Measuring heaven : Pythagoras and his influence on thought and art in antiquity and the Middle Ages / Christiane L. Joost-Gaugier.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Pythagoras in the Greek world -- 2. Pythagoras in the Roman world -- 3. Pythagoras in the late pagan and early Christian worlds -- 4. Pythagoras in medieval memory -- 5. Pythagoreanism in Greek and Roman antiquity -- 6. Neopythagoreanism in the late pagan and early Christian worlds -- 7. The Middle Ages : a new Pythagoreanism -- 8. Pythagoreanism in ancient art and architecture -- 9. The oldest surviving Pythagorean building and its significance -- 10. The Pythagoreanism of Hadrian's pantheon -- 11. Pythagoreanism in medieval art -- 12. Sacred siting : the Pythagorean heritage of medieval ecclesiastical architecture -- 13. Conclusions.

"In this illustrated book, Christiane L. Joost-Gaugier sets out the panorama of Pythagoras's influence and that of Christian and Jewish thinkers who followed his ideas in the Greek, Roman, early Christian, and medieval worlds. In illuminating this tradition of thought, Joost-Gaugier shows how the influence of Pythagoreanism was far broader than is usually realized, and that it affected the development of ancient and medieval art and architecture from Greek and Roman temples to Gothic cathedrals." "Joost-Gaugier demonstrates that Pythagoreanism - centered on the dim memory of a single person that endured for centuries and grew ever-greater - inspired a new language for artists and architects, enabling them to be "modern.""--BOOK JACKET.