We explain who Pythagoras was, his contributions and what the Pythagorean Brotherhood was. Also, its various theories and characteristics.
Who was Pythagoras?
Pythagoras of Samos, also known simply as Pythagoras, was a Ancient Greek philosopher and mathematicianknown for his contributions to the advancement of arithmetic, geometry, and Hellenic mathematics, and for having influenced both Plato and Aristotle.
It is considered as the first pure mathematician since this discipline occupied mostly (although not exclusively) his interests, and we still preserve some of his theorems and postulates, especially in geometry and arithmetic.
His contributions to Western thought were key and central despite the fact that no text of his authorship survives and it is difficult to discern his thought from that of his disciples.
See also: René Descartes
Life of Pythagoras
Pythagoras He was born in the Greek city of Samos, Ionia, around 569 BC. c. Although there is no certain data on the dates of his life, we know from Aristoxenus, a Greek philosopher, that Pythagoras left Samos at the age of forty, so it is believed that he was born around the proposed date. It is estimated that he died around the age of seventy or eighty. There is no certain date of birth, nor more accurate information.
His father was Mnesarchus, a merchant originally from the city of Tyre, a carver-engraver of precious stones, and his mother was a local woman named Pythais.
We know that Pythagoras traveled to Egypt and Babylon, which would have given him the opportunity to cultivate himself from very early times: he learned to play the lyre, recite Homer and write poetry. It is believed that Polycrates gave him a letter of introduction to Pharaoh Amasis, a friend and ally of the Greek tyrant.
Pythagoras emigrated to Croton, southern Italy, possibly encouraged by Democedesphysicist at the court of Polycrates. There he founded his school and had a great impact and influence on regional rulers, thinkers and even artists, mathematicians and craftsmen, as Pythagoras, the son of a craftsman, was himself an experienced artist.
Once his school was founded, Its influence spread throughout all the neighboring cities. In many of them, several members of the Pythagorean community even held leadership and power positions. This led to what is known as “the conspiracy of Cylon”, through which many Pythagoreans were murdered and resulted in the banishment of Pythagoras and his subsequent refuge in the temple of the Muses, in Metapontum, where he died of starvation. .
Little more is known about Pythagoras' general training than what has been said. It is believed that he was a disciple of Chaldeans and learned men from Syria. Mention is also made of Pherecydes of Syros, an already quite elderly Thales of Miletus, and, finally, his disciple, Anaximander. Many myths and legends were formed around the life of Pythagoras, which were collected by some Neoplatonic and Neopythagorean philosophers.
The most extensive work on his life dates from the 3rd century AD. C. and was written by Diogenes Laertius and Porphyrio. The work About Pythagorean lifeby Iamblichus, is also a valuable text on the life of Pythagoras.
Much is unknown regarding Pythagoras' death, although it is assumed that it occurred in approximately 532 BC, after the Pythagorean brotherhood was dismantled by his political rivals. According to the most widespread version, Pythagoras would have died in the city of Metapontowhere his tomb was displayed in times of the Roman Empire. There he would have taken refuge in the temple of the Muses, where he would have hidden after the attack on his school, until he died of hunger and general dehydration.
The Pythagorean brotherhood
In the Italian city of Crotona, around the year 522 BC. c.Pythagoras settled after being a prisoner of war of the Persian emperor Cambyses II, who invaded Egypt in 525 BC. c.
In this Italian city he founded his school, known as “the Pythagorean brotherhood”, in which Both men and women were accepted. They called themselves “mathematicians” (matematikoi) for considering that reality is mathematical in nature, and they exercised and promoted the study of numbers beyond their use for commerce and political issues.
The brotherhood He had 300 followers, known as “the Pythagoreans”who had no possessions, practiced vegetarianism and were divided between members of the hard group and the listeners (called “acousmatics” and who did not live in the temple).
the school had a certain secrecy charactercause of suspicion and envy on the part of his enemies and dissidents. Communal life was promoted and everyone who took part was invited to fully integrate. Asceticism and metempsychosis (the belief in the transfer of certain psychic elements from one body to another) were common practices among its members.
Around 500 BC. C., the Pythagoreans They assumed a certain political role in the region and they fragmented into houses, until they were attacked and defeated in 460 BC. C. by his political opponents.
Pythagorean principles
Pythagoras and his disciples were guided philosophically by the following principles:
- Reality, in its deepest perception, is mathematical. Things are numbers.
- Philosophy can be a path to spiritual purification.
- The human soul can rise high enough to merge with the divine.
- Certain symbols of a mystical nature are considered sacred signs.
- All members of the Pythagorean brotherhood must maintain absolute secrecy regarding their beliefs and practices.
Contributions of Pythagoras
Pythagoras' main contributions were:
- Philosophy. Pythagoras was the first Greek thinker to provide a non-mystical or religious explanation for the origin of all that is. His idea of a physical or natural principle as the support and composition of the things of life gave way to the opening of a rational and discursive path to think about the world as we know it.
- Mathematics. Pythagoras formulated the theorem that bears his name, according to which “the sum of the square of the legs is equal to the square of the hypotenuse.” He is also credited with the geometric construction of the first perfect solids, the discovery of perfect numbers and friendly numbers, as well as polygonal numbers. His work with triangles and the square root is foundational for the discipline.
- Astronomy. He was one of the first to point out that the morning star and the evening star are the same planet: Venus. He also taught that the Earth was the center of the universe (geocentric model) and that the moon orbited it around the equator, although these discoveries are also attributed to Parmenides.
- Music. He is credited with the discovery of the laws of regular musical intervals, as well as the invention of the monochord, in addition to teaching the ethical and medicinal use of music. From there, the idea was also implemented that there is a reciprocal harmony between the different systems of the universe and that, in that sense, astronomy, music, health and other areas of thought are related.
Acknowledgments of Pythagoras
Beyond the theories that bear his name, The name of Pythagoras is honored with a lunar crater (Pythagoras) and an asteroid (6143) from the solar system.
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References
- De la Fuente, H., & David, A. (2011). Lives of Pythagoras. Atalanta.
- Guthrie, W. (1984). History of Greek Philosophy, vol. I. The first pre-Socratics and the Pythagoreans. Gredos.
- Guthrie, W. (1953). The Greek philosophers. From Thales to Aristotle. FCE.
