Pythagoras

Pythagoras
Marble bust of a man with a long, pointed beard, wearing a tainia, a kind of ancient Greek headcovering in this case resembling a turban. The face is somewhat gaunt and has prominent, but thin, eyebrows, which seem halfway fixed into a scowl. The ends of his mustache are long a trail halfway down the length of his beard to about where the bottom of his chin would be if we could see it. None of the hair on his head is visible, since it is completely covered by the tainia.
Bust of Pythagoras of Samos in the
Capitoline Museums, Rome
Bornc. 570 BC
Samos
Diedc. 495 BC (aged around 75)
either Croton or Metapontum
EraPre-Socratic philosophy
RegionWestern philosophy
SchoolPythagoreanism
Main interests
Notable ideas

Attributed ideas:
Bust of Pythagoras at the Vatican Museum
Graphical demonstration of the Pythagorean theorem

Pythagoras of Samos was a famous Greek mathematician and philosopher (c. 569 – c. 475 BC).

He is best known for the proof of an important Pythagorean theorem, This is about right angle triangles.

He started a group of followers called the Pythagoreans, who lived like monks.

Life and travels

Pythagoras was born in Samos, a little island off the western coast of Asia Minor. Pythagoras traveled to many places, including Miletus, Egypt, Babylon, and southern Italy. Southern Italy was where he founded the Pythagorean school, in the town of Croton.

Impact

Pythagoras had a great impact on mathematics and theory of music. His theories are still used in mathematics today. Since he worked very closely with his group, the Pythagoreans, it is sometimes hard to tell his works from those of his followers.

Religion was important to the Pythagoreans. They believed the soul is immortal and goes through a cycle of rebirths until it becomes pure.

His beliefs

Pythagoras' most important beliefs were that:

  1. At its deepest level, reality is mathematical in nature,
  2. Philosophy can be used for spiritual purification,
  3. The soul can rise to union with the divine,
  4. Certain symbols have a mystical significance, and
  5. All brothers and sisters of the order should observe strict loyalty and secrecy.

Pythagorean theorem

Pythagorean theorem

Pythagoras is most famous for his theorem about right triangles. He said that the length of the longest side of the right angled triangle (called the hypotenuse) squared would equal the sum of the other two sides squared: a² + b² = c². There are many different proofs for this Pythagorean theorem. In the pythagoras theorem c is the hypotenuse and a&b are the legs of the right triangle.

Sources

References

  1. ↑ Joost-Gaugier 2006, p. 143.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 O'Connor, J.J. (1999). "Pythagoras of Samos". Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Willers, Michael (2021). Mathematics: From Algebra to Algorithms, Adventures in Numbers. London, UK: New Burlington Boos. pp. 42–45. ISBN 978-1-80242-020-3.

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