Inventors and Scientists: Pythagoras and the

Pythagoreans
By FamousScientists.org, adapted by Newsela staff on 08.10.17
Word Count 658
Level 800L

Famous mathematician Pythagoras. Photo from Wikimedia.

Synopsis: Pythagoras was a famous Greek philosopher, mathematician and founder of the
Pythagoreanism movement. Although he is someone most people have heard of, he remains a
mystery. Little is known for certain about the ancient philosopher's life. Historians know much
more about the beliefs of a group called the Pythagoreans, which made great advances in
mathematics. When the group started, it was very secretive. After Pythagoras died, the secrets
began to be revealed.

Early Life

Facts about Pythagoras are difficult to state with certainty, as there are no written records from his
time. Most of what historians know of him was written many years later.

Pythagoras was born in about 570 B.C. on the Greek island of Samos. He was taught mathematics
by Thales, a Greek philosopher and mathematician. Thales brought mathematics to the Greeks

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from ancient Egypt. He advised Pythagoras to visit Egypt, which he did when he was about 22
years old.

Pythagoras must have liked Egypt. He lived there for about the next 22 years of his life, mastering
mathematical and religious ideas. Pythagoras didn't leave Egypt willingly. He was caught up in a
Persian attack and taken as a prisoner to Babylon. The Babylonians were probably the finest
mathematicians in the world at that time. In Babylon, Pythagoras learned mathematics and
religious ideas, possibly from as far away as India.

The Rise Of The Pythagoreans

When he was about 56 years old, Pythagoras was finally set free. He returned to Samos and began
teaching people his ideas about life. These were based on his understanding of mathematics and
religious teachings from ancient Egypt and the East.

Two years later, Pythagoras moved to the city of Croton, where he established the Pythagoreans.

The Pythagoreans were a religious group. They believed in the power of numbers, honesty, living a
simple life and showing kindness to people and animals.

Pythagoreans believed that everything could be reduced to numbers and that the whole universe
had been built using mathematics. They said that the truth behind everything lies in numbers.

The Tetractys

To Pythagoreans, 10 was the most important number.

Ten can be made by adding the first four numbers: 1,

2, 3 and 4. These numbers form a perfect triangle
called the tetractys. Pythagoreans prayed to the
tetractys and swore promises to it.

The Existence Of Numbers

The Pythagoreans were the first people to realize that

numbers exist in their own right. For example, the
number 3 exists. You do not need 3 people or 3
chickens to prove the existence of the number 3.
Numbers do not need to be linked with real objects to
become real.

There are five regular 3-D solids that are symmetrical. This means that they look the same after
you flip, slide or turn them. Their symmetry allows them to be used as dice.

Pythagoras himself established the first three solids. Other Pythagoreans probably discovered the
other two. The solids are the tetrahedron with 4 sides, the cube with 6 sides, octahedron with 8
sides, dodecahedron with 12 sides and icosahedron with 20 sides.

Math And Music

Pythagoras believed that music was based on relationships between numbers. He was a skilled
player of the stringed instrument known as the lyre. Pythagoras probably studied the relationship

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between string length and musical pitch.

A follower of Pythagoras named Philolaus continued these studies. He found a special relationship
between string length and pitch. For example, he found that cutting a string in half would make it
produce a higher note. This note would be exactly one octave higher in pitch.

Pythagoras is thought to have died when he was about 75 years old in about 495 B.C. Some ancient
sources claim he lived to be 100. He may have died in Croton, or he may have died in the nearby
city of Metapontum.

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Pythagons the man ofaid of beans

Pythagor was the creator or the

Pythagorean theorem on at Ed This was
used to find the missing length of a triangle
He was o afraid of beans they say a math cult
caught up with and killed because he wouldnt walk throw
a feild of beans