Pythagoras of Samos (
Greek: Ὁ Πυθαγόρας ὁ Σάμιος, O Pūthagoras o Samios, "Pythagoras the
Samian", or simply Ὁ Πυθαγόρας; c. 570-c. 495 BC
[1]) was an
Ionian Greek philosopher and founder of the religious movement called
Pythagoreanism. Most of our information about Pythagoras was written down centuries after he lived, thus very little reliable information is known about him. He was born on the island of
Samos, and may have travelled widely in his youth, visiting
Egypt and other places seeking knowledge. Around 530 BC, he moved to
Croton, a
Greek colony in
southern Italy, and there set up a religious sect. His followers pursued the religious rites and practices developed by Pythagoras, and studied his philosophical theories. The society took an active role in the politics of Croton, but this eventually led to their downfall. The Pythagorean meeting-places were burned, and Pythagoras was forced to flee the city. He is said by some to have ended his days in
Metapontum.
Pythagoras made influential contributions to
philosophy and religious teaching in the late 6th century BC. He is often revered as a great
mathematician,
mystic and
scientist, and he is best known for the
Pythagorean theorem which bears his name. However, because legend and obfuscation cloud his work even more than with the other
pre-Socratic philosophers, one can say little with confidence about his teachings, and some have questioned whether he contributed much to
mathematics and
natural philosophy. Many of the accomplishments credited to Pythagoras may actually have been accomplishments of his colleagues and successors. We do know that his disciples believed that everything was related to mathematics and that numbers were the ultimate reality. It was said that he was the first man to call himself a philosopher, or lover of wisdom,
[2] and Pythagorean ideas exercised a marked influence on
Plato, and through him, all of
western philosophy.
From wikipedia
