PYTHAGORAS OF SAMOS

 Name: Pythagoras  Born: c. 580 to 572 BC  Died: c. 500 to 490 BC  School / tradition: Pythagoreanism  Main interests: philosophy of mathematics  Theory of transmigration  Notable ideas: The numbers determine the order and harmony in the universe  Influenced by: Thales  Affected: Plato

Who was Pythagoras? He was a major Greek philosopher, mathematician, geometer and music theorist. He is the founder of Greek mathematics and created a robust system for the science of celestial bodies, which he supported with all the arithmetic and geometric proofs.

Who were the Pythagoreans? The Pythagoreans of the 5th century BC are among the most important scientists of their time. Pythagoras seems to be particularly interested in science. In the Pythagorean system, both the religious and philosophical goals are interrelated. Since the time of Doring, the idea of cleansing (catharsis) has been viewed as the key to understanding the relationship between religion and science in early Pythagoreanism.

How is Pythagoras characterised? There has been a controversy as to whether Pythagoras was a “sophist”. For some, “sophist” is a synonym for “scientist”. According to Liddel and Scott, the word “sophist” originally meant, on the one hand, the person who specialised in his field, and on the other, the wise and sage person. Originally, the properties of a "shaman" had been attributed to Pythagoras; that is, magical powers and the power to heal people by entering into the spiritual dimension.

According to Ekateos from Abdera and Antiklides, Pythagoras introduced geometry in Greece from Egypt. The basic ideas of the “theory of the world” and the “catharsis” are also attributed to Pythagoras. These ideas bind together the two trends of the Pythagorean school, the scientific and the religious trend. Aetius says that Pythagoras was the first to use the word "world", giving it the notion of "the whole region”.

One of the magor discoveries of Pythagoras A very important discovery made by Pythagoras is the numerical interpretation of the universe. By measuring the appropriate length of a string of a monochord, he discovered that consonant musical intervals can be expressed in simple ratios of small integers. Pythagoras's interest in music harmony was the reason why the "Harmony of the Spheres" theory was attributed to him.

Pythagora’s theories on Astronomy

Pythagoras was possibly the first who claimed that the earth is round and that it revolves around the "Central Fire" (the center of things), thus creating a spinning "celestial sphere".

The Pythagoreans later developed this theory even further. They believed that not only the earth, but also other spheres rotate around the central fire: one with all the stars, one with the Sun and the Moon and one with the (then) known planets (Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury, Venus). In order for the spheres to be 10 (the sacred number that symbolized the completeness of all things), they admitted that there is also another celestial body with a circular motion around the common center, “Antichthon”.

The Pythagoreans argued that the numerical ratios on which music harmony depends, should also contribute to the harmonic structure of the universe. The distances between the celestial bodies produce a heavenly music, which our ordinary ears are unable to hear, because it’s continuous and uninterrupted.

The End Written by: Chatzoglou Sendef