Pythagoras
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Pythagoras (around 582 BC to 496 BC) was a Greek mathematician and philosopher, known best for the Pythagorean theorem. He founded a group of mathematicians, called the Pythagoreans, who worshipped numbers and lived like monks. He was an influence for Plato.
Pythagoras is well known for the theorem, a2+b2= c2, although a tablet was found showing that the Babylonians already knew about this at least 1000 years before him but we can't prove he didn't actually prove the theory of that mathematical sentence. His theorem was depicted with an ordinary triangle, with the square of the hypotenuse being the sum of the squares of the other two sides of the triangle.
He had a great impact on maths, music and astronomy. His theories are still used in mathematics today! He was one of the greatest thinkers of his time.
Pythagoras was born in Samos, a little island laying off the western coast of Asia. He was born in 582 BC and died in 496 BC, so detailed information about his life is hard to find. He was said to have had a good childhood. Growing up with two or three brothers, he was well educated. He didn’t agree with the government and their schooling so he set up his own cult (little society) of followers under his rule. His followers did not have any personal possessions and they were all vegetarians. Pythagoras taught them all and they had to obey by strict rules.
It is believed he was the first person to use the term philosophy. Today, the group he founded are called the Pythagoreans. Since he worked very closely with his group, it is hard to distinguish his works from that of his followers.
Religion was important to the Pythagoreans. They swore their oaths to 1+2+3+4 (which equals 10). They also believed that the soul is immortal and is destined to a cycle of rebirths until it could purify its life. They believed that these souls were in both animal and plantlife as well. Pythagorus himself claimed to remember having lived four different lives. He also recalled hearing the voice of a dead friend in the howl of a dog being beaten.
Although Pythagoras' most important discovery was that the physical world was mathematical and that numbers were the real reality.
