Pythagoras of Samos, was a famous philosopher and mathematician, born in Greece, specifically on the island of Samos in the year 580 BC Son of Mnesarco, a merchant from Tire and Pythais, who was a native of Samos. The great philosophers: Anaximander, Anaximenes and Thales of Miletus were responsible for entering the world of philosophy.
Pythagoras from a very young age, had the opportunity to travel through Babylon, Egypt and perhaps India; trips where he could acquire knowledge about astronomy and mathematics. Walking through these towns generated a great influence on Pythagoras in aspects related to religion.
He established a philosophical and religious school in southern Italy, which had many followers. These people called themselves mathematicians and were characterized by being vegetarian and lacking in any personal possession. This school was based on the thought of Pythagoras, which was divided between the mystical and the scientific. The mysticism of his doctrine speaks of the transmigration of souls, Pythagoras believed in reincarnation, in which the soul was eternal and could reincarnate in different bodies; for which the consumption of meat was prohibited, since it was thought that any animal could be the reincarnation of a relative. Hence his penchant for vegetarianism. As for the scientific nature of his doctrine, it held that numbers were the beginning of everything.
Pythagoras made great contributions both in astronomy and in music and mathematics, contributions that have transcended over time and that still serve as a guide for future generations.
Among the mathematical contributions attributed to this great philosopher and that made him worthy of the qualification of “Father of mathematics”, is the creation of the famous Pythagorean theorem which says that: “in a right triangle the square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides. Being expressed algebraically as: a2 + b2 = c2. In the same way he is credited with the discovery of irrational numbers; arithmetic means, geometric mean, polygonal numbers, among others.
In short, there are not many verifiable records of the life of Pythagoras, since the existence of writings signed by him, or of biographies published by his contemporaries, is unknown. However, it is presumed that he died in Metaponto (Italy) in 475 BC
