Pythagoras of Samos - Greek Philosopher and Mathematician

May 31, 2015

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Pythagoras of Samos

Pythagoras of Samos; Greek philosopher and mathematician. Aristotle called him “the first to advance the science of mathematics.” Pythagoras established a religious community that studied geometry; investigating shapes like the pyramid and pentagon, they also found out how to calculate the area of a circle. He believed that if you studied numbers intensely, you could gain an understanding of nature. Because of this fascination with numbers he established all kinds of numerical relations. The most famous one of these Numerical relations is the Pythagorean Theorem, although he also discovered Pythagorean Triplets. The Pythagorean Theorem states that, in a right-angled triangle, the square of the length of the hypotenuse equals the sum of the square of the other two side. Pkythagoras was a very successful man, philosopher, and mathematician.

Pythagoras was born in Samos, Greece, 570 BC. He spent most of his early childhood in Samos,Greece but traveled to many places with his father, Mnesarchus, because his father was a merchant. His mother, Pythias, stayed home. Pythagoras might have had two other brothers, but we do not know for sure.. In his early years Pythagoras visited Egypt and Persia. He settled in the city of Crotone in southern Italy. There he began teaching and soon had a clutch of students who lived a structured life of study and exercise, inspired by a philosophy based around mathematics. This circle came to be known as the Pythagoreans.
        Pythagoreans were upper middle class and politically active. They strove to perfect their mortal body in order to be perfect in the next. Pythagoreans believed in cosmos, which refers to an order of clock work order and beauty in the whole universe. Pythagoreans also believed  that the soul resides in the brain, and is immortal. They also believe that the soul moves from one being to another, sometimes from a human into an animal, through a series of reincarnations called transmigration until it becomes pure. Pythagoras believed that both mathematics and music could purify the soul.

Pythagoreans also believed that numbers have personalities, characteristics, strengths and weaknesses. They believed that the world depended upon the interaction of opposites, such as male and female, lightness and darkness, warm and cold, dry and moist, light and heavy, fast and slow. Pythagoreans believed certain symbols have a mystical significance. They believed all things are numbers. They thought mathematics were the basis for everything. In their view, geometry was the highest form of mathematical studies. Pythagoreans believed that the physical world could be understood through mathematics. Because of this, Pythagoreans came up with many mathematical  solutions. One of the most famous of these is the Pythagorean theorem.

Pythagorean Theorem is one of Pythagoras’s most famous equations. Pythagoras also created Pythagorean Triplets.  Pythagorean theorem states that, in a right-angled triangle, the square of the length of the hypotenuse (the side opposite the right angle) equals  the sum of the square of the other two sides. A Pythagorean Triple is a set of three whole numbers whose sum of the squares of two numbers is equal to the square of the third number.

Pythagoras studied with the philosopher Pherekdykes. Pythagoras was introduced to astronomy and mathematics by Thales, a famous philosopher, and his student, Anaximander, in Miletus, Greece, when Pythagoras was around 18 or 20 years old. Thales advised Pythagoras to travel to Egypt to learn more about mathematics and astronomy. Pythagoras left Miletus and went to Sidon, Lebanon, where he was introduced into the mysteries of Tyre and Byblos. Pythagoras then went to Egypt with a letter of introduction written by Polycrates, the ruler of Samos. When he arrived in Egypt, Pythagoras tried to enroll into the Mystery Schools of the country. He was denied entrance, but was told that unless he went through a specified course training for fasting and breathing, he could not be allowed to enroll in the school. Pythagoras replied saying, " I have come for knowledge, not any sort of discipline." The school authorities replied stating that they could not give him entrance into the school until he was changed. The school also said that the really, were not interested in knowledge at all. They were interested in actual experience. The school said that no knowledge is knowledge unless it is lived and experienced. The school wanted him to go on a forty day fast, continuously breathing in a certain manner, with a certain awareness on certain points. After forty days of fasting and breathing he was allowed to enter the school.