Pythagoras Biography

Pythagoras was born on the island of Samos around 569 b.C. and died in Metaponto around 475 b.C. He was a Greek mathematician who revolutionized areas such as geometry and architecture, as well as philosophy. Discoveries like the one of the musical trilogy (tonic, dominant and subdominant) determining for the understanding as much of chords as of songs and works are attributed to him and to the group of his disciples, the Pythagorean School; the Pythagorean theorem, which serves to find the length of the hypotenuse of a right triangle; or incommensurability.

Pythagoras was the son of Pythias, his mother, who also was born on the island of Samos, and Mnesarco, his father, who was a merchant of the city of Tire. As a child, Pythagoras accompanied his father on the trips he made to trade, but that did not stop him from writing poetry, reciting Homer or playing the lyre. On this trip, when his father saw that he was old enough, took him to the city of Tire to be the instrument for the intellectuals of the place, among whom were Anaximander, Ferécides of Siros and Thales. Precisely it was the latter who would influence Pythagoras to walk the mathematical path, in addition to giving him principles on astronomy and geometry.

“Man is mortal by his dreams and immortal by his desires.” Pythagoras

Pythagoras made several trips to deepen his knowledge. This is how he arrived in Egypt, with the bad luck that he does it for the year of 525 b.C., date in which the king of Persia, Cambyses II, invaded the Egyptian lands. For this reason, Pythagoras was taken to Babylon as a war prison. Despite this, Pythagoras managed to get along with the magicians, and from which he learned both mathematics they had developed and their cults and rituals. And although it is not entirely clear how he was released, it is possible that he later traveled to Crotona, a city in southern Italy.

In the society that he founded in this city, Matematikoi, he imposed the customs he had learned from the magic as a requirement to be part of it. Among these were vegetarianism, the use of clothing made of animal skin, and the need to keep the secret about what society said, as well as seek purity. It is believed that he founded this society in Crotona, which reached the number of 300 followers, and not in Samos, the island where he was born, because his fellow citizens did not pay much attention to him. However, there is another theory according to which Pythagoras was a Crotone for the father of Polycrates, the governor of his ancient city and a man considered a tyrant. It is also possible that the reason was only a necessity to escape from his obligations as a free citizen. That is, he fled from his responsibilities with public and political life.

The data is also confusing regarding the family he formed. Some pointed out that he already had a wife and children before traveling to Crotona. Others claim that he met and married Téano in Crotona and not in another city for the simple reason that she was part of the Matematikoi. Also, some versions maintain that with Téano he had two children: a boy, Telauges, and a girl, Damo; others preach that they were actually two daughters: Myia and Damo.

In the same way, the information about the death of Pythagoras is quite ambiguous. In any case, the testimonies that some sources affirm that the year of 532 b.C. Pythagoras, then 24 years later (to 508 b.C.), was attacked along with his society in Crotona. It is believed, moreover, that he fled to Metaponto, and that here he was, according to the coincidence of several biographers, he lived his last days. But other sources say that he returned to Crotona. The certain thing is that, while Cicero reigned, his tomb was exhibited in Metaponto.

“Choose a woman of what you can say: I could have chosen more beautiful, but not better.” Pythagoras

As if that were not enough, there are two versions of the reasons for his death. The first one points out that, seeing the attack that he and his community had suffered, Pythagoras abandoned himself to his fate and died in the streets of Metaponto. The second believes that he was killed by Cilón, an habitant of the city of Crotona who had requested to join the Society. However, having been rejected for not fulfilling the requirements, Matematikoi demanded, despite being a very rich man, swore to persecute Pythagoras and his followers in the place where they saw him.

The Pythagorean society survived after Pythagoras, and by 500 b.C. it had already spread to other Italian cities and to Metaponto, Taranto, and Sibari, although the mathematical subjects had a second place and political matters prevailed instead. This led to problems in several cities, being in some cases persecuted and annihilated. Finally, the society was divided into smaller groups according to the specific ideologies of each one.