Pythagoras of Samos[a] (Ancient Greek: Πυθαγόρας; c. 570 – c. 495 BC)[b] 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, the West in general. Knowledge of his life is clouded by legend; modern scholars disagree regarding Pythagoras's education and influences, but they do agree that, around 530 BC, he travelled to Croton in southern Italy, where he founded a school in which initiates were sworn to secrecy and lived a communal, ascetic lifestyle.
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.— Walter Burkert, 1972[27]
In antiquity, Pythagoras was credited with many mathematical and scientific discoveries, including the Pythagorean theorem, Pythagorean tuning, the five regular solids, the Theory of Proportions, the sphericity of the Earth, and the identity of the morning and evening stars as the planet Venus. It was said that he was the first man to call himself a philosopher ("lover of wisdom")[c] and that he was the first to divide the globe into five climatic zones. Classical historians debate whether Pythagoras made these discoveries, and many of the accomplishments credited to him likely originated earlier or were made by his colleagues or successors. Some accounts mention that the philosophy associated with Pythagoras was related to mathematics and that numbers were important, but it is debated to what extent, if at all, he actually contributed to mathematics or natural philosophy.
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 equations and thus resonate to produce an inaudible symphony of music. Scholars debate whether Pythagoras developed the numerological and musical teachings attributed to him, or if those teachings were developed by his later followers, particularly Philolaus of Croton. Following Croton's decisive victory over Sybaris in around 510 BC, Pythagoras's followers came into conflict with supporters of democracy, and Pythagorean meeting houses were burned. Pythagoras may have been killed during this persecution, or he may have escaped to Metapontum and died there.
Reputed travels
Pythagoras is traditionally thought to have received most of his education in the Near East.[43] Modern scholarship has shown that the culture of Archaic Greece was heavily influenced by those of Levantine and Mesopotamian cultures.[43] Like many other important Greek thinkers, Pythagoras was said to have studied in Egypt.[16][44][45] By the time of Isocrates in the fourth century BC, Pythagoras's reputed studies in Egypt were already taken as fact.[16][39] The writer Antiphon, who may have lived during the Hellenistic Era, claimed in his lost work On Men of Outstanding Merit, used as a source by Porphyry, that Pythagoras learned to speak Egyptian from the Pharaoh Amasis II himself, that he studied with the Egyptian priests at Diospolis (Thebes), and that he was the only foreigner ever to be granted the privilege of taking part in their worship.[43][46] The Middle Platonist biographer Plutarch (c. 46 – c. 120 AD) writes in his treatise On Isis and Osiris that, during his visit to Egypt, Pythagoras received instruction from the Egyptian priest Oenuphis of Heliopolis (meanwhile Solon received lectures from a Sonchis of Sais).[47] According to the Christian theologian Clement of Alexandria (c. 150 – c. 215 AD), "Pythagoras was a disciple of Sonchis, an Egyptian archprophet, as well as a Plato of Sechnuphis."[48] Some ancient writers claimed that Pythagoras learned geometry and the doctrine of metempsychosis from the Egyptians.[44][49]
Other ancient writers, however, claimed that Pythagoras had learned these teachings from the Magi in Persia or even from Zoroaster himself.[50][51] Diogenes Laërtius asserts that Pythagoras later visited Crete, where he went to the Cave of Ida with Epimenides.[52] The Phoenicians are reputed to have taught Pythagoras arithmetic and the Chaldeans to have taught him astronomy.[51] By the third century BC, Pythagoras was already reported to have studied under the Jews as well.[51] Contradicting all these reports, the novelist Antonius Diogenes, writing in the second century BC, reports that Pythagoras discovered all his doctrines himself by interpreting dreams.[51] The third-century AD Sophist Philostratus claims that, in addition to the Egyptians, Pythagoras also studied under sages or gymnosophists in India.[51] Iamblichus expands this list even further by claiming that Pythagoras also studied with the Celts and Iberians.[51]
Numerology
The so-called Pythagoreans applied themselves to mathematics, and were the first to develop this science; and through studying it they came to believe that its principles are the principles of everything.— Aristot. Met. 1, 985b
Pythagoras is credited with having devised the tetractys[129][130] an important sacred symbol in later Pythagoreanism.[131][132]
According to Aristotle, the Pythagoreans used mathematics for solely mystical reasons, devoid of practical application.[133] They believed that all things were made of numbers.[134][135] The number one (the monad) represented the origin of all things[136] and the number two (the dyad) represented matter.[136] The number three was an "ideal number" because it had a beginning, middle, and end[137] and was the smallest number of points that could be used to define a plane triangle, which they revered as a symbol of the god Apollo.[137] The number four signified the four seasons and the four elements.[138] The number seven was also sacred because it was the number of planets and the number of strings on a lyre,[138] and because Apollo's birthday was celebrated on the seventh day of each month.[138] They believed that odd numbers were masculine[139] that even numbers were feminine[139] and that the number five represented marriage, because it was the sum of two and three.[140][141]