There is a sphere and you have to make numerous different three-dimensional forms with these rules:
- You can only use straight lines.
- All these lines must touch the surface of the sphere
- All the lines must be of equal length
- All the shapes made have to be the same
You could make an infinite amount, however since every square has to be of equal length, and all the shapes made had to be the same, you could only produce 5 different “perfect solids”. These are the Five Elements, which consist of:
- Fire, which is sharp, subtle, and mobile. It is equated with the Tetrahedron.
- Air, which is blunt, subtle, and mobile. It is equated with the Octahedon.
- Water, which is blunt, dense, and mobile. It is equated with the Icosahedron.
- Earth, which is joined with its opposite, Fire, through the intermediate elements of Air and Water. As fire’s opposite it is blunt, dense, and immobile. It is equated with the Hexahedron.
- Aither (Spirit/World Soul) is the element which makes up the heavens. It is equated with the Dodekahedron, the most complex solid.
Five Solids
The Pentacle: The divine Pythagoras was fascinated by the Pentacle. He recognized in its geometry a division of lines which resulted in the “golden ratio,” an emblem of perfection that was incorporated into art and architecture. Pythagoreans ascribed the points of the pentacle to the five elements.
The Five Solids, also called the Platonic Solids or the Pythagorean Solids, are directly associated as particles of the elements, are seen as the building blocks of reality. By using geometric figures, Pythagoras (and later Plato) implicitly connects the 5 solids to ideas of harmony and symmetry, and as such offer insights into the nature of the cosmos
Tetrahedron – Fire
We can connect three equilateral triangles together to make a point. One more is required to fill in the other side for a total of 4 triangles. This is called the tetrahedron, with Tetra meaning “4” and “hedron” meaning sided, and is the first perfect solid.
Plato associated this solid with Fire because of its pointy ends, which he explained mimic the stabbing sensation of a flame. Furthermore, it’s the simplest and lightest solid. This is the element that is linked to the soul and creates change.
Octahedron – Air
The octahedron symbolizes Air, according the Plato and the other Pythagoreans. The Octahedron, as the name suggests, has 8 triangular sides.
Air particles acts as an intermediate between water-particles and air-particles.
Hexahedron – Earth
The Hexahedron, or the Cube, is the shape of Earth-particles, as the cube is a regular solid that possesses greatest stability, being firmly rooted to its spot. It has 6 square sides.
Icosahedron – Water
While fire-particles are tetrahedral due to being light and simple, the opposite is true for water-particles, which are icosahedral for being heavy and complex. After all, it is something able to easily squash and extinguish a flame. This has 20 triangular sides.
Dodekahedron – Aither
The dodekahedron is the most mysterious of the solids. It’s by far the most difficult to construct; accurate drawing of the regular pentagon requiring a rather elaborate application of Pythagoras’ great theorem, with its 12 pentagonal sides, which leads Plato to conclude that the Dodekahedron is what “the Deity employed in tracing the plan of the Universe,” meaning the Demiurge used this element for arranging the heavens.
Quotes
“Numbers are the Highest Degree of knowledge. They are knowledge themselves”
–Plato
Bibliography
Cohen, S. Marc. Platos Cosmology: The Timaeus. 2006. Accessed December 06, 2017. https://faculty.washington.edu/smcohen/320/timaeus.htm.
“The Platonic and Pythagorean Solids.” √ø∑Dubs. August 27, 2016. Accessed September 08, 2017. http://joedubs.com/the-platonic-and-pythagorean-solids/.
Calter, Paul. Geometry in Art & Architecture Unit 6. 1998. Accessed December 06, 2017. https://www.dartmouth.edu/~matc/math5.geometry/unit6/unit6.html.
Weisstein, Eric W. “Platonic Solid.” From MathWorld–A Wolfram Web Resource. http://mathworld.wolfram.com/PlatonicSolid.html
WillWillWill on August 31, 2011 at 6:00am View Blog. “Secrets of the Platonic Solids Revealed.” Esoteric Online. August 31, 2011. Accessed September 14, 2017. http://www.esotericonline.net/profiles/blogs/secrets-of-the-platonic-solids-reveals.
Hellenic Faith 