Quadrivium was first formulated and taught by Pythagoras as the Tetraktys around 500 BC, in a community where all were equal, materially and morally, and where women had equal status to men.

The quadrivium consisted of arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy. These followed the preparatory work of the trivium made up of grammar, logic, and rhetoric. In turn, the quadrivium was considered preparatory work for the serious study of philosophy (sometimes called the “liberal art par excellence“) and theology.