Androcydes () was a Pythagorean whose work ''On Pythagorean Symbols'' survives only in scattered fragments. The dating of his life is uncertain; he lived before the 1st century BC but possibly as early as the 4th. The frequency with which Androcydes is mentioned in other works indicates that he was a major source for the later Pythagorean tradition, and he is also of interest in studying the historical development of the literary and philosophical

symbol A symbol is a mark, Sign (semiotics), sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, physical object, object, or wikt:relationship, relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by cr ...

The Pythagorean symbols

Walter Burkert Walter Burkert (; 2 February 1931 – 11 March 2015) was a German scholar of Greek mythology and cult. A professor of classics at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, he taught in the UK and the US. He has influenced generations of student ...

featured Androcydes in his stemma of Pythagorean ''symbola'', consisting of gnomic utterances or maxims. Androcydes was regarded as one of the most important sources on the '' akousmata''. According to Grant (2002), he has said, ''wine and meat do harm the mind''. Paraphrases of his work in later writers demonstrate his method of interpreting these behavioral strictures. For instance, “Do not step over a yoke” should be understood as meaning “Do not transgress justice.” These interpretations indicate that the prohibitions held arcane significance for those willing to ponder them and learn, that the ''symbola'' are also ''enigmata'' (αἰνίγματα). The 1st-century BC grammarian Tryphon refers to Androcydes’ work in a section on literary ''enigmata'', which he defines as darkened or obscured

allegories As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory throughou ...

. Tryphon implies that Androcydes made no strong distinction between poetic and philosophical modes of discourse, in that he cited passages from

Hesiod Hesiod ( or ; ''Hēsíodos''; ) was an ancient Greece, Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer.M. L. West, ''Hesiod: Theogony'', Oxford University Press (1966), p. 40.Jasper Gr ...

in interpreting the Pythagorean symbols.

The symbols and magic

Androcydes treated the '' Ephesia grammata'', or ritualized “magic words” used for incantations or

amulet An amulet, also known as a good luck charm or phylactery, is an object believed to confer protection upon its possessor. The word "amulet" comes from the Latin word , which Pliny's ''Natural History'' describes as "an object that protects a perso ...

ic inscriptions, as allegorical language containing

theological Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of an ...

insights, a “cryptic form of

natural theology Natural theology is a type of theology that seeks to provide arguments for theological topics, such as the existence of a deity, based on human reason. It is distinguished from revealed theology, which is based on supernatural sources such as ...

.” Androcydes interprets the words through perceived lexical and phonic similarities to Greek. His commentary on perhaps the best-known string of such syllables — ''askion kataskion lix tetrax damnameneus aision'' — is paraphrased by

Clement of Alexandria Titus Flavius Clemens, also known as Clement of Alexandria (; – ), was a Christian theology, Christian theologian and philosopher who taught at the Catechetical School of Alexandria. Among his pupils were Origen and Alexander of Jerusalem. A ...

The physician?

Some attempts have been made to identify this Androcydes with the Androcydes who was physician to

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

. Pythagorean dietary discipline regarding wine (bad) and cabbage (good)Discussed in the course of

Cato the Elder Marcus Porcius Cato (, ; 234–149 BC), also known as Cato the Censor (), the Elder and the Wise, was a Roman soldier, Roman Senate, senator, and Roman historiography, historian known for his conservatism and opposition to Hellenization. He wa ...

’s effusions on the virtues of cabbage, ''On Agriculture'' 157, Bill Thayer’s edition at

LacusCurtius LacusCurtius is the ancient Graeco-Roman part of a large history website, hosted as of March 2025 on a server at the University of Chicago. Starting in 1995, as of January 2004 it gave "access to more than 594 photos, 559 drawings and engravings, ...

br>online.
/ref> may be reflected in the physician's advice to the notoriously wine-drinking conqueror.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Androcydes Pythagoreans Ancient Greek philosophers of language 2nd-century BC Greek philosophers 3rd-century BC Greek philosophers 4th-century BC Greek philosophers