Raquel Calero

Mr. Mamun

AP Calculus

October 16th 2014

Biography of Pythagoras

We may all know Pythagoras or at least have heard about him through our high school years, the

renowned mathematician who discovered the Pythagorean Theorem, is more than just an

achiever in mathematics history. He was influenced greatly by Anaximander, Egyptians,

Babylonians, and Pherekydes. Excelling in several aspects of mathematics, philosophy,

astronomy and even music, Pythagoras was a renaissance man. Most of his accomplishments and

the process of his life that led to these will be discussed through this brief biography, as well as

the impact that these discoveries had on today’s society.

Pythagoras was born on the Greek island of Samos, and travelled widely in his youth, visiting

Egypt and Persia. He settled in the city of Crotone in southern Italy where he began teaching a

clutch of students that were inspired by his theory of philosophy based around mathematics. This

group of students and followers became known as the Pythagoreans. Even though Pythagoras is

a very famous mathematician, unfortunately there is not myriad information about his personal

life or most of his not-so-significant findings outside of the realms mentioned above of

geometry, philosophy and music.

Surprisingly enough, even though Pythagoras did not play a specific instrument, he made a

significant impact on music theory. Pythagoras discovered that harmonious intervals in music are

based on simple rational numbers, which led to a fascination with integers and mystic

numerology. Regarding the mathematical basis of music, Leibniz once wrote; “Music is the

pleasure the human soul experiences from counting without being aware that it is counting.”

Pythagoras then inspired a series of other mathematicians to further explore this apparent aspect

of music’s composition such as Huygens, Euler and Simon Stevin.

Pythagoras’ main beliefs and theories revolved around the cosmos and several other spiritual

statements that he shared with his students, the Pythagoreans. “They formed a moral elite who

strove to perfect their physical form in this life in order to gain immortality in the next. To free

the soul and achieve immortality, the mortal body had to be rigorously disciplined to keep it

morally pure and free of the base nature. Until this could be achieved the soul would be

repeatedly reincarnated, or 'transmigrated', until released by accumulated merit.”

Pythagoreans also believed in the cosmos, which at that time referred to an idea of a clockwork

order and beauty in the whole universe. While probably believing in classical Greek polytheism,

they maintained a superior divinity, the one, above all others. They had a number of taboos,

including the avoidance of meat and beans, and lived by a series of rules governing all aspects of

life. 

On the other hand, one of Pythagoras’ most widely known discoveries is the Pythagorean

Theorem, named after him, and its many influences in geometry and related branches of

mathematics. Ironically, though, it has been further researched and held to be true that

Pythagoras didn’t actually discover this, but that he was the first one to find evidence to prove its

credibility. In short, the Pythagorean theorem, proposition number 47 from Book I

of Euclid’s Elements, states that the sum of the squares on the legs of a right triangle is equal to

the square on the hypotenuse (the side opposite the right angle)—or, in familiar algebraic

notation, a2 + b2 = c2. The origins of this theorem though, trace back to Four Babylonian tablets,

circa 1900–1600 BCE, that indicated some knowledge of the theorem, or at least of special

integers known as Pythagorean triples that satisfy it. Similarly, the Rhind papyrus, dating from

about 1650 BCE but known to be a copy of a 200-year-old document, indicates that the Egyptians

knew about the theorem. Nevertheless, the first proof of the theorem is credited to Pythagoras.

In conclusion it is disappointing to find that most of his work is not recorded or officially written

somewhere as proof of what he did in his life time, because of the mere reason that he did not

write down most of his findings. Even so, today we can still study his famous theorem, read

about his spiritual, philosophical theories, about the cosmos or any of his strong beliefs and

remember him as one of the most important and well-rounded mathematicians of all time.

WorksCited

Allen, James D. "Greatest Mathematicians Born before 400 A.D."FabPedigree. N.p., n.d. Web.

16 Oct. 2014. <http://fabpedigree.com/james/grmatm1.htm#Pythagoras>.

"Pythagoras." Encyclopedia Britannica. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2014.

<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/485171/Pythagoras>.