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Πυθαγόρας) was an Ionian mathematician and philosopher, known best for formulating the Pythagorean theorem.
Pythagoras, known as "the father of numbers", made influential contributions to Greek philosophy and religious teaching in the late 6th century BC. Because legend and obfuscation cloud his work even more than with the other pre-Socratics, one can say little with confidence about his life and teachings. Pythagoras and his students believed that everything was related to mathematics, and felt that everything could be predicted and measured in rhythmic cycles.
Pythagoras was born on the island of Samos, off the coast of Asia Minor. As a young man he left his native city for Croton in Southern Italy to escape the tyrannical government of PolycratesPolycrates son of Aeaces, was the tyrant of Samos from 535 BC to 515 BC. He took power during a festival of Hera with his brothers Pantagnotus and Syloson, but soon had Pantagnotus killed and exiled Syloson to take full control for himself. He then allied. Many writers credit him with visits to the sages of EgyptJumhuriyat Misr al-Arabiyah ( In Detail) Official language Arabic Capital Cairo Largest City Cairo President Hosni Mubarak Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif Area Total % water Ranked 29th 1,001,450 km² 0. 6% Population Total (2003) Density Ranked 15th 74,718,797 and of BabylonBabylon was the capital city of Babylonia in Mesopotamia (in contemporary Iraq, about 70 miles south of Baghdad). The name is the Greek form of Babel which is derived in turn from the Semitic form Babilu meaning "The Gate of God". This Semitic word is a t before going west; but such visits feature stereotypically in the biographies of Greek wise men, and may express legend rather than fact.
In any case, Pythagoras undertook a reform of the cultural life of Croton, urging the citizens to follow virtue and forming an elite circle of followers around himself. Very strict rules of conduct governed this cultural center. He opened his school to men and women students alike.
According to IamblichusIamblichus (ca. AD 245 ca. 325), Greek: ) was a neoplatonist philosopher who determined the direction taken by later Neoplatonic philosophy, and perhaps western Paganism itself. He is perhaps best known for his compendium on Pythagorean philosophy. Iambli, the PythagoreansThe Pythagoreans were an Hellenic organization of astronomers, musicians, mathematicians, and philosophers; who believed that all things are, essentially, numeric. The group strove to keep the discovery of irrational numbers a secret; and legends tell of followed a structured life of religious teaching, common meals, exercise, reading and philosophical study. We may infer from this that participants required some degree of wealth and leisure to join the inner circle. Music featured as an essential organizing factor of this life: the disciples would sing hymns to ApolloApollo ( Greek: , Apollon is a god in Greek and Roman mythology, the son of Zeus and Leto, and the twin of Artemis (goddess of the hunt). In later times he became in part confused or equated with Helios, god of the sun, and his sister similarly equated wi together regularly; they used the lyre to cure illness of the soul or body; poetry recitations occurred before and after sleep to aid the memory.
Pythagoras as portrayed on Roman coins from Samos Pythagoras has the reputation of having taught a doctrine of reincarnationReincarnation also called metempsychosis or transmigration of souls is the rebirth in another body (after physical death), of some critical part of a person's personality or spirit. Its occurrence is a central tenet of Hinduism, Jainism, some African reli. His other teachings appear framed in pithy sayings, or sumbola, often in question-and-answer format. Some of these teachings took a simple form: "What is wisest?" "Number"; "What is truest?" "Most men are bad." Others were more cryptic: "What is the Delphic oracle?" "The tetraktys , in which the Sirens sing." Other sumbola related to sexual, dietary and other taboos, including the proper way to stir a fire or place one's shoes before going to sleep. The Idea that Pythagoras forbade his disciples to eat beans has been questioned by some recent writers, who understand the phrase, "Abstain from beans" (kyamon apechete), to refer to a measure of practical prudence, and not to a dietary restriction. Beans, black and white, were, according to this interpretation, the means of voting in Magna Gręcia (lower east Italy), and "Abstain from beans" would, therefore, mean merely "Avoid politics".
Later Pythagoreans divided into two camps. The akousmatikoi held to these sumbola as the whole of their master's teaching. The mathematikoi added research into geometry, musical theory, astronomy, mechanics and other sciences. The mathematikoi held that the akousmatikoi knew only the outer form of the doctrine, but they themselves claimed to know the inner as well. The akousmatikoi accused the mathematikoi of adding extraneous material to the original teaching. Even today, scholars cannot definitively identify the "real" Pythagoreans.
The subsequent biographical traditions of Pythagoras reflect this split: they portray him alternately as a down-to-earth political reformer, a pioneering scientist, or a wild shaman-figure. The truth no doubt lay somewhere in between, but one cannot always say precisely where.
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