Pythagoras
Pythagoras of Samos, popularly known as Pythagoras, was a philosopher from ancient Greece. He is regarded as one of the most brilliant minds of the ancient world. The philosophies of Pythagoras greatly influenced the teachings of future thinkers and philosophers such as Aristotle, Plato, and several other western thinkers. Many of the personal details about the life of Pythagoras have been predicted based on his mention in the Greek Legends and stories. And, thus some details about the life of Pythagoras might seem inaccurate.
Also, a lot of information about the life of Pythagoras is contradicted, but we will know about the most commonly accepted details of his life. The following article will provide all the relevant information about Pythagoras.
Early Life of Pythagoras
Pythagoras was born in 570 BC on the Greek island of Samos, and thus he was also referred to as “Pythagoras of Samos”. He spent most of his early life on the island of Samos itself and then moved to the city of Croton at the age of 40. It is said that Pythagoras belonged to a family of a wealthy Gem merchant.
Discoveries Credited to Pythagoras
Pythagoras took an active interest in different fields of study. He took a keen interest in the field of Mathematics, Religion, Mysticism, Ethics, Metaphysics, Politics, and Music theory. He has a major impact on the religious and political teachings of the Magna Graecia. An interesting fact about the discoveries and thoughts of Pythagoras is that there is no written evidence found about his contributions. But even then, he has been mentioned in the texts and philosophies of several other thinkers.
Pythagoras Theorem
The Pythagoras theorem is one of the most popular and commonly known discoveries credited to Pythagoras. The theorem provides a relationship between the hypotenuse, height, and perpendicular of a triangle. The relevance of this relationship is so significant that it is still one of the most commonly used mathematical relations after more than 2200 years after its discovery.
Philosophy of Pythagoras
Nowadays, Pythagoras has an image of a reputed thinker and mathematician, but during his time, the scientific abilities of Pythagoras were not the only qualities that made him popular. Pythagoras had several philosophical ideas associated with him, and thus he created the idea of Pythagoreans.
The following expertise made Pythagoras more popular than his scientific aptitude.
- He was proficient in conducting religious rituals of the time.
- Pythagoras also preached the philosophy that our soul was immortal, and after death, people went through several reincarnations.
- He also popularised a very strict lifestyle which involved strict dietary restrictions and self-discipline.
- Several legends about Pythagoras also tell that he had thighs of gold and many mystic abilities like the ability to be present at multiple locations at the same time. All such claims can also be a part of Pythagoras’s glorification by his followers.
Pythagoras himself did not make the records about his life. Still, he has been mentioned as a popular figure in the works of other prominent philosophers of the same time, such as Xenophanes and Heraclitus.
Death of Pythagoras
Just like his birth and life, exact written records about the death of Pythagoras have not been found. Different historians have given different theories and stories about the death of Pythagoras. The most reliable description of his death is found in the records of Aristoxenus and Dicaearchus. According to them, after living for some time in the city of Croton, Pythagoras and his followers were forced to leave the city due to their exclusive nature of the lifestyle. Then, he fled to the city of Metapontum, where he died around 490 BC.