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Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0 · Hover to magnify, click for fullscreen
Original fileThe seated figure of Pythagoras is shown writing in a large book, while a youth holds a wooden tablet displaying a diagram of harmonic intervals. Behind him, the turbaned scholar Averroes leans forward to observe, and a figure in a white robe looks directly at the viewer. The scene illustrates the transmission of mathematical and musical knowledge through study and observation.
This group represents the foundation of the Quadrivium, specifically Arithmetic and Music. Pythagoras's presence connects to the Neoplatonic belief in a universe ordered by number and harmony, a concept central to the 'Music of the Spheres' and Renaissance natural philosophy.
ΕΠΟΓΔΟΩΝ ΔΙΑ ΤΕΣΣΑΡΩΝ ΔΙΑ ΠΕΝΤΕ ΔΙΑ ΠΑΣΩΝ VI VIII VIIII XII
Translation
Epogdoon (9:8 ratio/tone) Diatessaron (fourth) Diapente (fifth) Diapason (octave) 6, 8, 9, 12 (harmonic proportions)
Iamblichus
Raphael's depiction of Pythagoras and the harmonic tablet draws on the biographical and philosophical traditions preserved in Iamblichus's 'Life of Pythagoras'.
Timaeus by Plato
The harmonic ratios shown on the tablet are the mathematical basis for the World Soul described in Plato's cosmological dialogue.
Object
Fresco
allegory
Digital Source
Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0
Raphael, School of Athens, 1509-11. detail, Vatican Museums (6)
5472 × 3648 px
Linked Data
AI AI-cataloged fields generated by gemini-3-flash-preview on April 2, 2026. Getty identifiers are AI-inferred and may require verification.