Message on the theme of Pythagoras and his discoveries. Pythagoras - ancient Greek mathematician and philosopher, founder of the Pythagorean school

Pythagoras of Samos - ancient Greek mathematician, philosopher, mystic. He was called "the greatest Hellenic sage" by Herodotus.

Biography

Pythagoras was born in 570 BC. e. on the island of Samos. Father, Mnesarchus, was, according to different versions, either a stone cutter or a wealthy merchant. The name Pythagoras means "the one whom the Pythia predicted": the birth of a child, according to legend, was predicted by the Pythia in Delphi.

Pythagoras' first teacher was Hermodamas. He instills in his student a love of music and painting, makes him memorize excerpts from the Iliad and the Odyssey.

As a young man, Pythagoras went to Egypt to study with the priests and comprehend the ancient wisdom. According to Diogenes and Porphyry, Pythagoras had with him a letter of recommendation to Pharaoh Amasis, written by the tyrant of Samoss Polycrates. This letter allowed Pythagoras to gain knowledge inaccessible to other strangers.

According to Iamblichus, Pythagoras left his native island at the age of 18, then traveled a lot and a few years later reached Egypt. He lived there for 22 years, after which he was forced to leave for Babylon as a prisoner. In 525 BC e Persian ruler Cambyses captured Egypt and Pythagoras had to come to terms with the role of a slave. In Babylon, he actively studies science, communicates a lot with priests and returns to his native Samos only at the age of 56. Compatriots treat him with respect as a very wise person. One of the ancient legends says that in Babylon Pythagoras became close friends with the Persian magicians, absorbed the ideas of oriental mysticism and mythology.

Already on his native island, Pythagoras is studying political activity, medicine, ethics, other sciences.

According to Porphyry, Pythagoras lived on Samos until the age of 40, and then left the island due to a conflict with the tyrant Polycrates. At the same time, it is not exactly established whether Pythagoras was in Egypt, Phenicia, or Babylon. Aristoxenus claims that Pythagoras received much of his knowledge from Themistocleia of Delphi, who lived not in places remote from the Greeks.

Modern researchers are inclined to believe that the departure of Pythagoras from the island was hardly caused by disagreements with Polycrates. Most likely, the reason was that on mainland Hellas and in Ionia, Pythagoras experienced serious difficulties in preaching his ideas. There were many people here who were well versed in philosophy and politics, and therefore remained immune to new trends.

Pythagoras stayed in Croton, a Greek colony located in southern Italy. Here he has many followers. People are attracted by both mystical philosophy and the propaganda of a way of life based on strict morality and healthy asceticism.

Pythagoras defended the idea of ​​moral ennoblement of the common people. He believed that power should belong to wise people who would be obeyed due to moral authority.

Gradually, the disciples of Pythagoras created an organization that closely resembled a religious order. It included only the elite, and they revered their leader in every possible way. In Croton, over time, this order practically seized power.

The Pythagorean school was the first to put forward the idea that the earth was in fact round. Naturally, this idea was not accepted by society. A number of ideas that subsequently made a real revolution in astronomy were first voiced by Pythagoras.

At the end of the VI century. BC e. anti-Pythagorean sentiments began to grow, and as a result, the philosopher was forced to the Metapont colony. Here he lived until his death. In the first century BC, during the time of Cicero, the tomb of Pythagoras was shown as one of the local attractions.

Pythagoras had a wife, Theano, with whom he raised his daughter and son.

According to Iamblichus, secret society Pythagoras existed for 39 years. Thus, he could have died in 491 BC. e. Diogenes claims that Pythagoras died at the age of 80. Some sources claim that the philosopher lived to be 90 years old. Eusebius of Caesarea named the date of Pythagoras' death as 497 BC. e.

The disciples of Pythagoras became a large number of educated and wealthy people who sought to establish order in their cities in accordance with the teachings of their mentor. As a result, bloody clashes took place in Croton and Tarentum. The Pythagoreans were defeated, many of them were expelled from their native lands and settled in Italy and Greece.

According to the works of Porphyry, Pythagoras was killed in Metapontum during the revolt of the anti-Pythagoreans.

The main achievements of Pythagoras

• As a religious innovator, Pythagoras created a secret society whose goal was to purify the soul and body. Pythagoras believed that the soul of a person after death moves into other living beings until it atones for sins and returns to heaven.
• The teachings of Pythagoras contributed to the development of physics, mathematics, geography, and astronomy.
• Modern researchers consider Pythagoras an outstanding ancient cosmologist and mathematician, although the authors of antiquity do not confirm this. Perhaps the most famous achievement of Pythagoras is the theorem according to which the square of the hypotenuse of a right triangle is equal to the sum of the squares of the legs.
• According to some ancient authors, Pythagoras wrote a number of books. However, there are no citations from them.

Important dates in the biography of Pythagoras

• 570 BC - birth on Samos.
• 546 BC - the creation of his own philosophical idea.
• 510 BC - the foundation of the school of Pythagoras.
• 490 BC - death.

• Pythagoras is actually a nickname, not a name.
• The first lecture he gave attracted 2,000 students to Pythagoras at once. Soon they united around the teacher along with their families.
• In behavior, he was distinguished by “demonstrativeness” and “hoax”.
• He was fond of sports, won fisticuffs at the Olympic Games.
• He came up with a special mug that forced him to drink only in limited quantities. Today it is sold in Rhodes, Samos and Crete as a souvenir.
• 10 is Pythagoras' favorite number. In general, he attached special importance to numbers and believed that they reflected absolutely everything in the world.
• Some researchers believe that the famous Pythagorean pants formula was simply stolen by him in Babylon from the Chaldean priests.
• Like modern vegans, Pythagoras believed that food of animal origin should not be eaten. He believed that the souls of people move into animals. Accordingly, the consumption of food of animal origin can be equated with cannibalism. According to other ancient authors, Pythagoras limited himself to only certain types of meat. In addition, his teaching was about the rejection of any bloodshed.
• Pythagoras claimed that past life he was one of the warriors who fought for Troy.
• There are no written works of Pythagoras left. His achievements can only be judged by oral tradition.
• He dressed rather unusually for his time and country: he wore trousers, wide white clothes and a golden diadem on his head.
• He had a good education, played the lyre, was interested in poetry, read Homer.
• According to one of the legends, Pythagoras got the famous theorem as a win: he argued with an unknown mathematician about who would outdrink whom, and won. The mathematician gave the scroll with the Pythagorean theorem and said that the person who owns this scroll will be famous for more than one millennium.

The biography of Pythagoras during the lifetime of the scientist was overgrown with all sorts of legends, sometimes quite fantastic. Leaving no personal record of himself, Pythagoras remains a significant figure in both philosophy and mathematics.

The biography of the ancient Greek philosopher, mathematician and mystic Pythagoras is not known for certain. He did not leave any records about himself, and the only sources about his life are the writings of the students and followers of the scientist. A huge amount of evidence has come down to us about his life, but many of them are so fantastic and full of conjectures that they can speak of his popularity, although they put historians in a difficult position. The researchers put the approximate date of birth of Pythagoras between 570 and 590 BC. From the writings of his closest student Aristoxenus, we know that Pythagoras spent his childhood on the island of Samos, not far from the coast of modern Turkey. According to various versions, his father was either a merchant or a stone cutter, which is most likely. Pythagoras was well educated, he learned to play the lyre and versification, he could declare the works of Homer. Already in his youth, he had the makings of scientific activity who were noticed by his senior teachers - Ferekid, Anaximander, Germodamant and Thales, the last of whom had big influence on Pythagoras's interest in mathematics and astronomy.

The grown-up scientist is already becoming cramped with his native Samos, and he sets off on a journey, information about which is also very different. Nevertheless, the authors write that Pythagoras visited Miletus, Egypt, the Chaldean lands, Babylon, Crete and many other places, but these data cannot be considered reliable. The most reliable version of Porfiry is considered that at the age of 40 Pythagoras leaves for Italy and settles in the Greek city-colony of Croton, where his philosophical activity flourished. Here he opens his own school, whose students later became known as "Pythagoreans". It was a kind of religious order with a strong focus on ethics and morality. At the age of 60, Pythagoras marries his student Theano, from whose marriage the scientist had a daughter, Damo, and sons Arimnest and Telavg. Soon, due to contradictions with the local authorities, Pythagoras was forced to leave for another Greek colony - the city of Metapont. Most authors indicate that it was here that he died, but the date of the scientist's death also remains unknown. The approximate period from 500 to 490 BC is widely used. as the date of Pythagoras' death.

It is traditionally believed that the works of Pythagoras himself have not come down to us, there is a version that he did not write down his works at all. Due to his great popularity, many works were attributed to Pythagoras, even those that were written much later. It is also interesting that during his lifetime and after about 150 years, Pythagoras was known not as a mathematician, but as a famous mystic, an expert in religious rites and a miracle worker. But, of course, mathematical activity became the main thing for study in a later period up to the present day.

Known more than 2000 years before Pythagoras in Egypt, Babylon and China, the theorem on the equality of the sum of the squares of the lengths of the legs and the square of the length of the hypotenuse of a right triangle got its name in honor of this scientist thanks to ancient authors. The Pythagorean theorem can be expressed as follows:

a 2 + b 2 = c 2, Where a And b- the length of the legs, and c is the length of the hypotenuse of a right triangle.

On this moment there are 367 different proofs of the theorem in science. Such an impressive number of proofs can be explained by the fact that the meaning of the theorem is indeed fundamental to geometry. Actually, Pythagoras' contribution to the theorem is that he used algebraic methods to calculate "Pythagorean triples" - an ordered set of three natural numbers, which satisfy the equation above.

One of the proofs offered by Euclid is based on the method of areas. Squares are built to the sides of the triangle, and it is proved that the area of ​​the square built on the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the areas of the squares that are built on the legs. This proof is called “Pythagorean pants”, and the phrase “Pythagorean pants are equal on all sides” is used to memorize the theorem by schoolchildren.

Another invention of the scientist, also known to all of us from school, is the Pythagorean table, better known as the multiplication table. This table was actively used by the students of his school. The Pythagorean table was written in the form of a 10 by 10 square, but not in numbers, but in Greek and Phoenician letters with a line above each of them.

The teachings of Pythagoras were based on the fact that everything in the universe is some numbers, and the relationship between them is mathematical. In this sense, the mathematical research of Pythagoras in music is of great interest. It would seem, how can the study of music and such a rigorous science as mathematics be combined? But it was thanks to Pythagoras that the doctrine of the "Pythagorean system" appeared - a mathematical expression of the frequency relationships between the steps of the scale. He established the mathematical dependence of the harmonic vibration of the lyre strings on the length of the strings. Pythagorean tuning can also be applied to other instruments.

Other interesting invention The scientist was the so-called "Mug of Pythagoras", otherwise called the "Mug of Greed". This mug looks like an ordinary bowl at first glance, but in the center there is a special column, inside of which there is a curved channel from the bottom of the bowl, going out. The essence of this invention lies in the fact that if you pour more liquid than the mark, then all the contents will pour out through this channel according to the law of communicating vessels. According to legend, the mug was used so that the drinker of wine from it would not drink too much, but could enjoy the drink. According to another version, slaves were given water from such mugs to save water, the shortage of which was in Samos.

We will never be able to establish exactly what real contribution Pythagoras made to science. Having become a truly legendary person already during his lifetime, Pythagoras and his biography were overgrown with multiple speculations and stories. But, undoubtedly, the philosophical teachings of Pythagoras played a role in his popularity, and only then other scientists were able to appreciate his mathematical genius. The desire to see the arithmetic regularity in everything and the idea that everything is numbers was one of the components of the mystical philosophy of the Pythagoreans. They extolled positive integers, which they then depicted as dots and arranged in the form of regular numbers. geometric shapes. They represented the numbers as "male" and "female" (even and odd, respectively), studied their properties. The school opened by Pythagoras existed for a long time, carrying the arithmetic mysticism of its philosophy through time and attracting more and more followers.

In memory of Pythagoras, works, discoveries and socially significant places have been named since antiquity. IN modern world there is the city of Pythagorion on the island of Samos, named after its famous inhabitant, a lunar crater, a workshop museum in Sweden, one of the educational buildings in Cambridge and, of course, appeared in different time mathematical theorems, methods and figures in one way or another connected with the activities of Pythagoras in mathematics.

Great ancient Greek philosopher, politician, mathematician and astronomer Pythagoras is the ancestor of many scientific disciplines, doctrines and concepts. His biography is complex, interesting and mysterious so much that it is not always possible to separate the facts from the life of the great scientist and sage from legends and fiction. However, it is generally recognized that important facts from the life of Pythagoras were recorded by his students from various parts of the world.
According to scientists, Pythagoras was born around 570 BC. in the city of Sidon, the current territory of modern Lebanon. His father Mnesarchus is a wealthy jeweler and merchant who was able to create excellent conditions for his son to receive good education and great knowledge.
The origin of the name Pythagoras is shrouded in legend. According to legend, once in Delphi in Honeymoon the young parents of Pythagoras set off. It was here that the priestess (and according to some sources, the oracle) predicted that Mnesarchus would have a son and that he would become famous for many centuries for his wisdom and deeds. The prophecy came true, and as a thank you to the priestess who worshiped the Pythian Apollo, the boy is called Pythagoras, which means predicted by the Pythia (priestess).
From the early childhood Pythagoras studied a lot, visited the best temples in Greece, and as a teenager got acquainted with the works of the greatest sages of that time. According to researchers of antiquity, he personally met with many figures of that era. Among them, we note Pherekides of Syros, an ancient Greek cosmologist, one of the most important teachers of Pythagoras. It is to him that the future philosopher owes his deep knowledge of mathematics, astronomy, and physics. An equally important place in the formation of the personality of Pythagoras was occupied by communication with Hermodamant, who taught love for art, poetry and music on the example of the works of Homer.
The next stage of the biography of Pythagoras is made up of his life experience based on travels to foreign lands. Through Phoenicia, he sends to Egypt, with the ancient priests, their faith, and even, despite the status of a foreigner, visits Egyptian temples.
Later in Egypt, he creates his own school, in which he teaches those who wish exact sciences and philosophy. Pythagoras spent considerable time in this country - about two decades. During this time, he had many supporters and followers who proudly called themselves Pythagoreans. During this period of life, Pythagoras introduces the concept of "philosopher" into everyday life and classifies himself as one of it. According to the scientist, the "sage" and the "philosopher" are completely different in their meanings and goals. A philosopher, on the other hand, is one who “tryes to know” everything and always.
Having behind him many outstanding discoveries made on Egyptian soil, Pythagoras, as a prisoner of the Persian king Cambyses, ends up in Babylon and spends twelve years there. Here he actively devotes himself to the study of Eastern culture and religion, compares the features of their development in the countries of the Middle East and Greece. After that, Pythagoras visits Phoenicia, Syria and Hindustan, where he further increases his knowledge in the natural sciences, achieves new achievements and discoveries in every area.
In 530 B.C. the philosopher finds himself in the southern Italian city of Croton. It is here that Pythagoras receives universal fame, he is quoted and praised, and the founding of the Pythagorean school becomes the apogee. It is also called philosophical brotherhood or union in another way. Only those who are already well versed in the mathematical sciences and have an idea of ​​\u200b\u200bastronomy can study here.
At the age of 60, Pythagoras falls in love with his student named Theano. Three children are born in their marriage.
Unfortunately, in 500 BC. mass persecution began against Pythagoras and his school. As the main reason, scientists believe his refusal to take the son of a wealthy official into his ranks. After numerous unrest and riots that enveloped the city of Croton, Pythagoras disappeared, but he did not leave science and philosophy until the end of his days.

Pythagoras of Samos went down in history as one of the most prominent intellectuals of mankind. There are many unusual things in him, and it seems that fate itself has prepared for him a special life path.

Pythagoras created his own religious and philosophical school and became famous as one of the greatest mathematicians. His mind and ingenuity were hundreds of years ahead of the time in which he lived.

Pythagoras of Samos

Brief biography of Pythagoras

Of course, a brief biography of Pythagoras will not give us the opportunity to fully reveal this unique personality, but nevertheless we will highlight the main moments of his life.

Childhood and youth

The exact date of Pythagoras' birth is unknown. Historians suggest that he was born between 586-569. BC, on the Greek island of Samos (hence its nickname - "Samos"). According to one legend, the parents of Pythagoras were predicted that their son would become a great sage and enlightener.

Pythagoras' father was called Mnesarchus, and his mother was Parthenia. The head of the family was in charge precious stones, so the family was quite wealthy.

Upbringing and education

Already in early age Pythagoras showed interest in various sciences and arts. His first teacher was called Hermodamant. He laid the foundations of music, painting and grammar in the future scientist, and also forced him to memorize passages from Homer's Odyssey and Iliad.

When Pythagoras was 18 years old, he decided to go to Egypt to gain even more knowledge and experience. This was a serious step in his biography, but he was not destined to come true. Pythagoras was unable to enter Egypt because it was closed to the Greeks.

Stopping on the island of Lesbos, Pythagoras began to study physics, medicine, dialectics and other sciences from Pherekides of Syros. After living on the island for several years, he wanted to visit Miletus, where the famous philosopher Thales still lived, who formed the first philosophical school in Greece.

Very soon, Pythagoras becomes one of the most educated and famous people of his time. However, after some time, drastic changes take place in the biography of the sage, as the Persian war began.

Pythagoras falls into Babylonian captivity, and for a long time lives in captivity.

Mysticism and Homecoming

Due to the fact that astrology and mysticism were popular in Babylon, Pythagoras became addicted to the study of various mystical mysteries, customs and supernatural phenomena. The whole biography of Pythagoras is full of search and solutions of all kinds, which so attracted his attention.

After being in captivity for more than 10 years, he unexpectedly receives liberation personally from the Persian king, who knew firsthand about the wisdom of the learned Greek.

Once free, Pythagoras immediately returns to his homeland to tell his compatriots about the acquired knowledge.

School of Pythagoras

Thanks to extensive knowledge, constant and oratory, he manages to quickly gain fame and recognition among the inhabitants of Greece.

At the speeches of Pythagoras there are always many people who are amazed at the wisdom of the philosopher and see in him almost a deity.

One of the main points of the biography of Pythagoras is the fact that he created a school based on his own principles of understanding the world. It was called that: the school of the Pythagoreans, that is, the followers of Pythagoras.

He also had his own way of teaching. For example, students were not allowed to talk during class and were not allowed to ask any questions.

Thanks to this, the disciples could cultivate modesty, meekness and patience.

To a modern person, these things may seem strange, but do not forget that in the time of Pythagoras the very concept schooling in our understanding simply didn't exist.

Mathematics

In addition to medicine, politics and art, Pythagoras was most seriously involved in mathematics. He managed to make a significant contribution to the development of geometry.

Until now, in schools around the world, the Pythagorean theorem is considered the most popular theorem: a 2 + b 2 \u003d c 2. Every student remembers that "Pythagorean pants are equal in all directions."

In addition, there is a "Pythagorean table", with which it was possible to multiply numbers. In fact, this is a modern multiplication table, just in a slightly different form.

Numerology of Pythagoras

There is a remarkable thing in the biography of Pythagoras: he was extremely interested in numbers all his life. With their help, he tried to understand the nature of things and phenomena, life and death, suffering, happiness and other important issues being.

He associated the number 9 with constancy, 8 with death, and he also paid great attention to the square of numbers. In this sense, the perfect number was 10. Pythagoras called the ten the symbol of the Cosmos.

The Pythagoreans were the first to divide numbers into even and odd. Even numbers, according to the mathematician, had a feminine principle, while odd numbers had a masculine one.

In those days when there was no science as such, people learned about life and the world order as best they could. Pythagoras, like great son of his time, tried to find answers to these and other questions with the help of figures and numbers.

Philosophical doctrine

The teachings of Pythagoras can be divided into two categories:

• Scientific approach
• Religiosity and mysticism

Unfortunately, not all the works of Pythagoras were saved. And all due to the fact that the scientist practically did not make any notes, transferring knowledge to students orally.

In addition to being a scientist and philosopher, Pythagoras can rightly be called a religious innovator. In this, Leo Tolstoy was a bit like him (we published it in a separate article).

Pythagoras was a vegetarian and encouraged his followers to do so. He did not allow the students to eat food of animal origin, forbade them to drink alcohol, swear and behave obscenely.

It is also interesting that Pythagoras did not teach ordinary people who sought to obtain only superficial knowledge. He accepted as disciples only those in whom he saw selected and enlightened individuals.

Personal life

Studying the biography of Pythagoras, one may get the erroneous impression that he did not have time for his personal life. However, this is not quite true.

When Pythagoras was about 60 years old, at one of his speeches he met beautiful girl named Feana.

They got married, and from this marriage they had a boy and a girl. So the outstanding Greek was a family man.

Death

Surprisingly, none of the biographers can unequivocally say how the great philosopher and mathematician died. There are three versions of his death.

According to the first, Pythagoras was killed by one of the students whom he refused to teach. In a fit of anger, the killer set fire to the Academy of the scientist, where he died.

The second version tells that during the fire, the adherents of the scientist, wanting to save him from death, created a bridge from their own bodies.

But the most common version of the death of Pythagoras is his death during an armed conflict in the city of Metapont.

The great scientist lived for more than 80 years, dying in 490 BC. e. During his long life he managed to do a lot, and he is quite rightly considered one of the most outstanding minds in history.

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Pythagoras of Samos is an ancient Greek mathematician, philosopher and mystic, the founder of the Pythagorean school. The years of his life - 570-490 years. BC e. In our article, your attention will be presented to the biography of Pythagoras, his main achievements, as well as Interesting Facts about this great man.

Where is the truth, and where is the fiction?

It is difficult to separate the life story of this thinker from the legends that represented him as a perfect sage, as well as initiated into the mysteries of barbarians and Greeks. Herodotus called this man "the greatest Hellenic sage." Below you will be presented with a biography of Pythagoras and his works, which should be treated with a certain degree of doubt.

The earliest known sources about the teachings of this thinker appeared only 200 years after his death. However, it is on them that the biography of Pythagoras is based. He himself did not leave writings to the descendants, therefore all information about his teaching and personality is based only on the works of his followers, who were not always impartial.

Origin of Pythagoras

Pythagoras' parents are Parthenida and Mnesarchus from the island of Samos. Pythagoras' father was, according to one version, a stone cutter, according to another, a wealthy merchant who received the citizenship of Samos for distributing bread during a famine. The first version seems preferable, since Pausanias, who testified to this, cites the genealogy of this thinker. Partenida, his mother, was later renamed Pythaida by her husband (more on this below). She came from the family of Ankey, a noble man who founded a Greek colony on Samos.

Pythia's prediction

The great biography of Pythagoras was allegedly predetermined even before his birth, which seemed to have been predicted in Delphi by the Pythia, so he was named that way. Pythagoras means "the one who was announced by the Pythia". This soothsayer reported to Mnesarchus that the future great person will bring as much good and benefit to people as no one else subsequently. To celebrate this, the father of the child even gave a new name to his wife, Pythaida, and named his son Pythagoras. Pythaida accompanied her husband on trips. Pythagoras was born in Sidon of Phoenicia around 570 BC. e.

This thinker, according to ancient authors, met with many famous sages of that time: Egyptians, Chaldeans, Persians, Greeks, absorbing the knowledge accumulated by mankind. Sometimes in popular literature, Pythagoras is also credited with the Olympic victory in boxing competitions, confusing the philosopher with his namesake, the son of Crates, also from the island of Samos, who won the 48 games a little earlier, 18 years before the philosopher appeared on light.

Pythagoras goes to Egypt

Pythagoras in young age went to the country of Egypt to gain here secret knowledge and wisdom from the priests. Porphyry and Diogenes write that Polycrates, the tyrant of Samos, supplied this philosopher with a letter of recommendation to Amasis (Pharaoh), because of which he began to be taught and initiated not only into the achievements of the mathematics and medicine of Egypt, but also into the mysteries that other strangers were forbidden.

At the age of 18, as Iamblichus writes, the biography of Pythagoras is supplemented by the fact that he left the island and reached Egypt, having traveled around all kinds of wise men from different parts of the world. He stayed in this country for 22 years, until, among the captives, he was taken to Babylon by Cambyses, the Persian king, who in 525 BC. e. conquered Egypt. Pythagoras stayed in Babylon for another 12 years, communicating here with magicians, until he was finally able to return to Samos at the age of 56, where he was recognized by his compatriots as the wisest of people.

This thinker, according to Porfiry, left his native island due to disagreements with the local tyrannical power, carried out by Polycrates, at the age of 40 years. Since this information is based on the evidence of Aristoxenus, who lived in the 4th century BC. e., they were found to be relatively reliable. In 535 B.C. e. Polycrates came to power. Therefore, the date of birth of Pythagoras is considered to be 570 BC. e., assuming that he left for Italy in 530 BC. e. According to Iamblichus, Pythagoras moved to this country in the 62nd Olympiad, that is, in the period from 532 to 529. BC e. This information correlates well with Porfiry, but completely contradicts the legend of Iamblichus about the captivity of Pythagoras in Babylon. Therefore, it is not known for sure whether this thinker visited Phoenicia, Babylon or Egypt, where, according to legend, he gained Eastern wisdom. short biography Pythagoras, provided to us by various authors, is very contradictory and does not allow us to draw an unambiguous conclusion.

Life of Pythagoras in Italy

It is unlikely that the reason for the departure of this philosopher could be disagreements with Polycrates, he rather needed the opportunity to preach, put his teaching into practice, which was difficult to implement in Ionia, as well as mainland Hellas. He went to Italy because he believed that there more people capable of learning.

A brief biography of Pythagoras, compiled by us, continues. This thinker settled in southern Italy, in Croton, a Greek colony, where he found numerous followers. They were attracted not only by the convincingly expounded mystical philosophy, but also by a way of life that included strict morality and healthy asceticism.

Pythagoras preached the moral ennoblement of the people. It could be achieved where power is in the hands of knowledgeable and wise people, whom the people obey unconditionally in one thing and consciously in another, as a moral authority. It is to Pythagoras that tradition ascribes the introduction of such words as "philosopher" and "philosophy".

Brotherhood of the Pythagoreans

The disciples of this thinker formed a religious order, a kind of brotherhood of initiates, which consisted of a caste of like-minded people who deified the teacher. This order in Croton actually came to power, but at the end of the 6th century BC. e. due to anti-Pythagorean sentiments, the philosopher had to go to Metapont, another Greek colony, where he died. Here, after 450 years, during the reign of Cicero (I century BC), the crypt of this thinker was shown as a local landmark.

Pythagoras had a wife, whose name was Theano, as well as a daughter, Mia, and a son, Telavg (according to another version, the names of the children were Arignota and Arimnest).

When did this thinker and philosopher die?

Pythagoras, according to Iamblichus, headed the secret society for 39 years. Based on this, the date of his death is 491 BC. e., when the period of the Greco-Persian wars began. Referring to Heraclides, Diogenes said that this philosopher died at the age of 80, or even 90, according to other unnamed sources. That is, the date of death from here is 490 BC. e. (or, improbably, 480). In his chronology, Eusebius of Caesarea indicated as the year of death of this thinker 497 BC. e.

Scientific achievements of Pythagoras in the field of mathematics

Pythagoras is today regarded as the great cosmologist and mathematician of antiquity, but early accounts make no mention of such merits. Iamblichus writes about the Pythagoreans that they had a custom to attribute all achievements to their teacher. This thinker is considered by ancient authors to be the creator of the well-known theorem that in a right triangle the square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of its legs (the Pythagorean theorem). The biography of this philosopher, as well as his achievements, is largely doubtful. The opinion about the theorem, in particular, is based on the testimony of Apollodorus the enumerator, whose identity has not been established, as well as on poetic lines, the authorship of which also remains a mystery.

Modern historians suggest that this thinker did not prove the theorem, but could transfer this knowledge to the Greeks, which was known for 1000 years in Babylon before the biography of the mathematician Pythagoras dates back. Although there is doubt that this particular thinker succeeded in making this discovery, no weighty arguments can be found in order to challenge given point vision.

Apart from proving the above theorem, this mathematician is also credited with the study of integers, their properties and proportions.

Aristotle's discoveries in the field of cosmology

Aristotle in the work "Metaphysics" affects the development of cosmology, but the contribution of Pythagoras is not voiced in any way in it. The thinker of interest to us is also credited with the discovery that the earth is round. However, Theophrastus, the most authoritative author on this issue, gives it to Parmenides.

Despite controversial points, the merits in cosmology and mathematics of the Pythagorean school are indisputable. According to Aristotle, the real ones were acusmatists who followed the doctrine of the transmigration of souls. They regarded mathematics as a science, coming not so much from their teacher, but from one of the Pythagoreans, Hippasus.

Works created by Pythagoras

This thinker did not write any treatises. It was impossible to compose a work of oral instructions addressed to the common people. And the secret occult teaching, intended for the elite, could not be trusted to the book either.

Diogenes lists some titles of books that allegedly belonged to Pythagoras: "On Nature", "On the State", "On Education". But in the first 200 years after his death, none of the authors, including Aristotle, Plato, and their successors at the Lyceum and the Academy, quotes from the writings of Pythagoras or even indicates their existence. To ancient writers from the beginning new era the written works of Pythagoras were unknown. This is reported by Josephus Flavius, Plutarch, Galen.

A compilation of the sayings of this thinker appeared in the 3rd century BC. e. It is called " sacred word". Later, "Golden Poems" arose from it (which are sometimes attributed, without good reasons, to the 4th century BC. e., when the biography of Pythagoras is considered by various authors).

The name of Pythagoras has always been surrounded by many legends during his lifetime. For example, it was believed that he was able to control spirits, knew the language of animals, knew how to prophesy, and birds could change the direction of flight under the influence of his speeches. Legends also attributed to Pythagoras the ability to heal people, using, among other things, an excellent knowledge of various medicinal plants. The impact on others of this personality is difficult to overestimate. A curious episode from life, which Pythagoras's biography tells us about (interesting facts about him are by no means exhausted by him), is this: once he got angry with one of his students, who committed suicide from grief. The philosopher has since decided not to throw out his irritation on people ever again.

You were presented with a biography of Pythagoras, summary the life and work of this great man. We have tried to describe events based on different opinions, since it is wrong to judge this thinker based on only one source. There is a lot of conflicting information about him. The biography of Pythagoras for children usually does not take into account these contradictions. It presents in an extremely simplified and one-sided way the fate and legacy of this man. A short biography of Pythagoras for children is studied at school. We tried to reveal it in more detail in order to deepen the understanding of readers about this person.