The Gospel of Hellas - Research Institute for Waldorf Education

the rise of philosophy
These geometrical forms were ideas which one could comprehend through the
eyes of body and soul. They were the perfect school for those who perceived
the concepts and conceived the percepts as did the Hellenes. Their geometry
culminated in the study of the triangle, particularly the right-angled triangle
from which they developed many fundamental theorems. Characteristically
Hellenic was the Pythagorean thought on the relationship between triangle
and square, and the discovery that the square on the hypotenuse of the rightangled
triangle is equal to the sum of the squares on the other two sides.
The recognition of the relation between triangle and square led the Greek
mind to basic insight into the relationship of soul and body. The triangle was the
geometrical expression of the threefold forces of the soul, the square symbolized
the structure of the physical body in its four main elements; bones, glands,
nerves and blood. The doctrine of these four elements of our physical structure
was closely allied with the Hellenic teaching about the four temperaments. It
was by no means an intellectual abstraction but an experience of nature-study
and geometry when Thales spoke of water, Anaximenes of air, Heraclitus of
fire and Anaximander of the “unlimited,” the ether, as the origin of underlying
substance of all things.
If a Hellene felt the predominance of the bony structure in his body, he
knew it was the element of earth which caused him to have a melancholic
temperament; he regarded his bony structure as the symbol of the incarceration
of the ego within the physical body. Melancholy is derived from the Greek
melas (black) and chole (gall), reminding us of Prometheus’ pains when the
vulture gnawed at his liver.
The phlegmatic temperament was experienced by the Hellenes in
connection with the watery element in nature, and in man with the glandular,
lymphatic system. The word is derived from the Greek phlegma and phlegmaino
which means to swell in inflammation, to become slimy or to cause phlegm,
clearly indicating the activity of the glands.
The sanguine temperament was experienced in connection with the air.
It was based on the predominance of our nervous system. Lastly, the choleric
temperament was felt within the element of fire, within the warmth of the
blood (Greek chole or cholos meant gall, rage, anger).
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