The Greek philosopher, mathematician, and religious leader Pythagoras is famous for his contributions to the learned world. In fact, he is often considered the first ‘œpure mathematician’ and believed the physical world could be explained through mathematics. Here are some interesting facts about the man.
Fact 1: Pythagoras was born in 575 B.C on the island of Samos.
Fact 2: Pythagoras created a religious sect that believed in the transmigration of the soul.
Fact 3: Pythagoras traveled to Ancient Egypt, where he studied with the temple priests.
Fact 4: When Persia invaded Egypt, Pythagoras was taken as prisoner to Babylon where he continued to study with temple priests.
Fact 5: There are no surviving texts written by Pythagoras.
Fact 6: Pythagoras is said to have had synesthesia, a condition that allows an individual to see music, hear colors and have experiences where shapes and words are associated with unrelated concepts.
Fact 7: Pythagoras established the Pythagorean Theorem, which states that in any right-angled triangle, the area of the square who side is the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the areas of the squares whose sides are the two legs.
Fact 8: Pythagoras formed a secret society knows as the ‘œBrotherhood of Pythagoreans’, whose motto was ‘œall is number’ and who believed the triangle to be a magical shape.
Fact 9: His follower included both men and women who were vegetarians and who owned no personal possessions.
Fact 10: Pythagoras was a great influence on Plato.
Fact 11: Pythagoras knew the Earth was round.
Fact 12: He played the lyre.
Fact 13: Milo of Corton, a famous Olympian at the time, saved Pythagora’s life by holding up a collapsing roof so the philosopher could escape unharmed.
Fact 14: Pythagoras died sometime between 500 and 475 BC in Metapontum, Italy.
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