Elefsinios Pomegranate is a young student who is driving a time machine back to ancient years, trying to have a closer look to the wisdom of ancient mathematicians

- Sicely looks great from that height !And this is Croton, a nice place to live and cogitate about the mysteries of universe. I can see why Pythagoras found his math school here

Ok. This must be the School. But where is HE ?

My “Find - Everything Device” (FED) has just located him !

Oh, he is sitting in a symposium !

I wonder … what kind of nutrition supports such a mind. I will certainly adopt it!

Let’s get a closer look. Who are all these people ? Thank god, sorry, thank all twelve gods, they can’t see, hear or feel me ! ( though, I’ m not sure about Pythagoras. Has he got a sixth sense ?)

Who is that beautiful young woman sitting next to him? Oh, she must be Theano, his loving one. And that dark-skinned man ? FED has recognized him. He is Sourba, a famous babylonian mathematician. And next to him ? This is Manoush, one of his Egyptian teachers! Pythagoras had spent 20 years of his life next to Egyptians sage priests where he aquired much of his great learning. And this is Vrontinos, the one who pays for the symposium, I suppose.

I’ll get closer, so that I can hear their conversation.

Vrontinos: For Zeus shake Pythagoras, why should you know the subject of our conversation in advance ? Did you have to consult your notes ?

Pythagoras: My friend, if our subject was a serious and demanding one, then my stomach should be empty ! Otherwise, it would absorb the energy my brain needs to work. Moreover, it would be inappropriate to talk about specific subjects, hanger for example, over such a banquet !

Vrontinos : Well, my mind refuses to work when my stomach is empty ! But, regardless of our conversation, I’m sure you won’t be able to resist all these goodies I’ve ordered for you ! The finest meat and the freshest fish prepared by my slave chef He has costed me a fortune to buy him!

P : I don’t want to insult you, my dear friend, but I certainly won’t have a bite of your gourmet eating !

V: I’ ll be insulted, unless you can give me a good explanation !

P: I will try to explain. I have purified my body and soul by following a strictly vegetarian diet deprived of toxins. Besides, this way I fight against my primeval instincts and I express my respect to other forms of life. Remember, when you eat an animal is like eating its soul as well ! And I’m glad to say that my followers have reluctantly adopt this nutrition.

V. You mean, you can resist to a juicy piece of meat, even when you are all alone !

P: But I’m never alone. A very important person, a VIP, is always watching .

V: You mean God ?

P: I mean myself !

Theano: You can certainly exclude me from these vegeterians, since I am his love, not his follower.

P: I have recommended Theano to have meat, because of her physical characteristics. I never suggest that this vegetarian diet is for everyone. So, I will allow my portion to her.

Sourba : I can see your point, Pythagoras and I can see a bright and disciplined soul into your thin and well-trained body. But for us, the Babylonians, having food to eat is a bless from gods. So we have to show our respect to them by eating what they give us, vegetables, meat and fish. And you can’t say of course that this nutrition hasn’t support our mind, since we were the ones to have the first steps in mathematical thinking.

P: You certainly are. You taught us how to satisfy our practical needs by practical geometry. Since, I’ ve heard that old Minoans had given their try.

Manoush : And we took it further. We had to find a way to calculate the acreage of our fields after Nile’s flood and the volume of the cereals we produce. So , it’s about food again

V: As you can see Pythagoras it’s all about food. So, going back to that, I think I can offer a special dish. You will certainly won’t refuse a special dish of beans.

P: I’m afraid I’ll disappoint you. Beans are exactly the food Iwouldn’t even touch, I shouldn’t even refer the word! !

V: I ‘ve never heard a strangest idea !

P: You see, my way of thinking is completely different. I strongly believe that dead people ‘s soul actually live in beans. And that’s a thought Manoush could confirm.

V: Can I suggest a dish of onions, then ? Is everything all right with onions ?

P: I think I ‘ll have the best meal ever ! And to show you my gratefulness, I’ ll give you a special gift – this “greedy cup”!

V: I can’t imagine anything “greedy” coming from you, Pythagoras !

P: Get a closer look! If you fill it up to this line it’s a common cup. But if you get greedy and fill pass the line, the penalty is to lose all wine through the hole at the bottom of the cup.

V : I suppose you don’t imply anything! My wife will certainly appreciate your gift !

E. P. :They are really crazy, those ancients ! I’m so confused – and hungry ! And my time machine is getting hungry as I’m running out of time-fuel. Let’s start my journey back to now.

What is that on my FED screen? I’m flying over Syracusae. It must be the 2^nd century B.C. Who ‘s that man holding his stomach ? And what is he trying to do? OK, the answer is coming. It’s Archimedes , one of the greatest mathematicians and engineers of all time ! And … he is playing ! He’s trying to assemble a puzzle he had made, called Stomachion ,and the solution is giving him a hard time – and a stomach pain !

I’m still in the same century flying over the famous city of Alexandria. I can see the Great Alexandrian Library. An old man is sitting at his desk and he is … crying. What could give him such a sorrow ? Oh, he is blind. I see what’s going on. It’s Eratosthenes , the librarian , who has decided to stop eating and die since his blindness made him incapable of studying. And what life worths without studying ?

I think I’ve heard of another mathematician who starved to death, much closer to my time. This one refused to eat because of his constant fear that someone would poison his food – and he died of hunger !

I think I’ve reached my time and my home ! Ican see, mum in the kitchen, as usual. She is preparing dinner for my family. I can smell baked beans, fresh salad and a salad fruit for dessert. She never forgets the pyramid of Mediterranean diet . God, I’m starving to death. I hope I won’t eat anyone’s soul as I intent to satisfy my mum and my stomach by honoring her food.

Afterwards, I’ll deal with some unsolved mathematical problems – those exercises my teacher assigned me. Should I ask some ancient help ?

Let’s land

( Inspired by the novel "Pythagoras, the Son of Scilence", by Benigno Morilla )