Pythagoras

Pythagoras of Samos (Ancient Greek: Πυθαγόρας; c. 570 – c. 495 BC) was an ancient Ionian Greek philosopher, polymath, and the eponymous founder of Pythagoreanism. His political and religious teachings were well known in Magna Graecia and influenced the philosophies of Plato, Aristotle, and, through them, Western philosophy. Modern scholars disagree regarding Pythagoras's education and influences, but most agree that he travelled to Croton in southern Italy around 530 BC, where he founded a school in which initiates were allegedly sworn to secrecy and lived a communal, ascetic lifestyle. In antiquity, Pythagoras was credited with mathematical and scientific discoveries, such as the Pythagorean theorem, Pythagorean tuning, the five regular solids, the theory of proportions, the sphericity of the Earth, the identity of the morning and evening stars as the planet Venus, and the division of the globe into five climatic zones. He was reputedly the first man to call himself a philosopher ("lover of wisdom"). Historians debate whether Pythagoras made these discoveries and pronouncements, as some of the accomplishments credited to him likely originated earlier or were made by his colleagues or successors, such as Hippasus and Philolaus. The teaching most securely identified with Pythagoras is the "transmigration of souls" or metempsychosis, which holds that every soul is immortal and, upon death, enters into a new body. He may have also devised the doctrine of musica universalis, which holds that the planets move according to mathematical ratios and thus resonate to produce an inaudible symphony of music. Following Croton's decisive victory over Sybaris in around 510 BC, Pythagoras's followers came into conflict with supporters of democracy, and their meeting houses were burned. Pythagoras may have been killed during this persecution, or he may have escaped to Metapontum and died there. Pythagoras influenced Plato whose dialogues (especially Timaeus) exhibit Pythagorean ideas. A major revival of his teachings occurred in the first century BC among Middle Platonists, coinciding with the rise of Neopythagoreanism. Pythagoras continued to be regarded as a great philosopher throughout the Middle Ages and Pythagoreanism had an influence on scientists such as Nicolaus Copernicus, Johannes Kepler, and Isaac Newton. Pythagorean symbolism was also used throughout early modern European esotericism, and his teachings as portrayed in Ovid's Metamorphoses would later influence the modern vegetarian movement.

Life No authentic writings of Pythagoras have survived, and almost nothing is known for certain about his life. The earliest sources on Pythagoras's life, from Xenophanes, Heraclitus, Empedocles, Ion of Chios, and Herodotus are brief, ambiguous, and often satirical. The major sources on Pythagoras's life are three biographies from late antiquity written by Diogenes Laërtius, Porphyry, and Iamblichus, all of which are filled primarily with myths and legends and which become longer and more fantastic in their descriptions of Pythagoras's achievements the more removed they are from Pythagoras's times. However, Porphyry and Iamblichus also used some material taken from earlier writings in the 4th century BC by Aristotle's students Dicaearchus, Aristoxenus, and Heraclides Ponticus, which, when it can be identified, is generally considered to be the most reliable.

Early life There is not a single detail in the life of Pythagoras that stands uncontradicted. But it is possible, from a more or less critical selection of the data, to construct a plausible account. Herodotus and Isocrates agree that Pythagoras was the son of Mnesarchus and that he was born on the Greek island of Samos in the eastern Aegean. Mnesarchus is said to have been a gem-engraver or a wealthy merchant, but his ancestry is disputed and unclear. Apollonius of Tyana writes that Pythagoras's mother was Pythaïs, a woman who was said to be a descendant of Ancaeus, the mythical founder of Samos. Iamblichus tells the story that the Pythia prophesied to her while she was pregnant with him that she would give birth to a man supremely beautiful, wise, and beneficial to humankind, and Iamblichus also held to the belief that his mother descended from Ancaeus. As to the date of his birth, Aristoxenus stated that Pythagoras left Samos in the reign of Polycrates, at the age of 40, which would give a date of birth around 570 BC. Pythagoras's name led him to be associated with Pythian Apollo (Pūthíā); Aristippus of Cyrene in the 4th century BC explained his name by saying, "He spoke [ἀγορεύω, agoreúō] the truth no less than did the Pythian [πυθικός, puthikós]". During Pythagoras's formative years, Samos was a thriving cultural hub known for its feats of advanced architectural engineering, including the building of the Tunnel of Eupalinos, and for its riotous festival culture. It was a major center of trade in the Aegean where traders brought goods from the Near East. According to Christiane L. Joost-Gaugier, these traders almost certainly brought with them Near Eastern ideas and traditions. Pythagoras's early life also coincided with the flowering of early Ionian natural philosophy. He was a contemporary of the philosophers Anaximander and Anaximenes and of the historian Hecataeus, all of whom lived in Miletus, across the sea from Samos.

Reputed travels

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