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ftarmony of the Spheres The Pythagoreans believed that all things were composed of number. Each number had a special, almost magical significance. The most sacred number was 10, which was symbolized by the tetractys. -;~~ Note: fourth fifth octave I • • • • ' .. , . .. :· ... *' : .. : . . . . . ·. • , ' · .. · / Pythagoras is credited with the discovery that musical harmony is based on numerical ratios between string lengths. Because music was considered to be the most mysterious of art forms, this backed up the belief that the entire cosmos was based on number: what the Pythagoreans called the Harmony of the Spheres. Economics, and money itself, are also based on the Pythagorean idea that all things can be reduced to number. Indeed, it is believed that Pythagoras was involved in introducing the first coinage to his region. Page 6
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oikonomikos The word "economics" was derived from a work by the philosopher Xenophon (431- c. 360 BC), who was influenced by Pythagoras. His tract Oikonomikos described how to efficiently organize and run an agricultural estate. It must, I should think, be the business of the good estate manager at any rate to manage his own house or estate well. He argued that complicated tasks could best be carried out through division of labour. An advantage of cities such as Athens, which was growing rapidly in size and complexity, was the availability of a variety of specialists. In smaller towns, people had to carry out more tasks themselves, which was less efficient. While this conclusion predated Adam Smith's thoughts on the same topic by a couple of millennia (seep. 60), in a slave-based society the coordinating of these specialists was a task for the estate manager, not the markets. Page 7

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ftarmony of the Spheres

The Pythagoreans believed that all things were composed of number. Each number had a special, almost magical significance. The most sacred number was 10, which was symbolized by the tetractys. -;~~

Note: fourth fifth octave

I • • • • ' .. , . ..

:· ... *' : .. : . . . . .

·. • , '

· .. · /

Pythagoras is credited with the discovery that musical harmony is based on numerical ratios between string lengths. Because music was considered to be the most mysterious of art forms, this backed up the belief that the entire cosmos was based on number: what the Pythagoreans called the Harmony of the Spheres.

Economics, and money itself, are also based on the Pythagorean idea that all things can be reduced to number. Indeed, it is believed that Pythagoras was involved in introducing the first coinage to his region.

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