, Live Music and Jazz Clubs, Library, Board Games as well as a few other activities. Since there was so much to see we decided to split up and meet later for dinner. While some of the women went to the gift shops, the men the casinos and I wanted to check out the internet cafe and secretly look up the tattoo symbol that I saw on our steward’s wrist. There was something curious about the way Tony vaguely described it.
When I got to the Internet Café there were about 20 laptops scattered around on small tables. You could order coffee at a side bar and then sit at any open computer. The computers were all self service with open Wi-Fi access to the internet. I immediately clicked on the internet logo and then Goggled the word “Pentagram” and some other key words. In my search, I found information about the great mathematician Pythagoras who lived in Samos, Greece about 570BCE and started a school where he taught his students to live a simple life style and to study mathematics. The students were called Pythagoreans and after many years of study could be initiated into the inner circle. Only the truly initiated were identified with a Pentagram Tattoo. However, the only thing I remembered about Pythagoras from grade school was the Pythagorean Theorem regarding a right triangle. It said that the square of the longest side of a right triangle was equal to the sum of the squares of the shorter two sides. In algebraic symbols it could be stated that c2 = a2 + b2.
As I found other citations on the Net, they described that Pythagoras had a love for learning and in his earlier youth studied with the great mathematician Thales. Later he traveled to Egypt and spent 22 years learning the “Ancient Mysteries” from the high priests there. After a while, he was welcomed into the priesthood and learned the secret oral history. He also wandered through the great Egyptian temples where he found other secret mysteries inscribed on the temple walls written in ancient Hebrew and Greek. In order to read the inscriptions he quickly learned the ancient languages written in hieroglyphic vertical symbology and later in the Phoenician Alphabet of linear words. During this period, he was captured by warring tyrants from Babylon and spent 12 more years there in captivity before returning home to Samos, Greece.
On his return home, Pythagoras found the town of Samos, Greece to be over run by warring tyrants and escaped to Crotona, Italy were he started his school of philosophy. Although Pythagoras is known for his mathematical knowledge he was also a very religious man and a spiritual leader and thus founded a religious movement called Pythagoreanism.
Although the school only allowed men into the inner circle, women could also listen to his teachings in open public forums even though it was against the law for women to attend public activities. In addition, the Pythagoreans of the inner circle were vegetarians who also believed in reincarnation. They thought that the soul of man would continue to come back in the body of a living form until it reached a pure state. At that point the soul would then be most god-like and not return and remain with god in a celestial heaven. The Pythagoreans also divested themselves of all personal belongings and made them community property to be shared. The main focus of the school was both mathematical and spiritual. Students would learn about nature and science through the mathematics of numbers and geometry as well as the spiritual goodness of mankind. The secrets of the universe could all be described with a pattern of numbers and by the geometric shapes of triangles, rectangles, pentagons and circles. He saw these shapes in all forms of living and nonliving things like buildings and flowers and the human body. Many of the important mathematical rules and proofs that were discovered at the school either by Pythagoras or his disciples are still in used today.
Pythagoras even discovered the principles of the musical scale. He found that if you plucked a stretched string it made a specific sound. If you then plucked the string with half its length, it made the same sound but at a higher pitch which could be repeated continuously. He then found that by taking other fractions of the same stretched string you could get seven distinct sounds before it would repeat the initial sound at a higher pitch. He called this sequence of eight notes an octave and numbered the scale of notes 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 which later was designated with the musical scale notes C,D,E,F,G,A,B,C. From this discovery, many musical instruments were made with more precise accuracy. It is speculated that Pythagoras actually invented the Lyre or small harp. This was a triangular harp with eight chords or strings; in fact it was in the shape of a right triangle. Other stringed instruments were previously invented but not with the mathematical and numerical accuracy as the Lyre.
Later he assigned numbers to the written alphabet and found that the names of the Gods and all things in the universe could be described with a special number. However, modern English names must first be transcribed to their Hebrew or Greek origin to obtain the true Pythagorean special number. A simple example of this can be derived from the following table of letters and numbers. The first row of the table has the numbers 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 with the second row having the letters A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J and the third row having the letters K,L,M,N,O,P,Q,R,S,T and the fourth row having the letters U,V,W,Y,Y,Z. Thus the number (1) is assigned to the vertical letters in the table (A, K or U) and the number (2) is assigned to the letters (B, L or V). Thus, the numerical value of the name SAM would be 9+1+3 = 13 which can be reduced to the special number 1+3 = 4.
Combining the number theory for the musical scale (1 through 8) and the higher octave (9 through 16) with the alphabet chart above, you can describe a single object or even a phrase with a selection of musical notes. And thus, it is said that Pythagoras could play a melody on his Lyre that could be interpreted as a word or phrase or even a command that might invoke a change in nature such as lightning, wind, fire, storms. Did he possess God-like powers?
Since the Pythagoreans were sworn to secrecy, none of his teachings or discoveries were ever written down into formal texts. All of the ancient mysteries and his new discoveries were only passed along orally. The school that he developed only existed for about 500 years and then was suddenly disbanded for its political views. The ruling authorities burned and destroyed all the Pythagorean temples, buildings and houses and killed many of its followers. However, many disciples escaped and traveled throughout the Mediterranean and beyond, teaching the discoveries and mysteries. Unfortunately only fragments of this lost knowledge were eventually written down from memory or oral history.
Although there was more to learn about Pythagoras from the Net, I was gone long enough and needed to return to my cabin now and come back later. Since I was also the designated photographer for the group I would use that as an excuse to return each evening to the Internet Café to download my photos and organize them into digital albums. However, after that I would then have more time to explore more information about Pythagoras which I found to be so fascinating.
I went back to my stateroom and met my wife and we dressed for dinner. We then made are way to the dining room to meet the others and enjoy some quality time eating and relaxing with our new and old friends. During dinner, Joe Loducio had us all in stitches while telling stories about his early youth in the seminary. After dinner, we enjoyed a musical production of “Mama Mia” in the Ship’s Theater which was a belly full of laughs
and great entertainment.
Since my wife and I were tired from the long day of traveling and the evening’s activities, we decided to retire to our cabin at about 11:00 PM. However, we were still awake at midnight and a bit hungry. Since I read in the cruise booklet that they were serving midnight pizza and snacks on the lido deck tonight, I told my wife I would get us some food and be right back. On my way there I met our steward Tony and stopped to ask him about the tattoo and the information that I learned on the Net.
He apologized for the quick answer that he gave earlier and said that the Pythagorean Society was actually a secretive religious group but since I was a retired teacher and he was a student, then we shared the same love of learning and so he could tell me a little about it. In a short while, he confirmed that he was a full member of the Pythagoreans and that their main focus involved the spiritual power of numbers. He said he could tell me more later but was on his way to a group gathering at 1:00 AM on the poop deck and that I could watch from a distance but to keep out of sight.
I quickly got some pizza and brought it back to the cabin for a late night snack. My wife and I ate a few pieces and then she decided to go to bed. Within five minutes she was asleep and it was now almost 1:00 AM. Since my wife had already fallen asleep, I didn’t see any harm if I snuck out for a few minutes and watched the Pythagorean gathering.
I quietly left the cabin and locked the door behind me. I then went up to the poop deck at the stern of the ship on the port side and looked around but saw no one in sight. Just before I decided to return to my cabin, I heard a group chanting in the darkness of the starboard side at the far end of the deck. Not wanting to be seen, I quietly climbed a bulkhead ladder and peaked over the roof of a small utility locker and saw a group of men chanting, as a bearded man played a small harp. The notes on the harp were quite distinctive and had a melodic sound. The sky was bright with stars and there was a full moon. However, a shadow started to cover the moon and within a short time there was a full lunar eclipse. I didn’t want to believe my eyes but it was like the musical tones on the harp had caused the eclipse. I quickly climbed down the ladder and returned to my cabin before being spotted. Although I was tired from the long day, I couldn’t sleep a wink thinking about the day’s events and especially those that had just occurred.
On the 3rd day we docked in Rome and went ashore to try some sight seeing. We decided to see as many places as possible since we were only here for twelve hours and had to be back aboard ship for an 8:00 PM departure. The three Joes in our group had been to Rome before and we decided to make a whirlwind tour of the city and see all the important sights which included the Vatican, Trevi Fountain, St. Peter’s Square, Spanish Steps and the Coliseum. After leaving the ship we rented two small cars and saw most of the areas that we had planned. We also stopped to buy a few gifts and had lunch at a small café near St. Peter’s Square. After seeing the Coliseum we were exhausted and headed back to the ship at 7:00 PM and had a late dinner.
After dinner we all retired to our cabins to relax a bit and later would meet in the lounge at 9:00 PM for tonight’s Theme Night of “Horse Racing”. Several of the passengers were chosen to carry cardboard horses around a small race track on stage for a make believe horse race while the audience would bet on various horses. We all laughed as each horse was given a secret handicap to be performed during the race. The horse from our table was jockeyed by Joe Pignato and his handicap was to leave some horse poop every 5 feet while Joe Laprusso used a pooper scooper to cleanup. We all laughed so loud that our tummies ached. At 11:00 PM we decided to call it a night and retired to our cabins. We were all really tired from a full day of activities and decided to skip the late night snack and go to bed early.
On the next few days we docked in Athens, Greece and then in Izmir, Turkey. After renting a car or taking a tour bus we saw as many as the main attractions as possible. In Greece we saw the Parthenon, the Temple of Zeus and a few other places. In Turkey we saw the Agora Ancient Market Place, the Hisar Mosque and the Roman Aqueducts.
We spent the seventh day at sea and continued enjoying all the amenities onboard ship.
During free time I continued to download my trip photos to a digital album and save it to a flash memory stick and some CDs. I also continued to research additional information at the internet cafe about the Pythagoreans and learned even more about their discoveries.
On several nights I watched the Pythagorean ceremonial rituals from a distance making sure that I was not seen. They always included a chanting song with the melodic sounds of harp strings. At each occasion, the harp sounds seemed to trigger an event of nature that was unexplainable. On one night a water spout appeared off the bow of the ship and flying fish swam around in an ever widening spiral. On another night brilliant colored lights appeared in the night sky like the Aurora Borealis. At each of these events the musical sounds seemed to spell out an alpha-numeric command to initiate a beautiful natural phenomenon.
When I saw Tony the next day, I questioned him about what I saw and he said that the ultimate goal of Pythagoreans was to use their power for the good of mankind. Thus they became the earthly servants of the ancient Greek Gods especially Osiris, Isis and Horus. They were empowered by the Gods to bring peace and tranquility to the world. Only after years of training and trust would they be sent out to help people in need. They would only travel to undeveloped countries helping those suffering from starvation or floods or disease and keep their efforts secret. Using their powers they would divert water to arid regions, make crops grow in the dessert, or command natural predators to kill disease spreading insects. They never visited developed countries since they had their own resources to help themselves.
However, a Pythagorean could be easily tempted by this power and become greedy. In fact, some Pythagoreans have left the group and had become fallen angels and used there powers for evil ways and personal gain. It is this greed that has spawned all the upheaval and wars that have occurred throughout time and is the eternal battle between good and evil. Many evil tyrants have used these fallen angels to help them in their conquests.
However, the true Pythagoreans were only focusing on the good of man during this current cruise and would be celebrating the achievements of some of its elders in Alexandria, Egypt at the Fortress of Qaitbey. A temple of Isis had been built within the fort and it is there that the celebration will take place. Tony then said that we were welcome to attend if we wanted.
I later learned from the internet that fortress was built in the late 1400s and was located on the shores of Alexandria at the same site as the ancient Lighthouse of Alexandria. The lighthouse was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world built in 285 BC and later destroyed by conquering armies and a devastating earthquake in 1100 AD. Pieces of the lighthouse were used to build the Fortress of Qaitbey while other pieces still remain submerged under water in the harbor.
On the eighth day, our ship finally arrived at Alexandria, Egypt and we looked forward to enjoying two exciting days there, sightseeing and visiting the local area. We made arrangements to visit the various temples, museums, and other structures and discover the history of an ancient Greco-Roman-Egyptian past.
After visiting some of the other attractions around Alexandria we arrived on a tourist bus at 3:00 PM and entered the main gate to the Fortress of Gaitbey. There were roof top gardens and lookout towers on the outside and hundreds of rooms inside located along stone corridors. Only some of the rooms were open for public viewing. When we got to the ground floor we followed a sign to the Temple of Isis which was presently closed for a private showing for the Pythagoreans. However, I saw Tony standing at the entrance and he said we could go in and be seated at the back of the large temple chamber and he would sit with us.
On the front wall of the temple was an altar with a golden harp. This was a special harp and had supernatural powers beyond those that were used at the rituals that I saw on the ship. In front of the harp was an open casket containing a deceased elder who was being honored today. There were Egyptian vases and statues to the left a right and hieroglyphic symbology adorned the walls. On the right wall there were several tunnels that led to subterranean catacombs for burying the dead.
Tony explained that this was an elder who had recently passed away at the age of 111 which was considered to be a holy number among the Pythagoreans and signified perfection. The number (1) is the monad for reason, the sum of the ones is the triad for harmony and the three ones is the holy trinity. Consequently the elder had reached the final stage of mortal life and reincarnation and now would enter the kingdom of god.
The high priest gave a eulogy and signaled the attendees to sing the funeral chant as he played a melodic song on the golden harp. After several minutes the air became warm and a vibration could be felt on the floor. Suddenly a light appeared above the elder’s body growing larger for a minute and then in a flash was gone. The elder’s soul had passed from this mortal life into the after life. We were all astonished and couldn’t believe what we saw.
Without warning an intruder jumped on to the altar and grabbed the high priest around the neck holding a silver dagger at his throat. He yelled to everyone to sit down and that no one would be hurt if they all remained calm. He then grabbed the golden harp and forced the priest down a tunnel on the side of the altar leading to the catacombs and was gone. We all thought that his escape exit was odd since there was no other way out. Was the intruder one of the fallen angels that Tony had described? Did he know a secret way out?
Tony told us to cautiously leave the fortress and he would see us back at the ship. He also instructed some others to contact the police while he and other Pythagoreans went after the intruder. In a few minutes Tony was gone and running down the tunnel to the catacombs. At the end of the tunnel was a labyrinth of passage ways and he didn’t know which to choose. However, he heard pounding footsteps at the entrance to one tunnel and quickly chose it. The tunnel was dark but there was a bright light at the end with a ladder leading up through the ceiling into another chamber. Coming out of the chamber he saw the intruder at the other side trying to open a stone door that led to a public corridor. Evidently he had planned his escape route.
Tony quickly ran toward the intruder and they struggle for the dagger. In the scuffle, the priest was thrown to the ground with the harp. At that moment, the priest saw that this was the only opportunity he had to save Tony and himself and prevent the evil which the intruder could do with the golden harp. He quickly picked up the harp a played four notes in rapid succession, over and over. Luckily he knew many of the reincarnation notes and chose the appropriate ones.
The intruder grabbed his own throat gasping for air and realized that he was now under the spell of the harp and that his end was near. He then grabbed for the priest but the priest quickly jumped back just out of reach. The intruder then screamed in agony as his legs began rubbing together and made the clicking sound of a bug. In a flash he was gone and a beetle suddenly appeared in his place on the floor of the chamber. The harp sound had reincarnated the evil intruder into another life form which was more appropriate for his recent evil deeds. He had become a dung beetle whose life is spent forever eating dog manure. The intruder had now been put back to his appropriate place in the evolutionary ladder of mortal life. It will be many centuries before he is deserving enough to be reincarnated back to a human form again. When the police arrived, Tony told them that the intruder had escaped and that everyone was now safe, as he looked at the floor and saw the dung beetle quickly run into a corner hiding in a pile of manure.
Later, we all met back at the ship before it departed for the next port of call. We finally relaxed and continued to enjoy the ship’s amenities and knew that we are sworn to secrecy, never to reveal what had happened.
A couple of weeks later we had arrived back home and I was sorting through all the photos to make a final slideshow and put it on CD. After which I would be able to send the CDs to the others and share the great memories of the trip we will never forget. Unfortunately, there were some memories that we will have to save for the next life.
Comments: (always welcome). Email to markryan82@comcast.net
Acknowledgements:
I would like to thank my Romeo friends for their colorful backgrounds and giving me the inspiration for my stories.
References:
Cruises – Mediterranean (Spain,Italy,Greece,Turkey,Egypt)
http://cruises.hotwire.com/b/c/sc.asp?d=11/1/2010&d2=11/30/2010&i=865189&c=34&v=660
Flights – Boston to Barcelona, Spain
http://www.hotwire.com/air/review-fare.jsp?actionType=2&searchId=5257564613&selectedSolutionId=68246375404&selectedPGoodId=79476796489 Archeology, Greece – Boston Globe Archives
http://search.boston.com/local/Search.do?s.sm.query=archeology%2C+greece&s.tab=globe&p12=search_globe_searchbox&s.dateRange=&s.si%28simplesearchinput%29.sortBy=-articleprintpublicationdate
Temple of Isis – Egyptian Harbor – BG 12-18-09
http://www.boston.com/news/world/africa/articles/2009/12/18/egyptians_lift_pieces_of_a_temple_from_alexandria_harbor/ Life of Pythagoras - Seven chorded lyre – Zeus – Isis – Oracle
http://classiclit.about.com/library/bl-etexts/tbulfinch/bl-tbulfinch-age-34.htm
Pythagoras and the Pentagram
http://hubpages.com/hub/Mathematical-greats-Pythagoras
The New Pythagoreans
http://hubpages.com/hub/The-New-Pythagoreans-Modern-Mathematicians
The Golden Ratio
http://www.contracosta.edu/math/pentagrm.htm
Pythagoras and Numerology
http://www.mathgym.com.au/history/pythagoras/pythnum.htm
Travel Itinerary in Greece – Island of Samos
http://www.travelinstyle.com/TURKEY/treasuresGRAnatolia.htm
Ancient Mysteries of Egypt and Greece
http://www.phoenixmasonry.org/ancient_mysteries_of_egypt_and_g.htm
Pyramids to Pythagoras – History
http://www.fig.net/pub/athens/papers/wshs2/WSHS2_2_Brock.pdf
Map of Alexandria
http://www.planetware.com/map/ancient-alexandria-map-egy-ancale.htm
Pythagoras in Alexandria
http://web.mit.edu/dryfoo/Masonry/Essays/pythagoras.html
Ancient Landmarks
http://www.blavatsky.net/magazine/theosophy/ww/additional/ancientlandmarks/PythagScienceOfNumbers.html Ancient Secret of Numbers
http://www.sacred-texts.com/eso/sta/sta16.htm
Lighthouse of Alexandria - The Pharos
http://www.egyptologyonline.com/alexandria.htm
Astrological Resurections
http://casehq.blogspot.com/2008/10/where-did-jesus-come-from.html
Pythagoras and Reincarnation
http://greatthinkers.suite101.com/article.cfm/pythagoras_and_reincarnation
The Golden Harp of Pythagoras
by Mark Ryan © 2010
During May 2009, the Romeo gang met for lunch at a local restaurant. The conversation was lively and eventually we talked about taking a fall cruise to the Mediterranean and decided to book our passage within the next month. We had been playing with this idea for several months and finally bit the bullet. We needed to book at least 6 month’s in advance if we wanted to get specific dates and accommodations. The group decided to fly from Boston, MA to Barcelona, Spain and then board the ship there for a fourteen day cruise in November. The ship was the Norwegian Jade from Norwegian Cruise Lines and we got group accommodations with ocean view, making stops in six ports including Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey and Egypt. Although there are more than 12 Romeos that meet for lunch regularly, only four decided to take the cruise (Marco Greico, Joe Pignato, Joe Loduccio, and Joe Laprusso).
On the departure date in November, we boarded our plane at Logan International Airport and after a 10 hour flight on British Airlines; we finally arrived in Barcelona, Spain and boarded the ship. As we walked up the gangway, the ship stewards and officers graciously welcomed us aboard. Our assigned steward’s name was Tony and he was a handsome young man of Italian decent that could be mistaken for a movie star, at least that is what my wife kept on telling me. Tony was tall, had black curly hair, and had dark tanned skin. He talked with a deep Italian accent and would make the most mundane discussion sound exotic with his proliferation of adjectives. He brought us to our assigned stateroom and showed us the amenities as he put the luggage on the corner rack.
When I tried to tip him for the services, he said that instead of tipping everyday we could leave any gratuities in an envelope in our staterooms at the end of the cruise. As he moved his hand, I noticed a tattoo on his right wrist. It was a two inch pentagram (an outside pentagon with five interior triangles forming a five pointed star in the middle). I commented to Tony about the tattoo and he said that it was for a social group that he belonged to from his hometown in Crotona, Italy. He also said that he was a college student and was studying mathematics as were some of the other stewards onboard the ship. In addition, he heard that we were retired teachers and out of respect for this worthy profession he would treat us with special care.
Before Tony left he showed us the Cruise Itinerary Booklet and pointed to the various activities available. He also reminded us that our first dinner would be in the second deck dining room at 5:00 PM. However, he said that we had the rest of the afternoon free to wander about the ship and to find the various attractions and get our bearings. Tony also said that we had three days to explore the ship before our first port of call in Rome, Italy where we would dock for 12 hours and do some sight seeing.
The ship had set sail about an hour after we boarded and was now cruising along at about 8 knots. The sea was calm and we could see some land off in the far distance. There were some flying fish swimming along side the ship as they continued to jump in and out of the water. As we strolled along the outside deck we met some of the other Romeos and their wives and decided to stop at the pool area for drinks at a side bar. Although we were not rich and famous we were enjoying the surrounding luxury as we watched some of the passengers and their children already splashing around in the pool.
Sitting at the bar I glanced at the Cruise Booklet which described some of the ship amenities that included a Spa, Casino, Hot Tub, Exercise Room, Running Track, Golf Driving Nets, Sports Deck with Basketball and Tennis Court, Shuffle Board, Swimming Pools, Dinning Rooms, Internet Café, Teen Sports and Arcade, Dance Club, Lounges and Bars, Gift Shops, Theater for Broadway Style Shows, Parties and Theme Nights, Live Music and Jazz Clubs, Library, Board Games as well as a few other activities. Since there was so much to see we decided to split up and meet later for dinner. While some of the women went to the gift shops, the men the casinos and I wanted to check out the internet cafe and secretly look up the tattoo symbol that I saw on our steward’s wrist. There was something curious about the way Tony vaguely described it.
When I got to the Internet Café there were about 20 laptops scattered around on small tables. You could order coffee at a side bar and then sit at any open computer. The computers were all self service with open Wi-Fi access to the internet. I immediately clicked on the internet logo and then Goggled the word “Pentagram” and some other key words. In my search, I found information about the great mathematician Pythagoras who lived in Samos, Greece about 570BCE and started a school where he taught his students to live a simple life style and to study mathematics. The students were called Pythagoreans and after many years of study could be initiated into the inner circle. Only the truly initiated were identified with a Pentagram Tattoo. However, the only thing I remembered about Pythagoras from grade school was the Pythagorean Theorem regarding a right triangle. It said that the square of the longest side of a right triangle was equal to the sum of the squares of the shorter two sides. In algebraic symbols it could be stated that c2 = a2 + b2.
As I found other citations on the Net, they described that Pythagoras had a love for learning and in his earlier youth studied with the great mathematician Thales. Later he traveled to Egypt and spent 22 years learning the “Ancient Mysteries” from the high priests there. After a while, he was welcomed into the priesthood and learned the secret oral history. He also wandered through the great Egyptian temples where he found other secret mysteries inscribed on the temple walls written in ancient Hebrew and Greek. In order to read the inscriptions he quickly learned the ancient languages written in hieroglyphic vertical symbology and later in the Phoenician Alphabet of linear words. During this period, he was captured by warring tyrants from Babylon and spent 12 more years there in captivity before returning home to Samos, Greece.
On his return home, Pythagoras found the town of Samos, Greece to be over run by warring tyrants and escaped to Crotona, Italy were he started his school of philosophy. Although Pythagoras is known for his mathematical knowledge he was also a very religious man and a spiritual leader and thus founded a religious movement called Pythagoreanism.
Although the school only allowed men into the inner circle, women could also listen to his teachings in open public forums even though it was against the law for women to attend public activities. In addition, the Pythagoreans of the inner circle were vegetarians who also believed in reincarnation. They thought that the soul of man would continue to come back in the body of a living form until it reached a pure state. At that point the soul would then be most god-like and not return and remain with god in a celestial heaven. The Pythagoreans also divested themselves of all personal belongings and made them community property to be shared. The main focus of the school was both mathematical and spiritual. Students would learn about nature and science through the mathematics of numbers and geometry as well as the spiritual goodness of mankind. The secrets of the universe could all be described with a pattern of numbers and by the geometric shapes of triangles, rectangles, pentagons and circles. He saw these shapes in all forms of living and nonliving things like buildings and flowers and the human body. Many of the important mathematical rules and proofs that were discovered at the school either by Pythagoras or his disciples are still in used today.
Pythagoras even discovered the principles of the musical scale. He found that if you plucked a stretched string it made a specific sound. If you then plucked the string with half its length, it made the same sound but at a higher pitch which could be repeated continuously. He then found that by taking other fractions of the same stretched string you could get seven distinct sounds before it would repeat the initial sound at a higher pitch. He called this sequence of eight notes an octave and numbered the scale of notes 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 which later was designated with the musical scale notes C,D,E,F,G,A,B,C. From this discovery, many musical instruments were made with more precise accuracy. It is speculated that Pythagoras actually invented the Lyre or small harp. This was a triangular harp with eight chords or strings; in fact it was in the shape of a right triangle. Other stringed instruments were previously invented but not with the mathematical and numerical accuracy as the Lyre.
Later he assigned numbers to the written alphabet and found that the names of the Gods and all things in the universe could be described with a special number. However, modern English names must first be transcribed to their Hebrew or Greek origin to obtain the true Pythagorean special number. A simple example of this can be derived from the following table of letters and numbers. The first row of the table has the numbers 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 with the second row having the letters A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J and the third row having the letters K,L,M,N,O,P,Q,R,S,T and the fourth row having the letters U,V,W,Y,Y,Z. Thus the number (1) is assigned to the vertical letters in the table (A, K or U) and the number (2) is assigned to the letters (B, L or V). Thus, the numerical value of the name SAM would be 9+1+3 = 13 which can be reduced to the special number 1+3 = 4.
Combining the number theory for the musical scale (1 through 8) and the higher octave (9 through 16) with the alphabet chart above, you can describe a single object or even a phrase with a selection of musical notes. And thus, it is said that Pythagoras could play a melody on his Lyre that could be interpreted as a word or phrase or even a command that might invoke a change in nature such as lightning, wind, fire, storms. Did he possess God-like powers?
Since the Pythagoreans were sworn to secrecy, none of his teachings or discoveries were ever written down into formal texts. All of the ancient mysteries and his new discoveries were only passed along orally. The school that he developed only existed for about 500 years and then was suddenly disbanded for its political views. The ruling authorities burned and destroyed all the Pythagorean temples, buildings and houses and killed many of its followers. However, many disciples escaped and traveled throughout the Mediterranean and beyond, teaching the discoveries and mysteries. Unfortunately only fragments of this lost knowledge were eventually written down from memory or oral history.
Although there was more to learn about Pythagoras from the Net, I was gone long enough and needed to return to my cabin now and come back later. Since I was also the designated photographer for the group I would use that as an excuse to return each evening to the Internet Café to download my photos and organize them into digital albums. However, after that I would then have more time to explore more information about Pythagoras which I found to be so fascinating.
I went back to my stateroom and met my wife and we dressed for dinner. We then made are way to the dining room to meet the others and enjoy some quality time eating and relaxing with our new and old friends. During dinner, Joe Loducio had us all in stitches while telling stories about his early youth in the seminary. After dinner, we enjoyed a musical production of “Mama Mia” in the Ship’s Theater which was a belly full of laughs
and great entertainment.
Since my wife and I were tired from the long day of traveling and the evening’s activities, we decided to retire to our cabin at about 11:00 PM. However, we were still awake at midnight and a bit hungry. Since I read in the cruise booklet that they were serving midnight pizza and snacks on the lido deck tonight, I told my wife I would get us some food and be right back. On my way there I met our steward Tony and stopped to ask him about the tattoo and the information that I learned on the Net.
He apologized for the quick answer that he gave earlier and said that the Pythagorean Society was actually a secretive religious group but since I was a retired teacher and he was a student, then we shared the same love of learning and so he could tell me a little about it. In a short while, he confirmed that he was a full member of the Pythagoreans and that their main focus involved the spiritual power of numbers. He said he could tell me more later but was on his way to a group gathering at 1:00 AM on the poop deck and that I could watch from a distance but to keep out of sight.
I quickly got some pizza and brought it back to the cabin for a late night snack. My wife and I ate a few pieces and then she decided to go to bed. Within five minutes she was asleep and it was now almost 1:00 AM. Since my wife had already fallen asleep, I didn’t see any harm if I snuck out for a few minutes and watched the Pythagorean gathering.
I quietly left the cabin and locked the door behind me. I then went up to the poop deck at the stern of the ship on the port side and looked around but saw no one in sight. Just before I decided to return to my cabin, I heard a group chanting in the darkness of the starboard side at the far end of the deck. Not wanting to be seen, I quietly climbed a bulkhead ladder and peaked over the roof of a small utility locker and saw a group of men chanting, as a bearded man played a small harp. The notes on the harp were quite distinctive and had a melodic sound. The sky was bright with stars and there was a full moon. However, a shadow started to cover the moon and within a short time there was a full lunar eclipse. I didn’t want to believe my eyes but it was like the musical tones on the harp had caused the eclipse. I quickly climbed down the ladder and returned to my cabin before being spotted. Although I was tired from the long day, I couldn’t sleep a wink thinking about the day’s events and especially those that had just occurred.
On the 3rd day we docked in Rome and went ashore to try some sight seeing. We decided to see as many places as possible since we were only here for twelve hours and had to be back aboard ship for an 8:00 PM departure. The three Joes in our group had been to Rome before and we decided to make a whirlwind tour of the city and see all the important sights which included the Vatican, Trevi Fountain, St. Peter’s Square, Spanish Steps and the Coliseum. After leaving the ship we rented two small cars and saw most of the areas that we had planned. We also stopped to buy a few gifts and had lunch at a small café near St. Peter’s Square. After seeing the Coliseum we were exhausted and headed back to the ship at 7:00 PM and had a late dinner.
After dinner we all retired to our cabins to relax a bit and later would meet in the lounge at 9:00 PM for tonight’s Theme Night of “Horse Racing”. Several of the passengers were chosen to carry cardboard horses around a small race track on stage for a make believe horse race while the audience would bet on various horses. We all laughed as each horse was given a secret handicap to be performed during the race. The horse from our table was jockeyed by Joe Pignato and his handicap was to leave some horse poop every 5 feet while Joe Laprusso used a pooper scooper to cleanup. We all laughed so loud that our tummies ached. At 11:00 PM we decided to call it a night and retired to our cabins. We were all really tired from a full day of activities and decided to skip the late night snack and go to bed early.
On the next few days we docked in Athens, Greece and then in Izmir, Turkey. After renting a car or taking a tour bus we saw as many as the main attractions as possible. In Greece we saw the Parthenon, the Temple of Zeus and a few other places. In Turkey we saw the Agora Ancient Market Place, the Hisar Mosque and the Roman Aqueducts.
We spent the seventh day at sea and continued enjoying all the amenities onboard ship.
During free time I continued to download my trip photos to a digital album and save it to a flash memory stick and some CDs. I also continued to research additional information at the internet cafe about the Pythagoreans and learned even more about their discoveries.
On several nights I watched the Pythagorean ceremonial rituals from a distance making sure that I was not seen. They always included a chanting song with the melodic sounds of harp strings. At each occasion, the harp sounds seemed to trigger an event of nature that was unexplainable. On one night a water spout appeared off the bow of the ship and flying fish swam around in an ever widening spiral. On another night brilliant colored lights appeared in the night sky like the Aurora Borealis. At each of these events the musical sounds seemed to spell out an alpha-numeric command to initiate a beautiful natural phenomenon.
When I saw Tony the next day, I questioned him about what I saw and he said that the ultimate goal of Pythagoreans was to use their power for the good of mankind. Thus they became the earthly servants of the ancient Greek Gods especially Osiris, Isis and Horus. They were empowered by the Gods to bring peace and tranquility to the world. Only after years of training and trust would they be sent out to help people in need. They would only travel to undeveloped countries helping those suffering from starvation or floods or disease and keep their efforts secret. Using their powers they would divert water to arid regions, make crops grow in the dessert, or command natural predators to kill disease spreading insects. They never visited developed countries since they had their own resources to help themselves.
However, a Pythagorean could be easily tempted by this power and become greedy. In fact, some Pythagoreans have left the group and had become fallen angels and used there powers for evil ways and personal gain. It is this greed that has spawned all the upheaval and wars that have occurred throughout time and is the eternal battle between good and evil. Many evil tyrants have used these fallen angels to help them in their conquests.
However, the true Pythagoreans were only focusing on the good of man during this current cruise and would be celebrating the achievements of some of its elders in Alexandria, Egypt at the Fortress of Qaitbey. A temple of Isis had been built within the fort and it is there that the celebration will take place. Tony then said that we were welcome to attend if we wanted.
I later learned from the internet that fortress was built in the late 1400s and was located on the shores of Alexandria at the same site as the ancient Lighthouse of Alexandria. The lighthouse was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world built in 285 BC and later destroyed by conquering armies and a devastating earthquake in 1100 AD. Pieces of the lighthouse were used to build the Fortress of Qaitbey while other pieces still remain submerged under water in the harbor.
On the eighth day, our ship finally arrived at Alexandria, Egypt and we looked forward to enjoying two exciting days there, sightseeing and visiting the local area. We made arrangements to visit the various temples, museums, and other structures and discover the history of an ancient Greco-Roman-Egyptian past.
After visiting some of the other attractions around Alexandria we arrived on a tourist bus at 3:00 PM and entered the main gate to the Fortress of Gaitbey. There were roof top gardens and lookout towers on the outside and hundreds of rooms inside located along stone corridors. Only some of the rooms were open for public viewing. When we got to the ground floor we followed a sign to the Temple of Isis which was presently closed for a private showing for the Pythagoreans. However, I saw Tony standing at the entrance and he said we could go in and be seated at the back of the large temple chamber and he would sit with us.
On the front wall of the temple was an altar with a golden harp. This was a special harp and had supernatural powers beyond those that were used at the rituals that I saw on the ship. In front of the harp was an open casket containing a deceased elder who was being honored today. There were Egyptian vases and statues to the left a right and hieroglyphic symbology adorned the walls. On the right wall there were several tunnels that led to subterranean catacombs for burying the dead.
Tony explained that this was an elder who had recently passed away at the age of 111 which was considered to be a holy number among the Pythagoreans and signified perfection. The number (1) is the monad for reason, the sum of the ones is the triad for harmony and the three ones is the holy trinity. Consequently the elder had reached the final stage of mortal life and reincarnation and now would enter the kingdom of god.
The high priest gave a eulogy and signaled the attendees to sing the funeral chant as he played a melodic song on the golden harp. After several minutes the air became warm and a vibration could be felt on the floor. Suddenly a light appeared above the elder’s body growing larger for a minute and then in a flash was gone. The elder’s soul had passed from this mortal life into the after life. We were all astonished and couldn’t believe what we saw.
Without warning an intruder jumped on to the altar and grabbed the high priest around the neck holding a silver dagger at his throat. He yelled to everyone to sit down and that no one would be hurt if they all remained calm. He then grabbed the golden harp and forced the priest down a tunnel on the side of the altar leading to the catacombs and was gone. We all thought that his escape exit was odd since there was no other way out. Was the intruder one of the fallen angels that Tony had described? Did he know a secret way out?
Tony told us to cautiously leave the fortress and he would see us back at the ship. He also instructed some others to contact the police while he and other Pythagoreans went after the intruder. In a few minutes Tony was gone and running down the tunnel to the catacombs. At the end of the tunnel was a labyrinth of passage ways and he didn’t know which to choose. However, he heard pounding footsteps at the entrance to one tunnel and quickly chose it. The tunnel was dark but there was a bright light at the end with a ladder leading up through the ceiling into another chamber. Coming out of the chamber he saw the intruder at the other side trying to open a stone door that led to a public corridor. Evidently he had planned his escape route.
Tony quickly ran toward the intruder and they struggle for the dagger. In the scuffle, the priest was thrown to the ground with the harp. At that moment, the priest saw that this was the only opportunity he had to save Tony and himself and prevent the evil which the intruder could do with the golden harp. He quickly picked up the harp a played four notes in rapid succession, over and over. Luckily he knew many of the reincarnation notes and chose the appropriate ones.
The intruder grabbed his own throat gasping for air and realized that he was now under the spell of the harp and that his end was near. He then grabbed for the priest but the priest quickly jumped back just out of reach. The intruder then screamed in agony as his legs began rubbing together and made the clicking sound of a bug. In a flash he was gone and a beetle suddenly appeared in his place on the floor of the chamber. The harp sound had reincarnated the evil intruder into another life form which was more appropriate for his recent evil deeds. He had become a dung beetle whose life is spent forever eating dog manure. The intruder had now been put back to his appropriate place in the evolutionary ladder of mortal life. It will be many centuries before he is deserving enough to be reincarnated back to a human form again. When the police arrived, Tony told them that the intruder had escaped and that everyone was now safe, as he looked at the floor and saw the dung beetle quickly run into a corner hiding in a pile of manure.
Later, we all met back at the ship before it departed for the next port of call. We finally relaxed and continued to enjoy the ship’s amenities and knew that we are sworn to secrecy, never to reveal what had happened.
A couple of weeks later we had arrived back home and I was sorting through all the photos to make a final slideshow and put it on CD. After which I would be able to send the CDs to the others and share the great memories of the trip we will never forget. Unfortunately, there were some memories that we will have to save for the next life.
Comments: (always welcome). Email to markryan82@comcast.net
Acknowledgements:
I would like to thank my Romeo friends for their colorful backgrounds and giving me the inspiration for my stories.
References:
Cruises – Mediterranean (Spain,Italy,Greece,Turkey,Egypt)
http://cruises.hotwire.com/b/c/sc.asp?d=11/1/2010&d2=11/30/2010&i=865189&c=34&v=660
Flights – Boston to Barcelona, Spain
http://www.hotwire.com/air/review-fare.jsp?actionType=2&searchId=5257564613&selectedSolutionId=68246375404&selectedPGoodId=79476796489 Archeology, Greece – Boston Globe Archives
http://search.boston.com/local/Search.do?s.sm.query=archeology%2C+greece&s.tab=globe&p12=search_globe_searchbox&s.dateRange=&s.si%28simplesearchinput%29.sortBy=-articleprintpublicationdate
Temple of Isis – Egyptian Harbor – BG 12-18-09
http://www.boston.com/news/world/africa/articles/2009/12/18/egyptians_lift_pieces_of_a_temple_from_alexandria_harbor/ Life of Pythagoras - Seven chorded lyre – Zeus – Isis – Oracle
http://classiclit.about.com/library/bl-etexts/tbulfinch/bl-tbulfinch-age-34.htm
Pythagoras and the Pentagram
http://hubpages.com/hub/Mathematical-greats-Pythagoras
The New Pythagoreans
http://hubpages.com/hub/The-New-Pythagoreans-Modern-Mathematicians
The Golden Ratio
http://www.contracosta.edu/math/pentagrm.htm
Pythagoras and Numerology
http://www.mathgym.com.au/history/pythagoras/pythnum.htm
Travel Itinerary in Greece – Island of Samos
http://www.travelinstyle.com/TURKEY/treasuresGRAnatolia.htm
Ancient Mysteries of Egypt and Greece
http://www.phoenixmasonry.org/ancient_mysteries_of_egypt_and_g.htm
Pyramids to Pythagoras – History
http://www.fig.net/pub/athens/papers/wshs2/WSHS2_2_Brock.pdf
Map of Alexandria
http://www.planetware.com/map/ancient-alexandria-map-egy-ancale.htm
Pythagoras in Alexandria
http://web.mit.edu/dryfoo/Masonry/Essays/pythagoras.html
Ancient Landmarks
http://www.blavatsky.net/magazine/theosophy/ww/additional/ancientlandmarks/PythagScienceOfNumbers.html Ancient Secret of Numbers
http://www.sacred-texts.com/eso/sta/sta16.htm
Lighthouse of Alexandria - The Pharos
http://www.egyptologyonline.com/alexandria.htm
Astrological Resurections
http://casehq.blogspot.com/2008/10/where-did-jesus-come-from.html
Pythagoras and Reincarnation
http://greatthinkers.suite101.com/article.cfm/pythagoras_and_reincarnation
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