Paste your essay in here…Pythagoras was born in the eastern Aegean island of Samos, Greece in 570 BC. Pythias, his mother, was a native of the island while Mnesarchus, his father, was a merchant from Tyre that sold in gems. It is also believed that he had two or three siblings, however records were not kept accurately and it is unclear whether it was two or three. Pythagoras spent most of his early childhood on the island of Samos. As he grew up, he started to take interest in and joined his father on his trading trips. It is believed that on one of the trading trips him and his father went to Tyre, where he studied under scholars from Syria. It is also believed that he took trips to Italy during his early years.
Pythagoras studied extensively under many different teachers in his early and mid life. He learned poetry, could recite Homer and play the lyre. Besides syrian scholars, he also studied under wise men of Chaldea. Pherecydes of Syros was also one of his early teachers that he studied philosophy from. When he was eighteen, Pythagoras traveled to Miletus to meet Thales. Thales was a master of mathematics and astronomy. Unfortunately, Thales had become too old to teach when Pythagoras had arrived. However, the meeting was very important because it started his interests in science, mathematics and astronomy. It is also believed that Pythagoras studied under Thales’ student Anaximander because later works of Pythagoras show similarities with the works of Anaximander. Both his astronomical and geometrical theories seem to have naturally developed from the theories of the elder philosopher. In 535 BC, Pythagoras left for Egypt to study under the temple priests. Pythagoras lived in Egypt for about ten years. After completing the necessary rituals he gained membership at the temple of Diospolis and was accepted into priesthood. It is also believed that for an unknown amount of years he studied under the Egyptian priest Onuphis of Heliopolis. In 525 BC, Emperor Cambyses II of Persia conquered Egypt. Pythagoras was captured and taken as prisoner to Babylon. Upon arrival, he immediately associated himself to the Persians priests known as the magi and started studying mathematics and mathematical sciences as well as music under them. In 522 BC, Cambyses II of Persia died of an unknown cause. Also, Polycrates, the tyrannical ruler of Somas, was also killed. These events offered Pythagoras an opportunity to return to Somas, which he did in 520 BC.
In 518 BC, he moved to Croton in southern Italy. For whatever reason, in Croton he first started teaching in full scale, quickly gathering a band of followers. Subsequently, he set up a brotherhood, which was open to all people of all genders. It developed into a religious philosophical school with political clout. He taught a very unique belief system to his followers. His group was a bunch of dedicated followers to the point where they adopted all of his beliefs, views, and totally followed him in his path. The members of this group kept their membership quiet because the group was very secretive group, also all members of this group adopted vegetarianism, lastly they worshipped the god Apollo. Apollo was the God of music, poetry, art, oracles, archery, plague, medicine, sun, light and knowledge. He believed: “All things are numbers. Mathematics is the basis for everything, and geometry is the highest form of mathematical studies. The physical world can understood through mathematics. The soul resides in the brain, and is immortal. It moves from one being to another, sometimes from a human into an animal, through a series of reincarnations called transmigration until it becomes pure. Pythagoras believed that both mathematics and music could purify. Numbers have personalities, characteristics, strengths and weaknesses. The world depends upon the interaction of opposites, such as male and female, lightness and darkness, warm and cold, dry and moist, light and heavy, fast and slow. Certain symbols have a mystical significance. All members of the society should observe strict loyalty and secrecy” (Biography of Pythagoras). This religious group was known as the Pythagoreans. This group that he created helped him to discover what has made him a world famous mathematician: the pythagorean theorem.
While Pythagoras had many different discoveries in many different fields, the discovery of the pythagorean theorem is believed to be the most impressive and also most influential. “The Pythagorean (hypotenuse) theorem states that the square of the hypotenuse of a right-angle triangle (c ) is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides (a and b ), shown as c 2 = a 2 + b 2” (“Pythagoras”). The Pythagorean theorem is also used in more advanced, difficult math. “The applications that use the Pythagorean theorem include computing the distance between points on a plane; converting between polar and rectangular coordinates; computing perimeters, surface areas and volumes of various geometric shapes; and calculating maxima and minima of perimeters, or surface areas and volumes of various geometric shapes”(the Pythagorean Theorem).