Pythagoras

Biography

Pythagoras of Samos (c. 570–495 BCE) was an ancient Greek philosopher and mathematician whose ideas deeply influenced philosophy, science, mathematics, and religion. Although much of his life is surrounded by legend, he is best known as the founder of the Pythagorean school, a community that combined scientific study with a spiritual and ethical way of life.

Born on the island of Samos, Pythagoras traveled widely—possibly to Egypt and Babylon—where he studied mathematics, astronomy, and religious traditions. Around 530 BCE, he settled in Croton, a Greek colony in southern Italy, where he founded a philosophical and religious brotherhood devoted to the pursuit of knowledge, purity, and harmony.

Pythagoras taught that numbers are the fundamental essence of all things, seeing mathematical relationships as the key to understanding the universe. He believed that harmony and order, both in music and in nature, could be expressed through numerical ratios. This belief is most famously reflected in the Pythagorean theorem, which describes the relationship between the sides of a right triangle—a discovery that remains central to geometry today.

Beyond mathematics, Pythagoras and his followers explored the connections between the cosmos, the soul, and morality. They believed in the transmigration of souls (reincarnation) and promoted a disciplined lifestyle that emphasized self-control, vegetarianism, and the pursuit of wisdom.

Although Pythagoras himself left no writings, his ideas were preserved and expanded by his followers, profoundly shaping later thinkers such as Plato and Aristotle. His blending of reason, mathematics, and mysticism helped lay the foundation for both Western philosophy and modern scientific thought.

Pythagoras remains a symbol of the harmony between intellect and spirit—a thinker who saw in the patterns of numbers the beauty and order of the entire universe.