Pythagoras

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Pythagoras

Pythagoras of Samos is often described as the first pure mathematician. He is an
extremely important figure in the development of mathematics yet we know
relatively little about his mathematical achievements. Unlike many later Greek
mathematicians, where at least we have some of the books which they wrote, we
have nothing of Pythagoras's writings. The society which he led, half religious
and half scientific, followed a code of secrecy which certainly means that today
Pythagoras is a mysterious figure. We do have details of Pythagoras's life from
early biographies which use important original sources yet are written by
authors who attribute divine powers to him, and whose aim was to present him as
a god-like figure. What we present below is an attempt to collect together the
most reliable sources to reconstruct an account of Pythagoras's life. There is
fairly good agreement on the main events of his life but most of the dates are
disputed with different scholars giving dates which differ by 20 years. Some
historians treat all this information as merely legends but, even if the reader
treats it in this way, being such an early record it is of historical
importance. Pythagoras's father was Mnesarchus ([12] and [13]), while his mother
was Pythais [8] and she was a native of Samos. Mnesarchus was a merchant who
came from Tyre, and there is a story ([12] and [13]) that he brought corn to
Samos at a time of famine and was granted citizenship of Samos as a mark of
gratitude. As a child Pythagoras spent his early years in Samos but travelled
widely with his father. There are accounts of Mnesarchus returning to Tyre with
Pythagoras and that he was taught there by the Chaldaeans and the learned men of
Syria. It seems that he also visited Italy with his father. Little is known of
Pythagoras's childhood. All accounts of his physical appearance are likely to be
fictitious except the description of a striking birthmark which Pythagoras had
on his thigh. It is probable that he had two brothers although some sources say
that he had three. Certainly he was well educated, learning to play the lyre,
learning poetry and to recite Homer. There were, among his teachers, three
philosophers who were to influence Pythagoras while he was a young man. One of
the most important was Pherekydes who many describe as the teacher of
Pythagoras. The other two philosophers who were to influence Pythagoras, and to
introduce him to mathematical ideas, were Thales and his pupil Ana...

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