I think the best thing to do first before I start writing about Pythagoras’ miracles mentioned by Iamblichus, is to make clear that a miracle cannot be defined as something against the natural laws, such as the resurrection. And before I start to mention some of Pythagoras’ miraculous deeds, I should introduce you briefly with Iamblichus.
Despite of the fact that Iamblichus was educated in Rome, by Porphyrius (around 304 AC), he was born and lived in a continent where magic was the highest point of peoples’ lives. This Syrian philosopher could characterize himself as a philosopher of all the Schools of Philosophy. Mostly, however, can be pointed out that he was a man quite influenced by the magic and the religion of his country. Eunapii wrote in his Vitae Sophistatum iterum that Iamblichus’ students maintained that their teacher was quite inspired by the Gods.
However, his relation with magic may be the main reason that he was so much focused on Pythagoras’ miracles that are included to Iamblichus’ De Vita Pythagorica. He narrates, for example, that in Taranda Pythagoras saw an ox which was eating green beans where the place around was full of every other kind of better green grass. Therefore, Pythagoras went to the shepherd saying to him that he should speak and admonish the animal. But because of the fact that the shepherd made fun of him by repeating the words ‘‘tell it’’, and by telling him that he did not know the ox’s language, Pythagoras went to the animal himself in order to talk to it.
After an hour whispering to the animal’s ear, Pythagoras made the ox run away from the beans. From that moment and on the ox not only never went to eat beans again but also according to the natives, the ox lived many years and during its last years of its life it was living at the Temple of Hera where the visitors were giving him human’s food and they called him the Pythagoras’ holy ox.
There are even more miraculous stories concerning the Presocratic philosopher.
In the same book we are reading significant facts of the Pythagorean philosophy. And despite of the fact that Iamblichus presented many of his philosophical believes as Pythagoreans, his book is one of the most important of those that have been saved.