Erasmus 2017-2018 Inventors and innovators
Pythagoras Pythagoras was born c. 570 BCE in Samos and died c. 500–490 BCE in Italy. He was a Greek philosopher, mathematician, and founder of the Pythagorean brotherhood that, although religious in nature, formulated principles that influenced the thought of Plato and Aristotle and contributed to the development of mathematics and Western rational philosophy. Pythagoras wrote nothing, nor were there any detailed accounts of his thought written by contemporaries. Most of the information available today has been recorded a few centuries after his death and as a result, many of the available accounts contradict each other. However, this much is certain that he was born to a merchant from Tyre and had studied under various teachers since his early childhood.
 Pythagorean school When he was around forty years old, he left Samos. Some say he went to Egypt to study under the temple priests and returned after fifteen years while others say that he went straight to Croton(southern Italy) to open a school (the Pythagorean school). Nonetheless, it is certain that his main place of activity was Croton and there he set up a brotherhood and made substantial contribution to mathematics, philosophy and music. In Croton he first started teaching in full scale, quickly gathering a band of followers. His brotherhood was open to both men and women. It developed into a religious cum, philosophical school with considerable political clout. The Pythagoreans, as the followers of Pythagoras were called, could be divided into two sects; a) Mathematikoi or Learners, who lived and worked at the school and b) Akousmaticoi or Listeners, who lived outside the school. The Mathematikoi or Learners had to lead their life according to rules, which defined what they ate, wore or even spoke. They had no personal possession and followed strict vegetarianism. Contrarily, the Akousmatics or Listners were allowed to own personal properties and eat non-vegetarian food. They attended the school only during the day time. The Pythagoreans had to be silent and obedient, dress simply, eat very little not meat and not beans, which they thought were relatives to the humans, and subject themselves to self-examination. Also, they were not allowed to wear rings, stir fire with iron or speak of Pyhagorean matters in the dark. When rising from their beds
they had to erase any impressions of their bodies on the bed clothes to avert the evil eye.
Philosophy
When it comes to Pythagoras and his philosophy, He believed in the theory of metempsychosis or the transmigration of the soul and its reincarnation again and again after death into the bodies of humans, animals or vegetables until it became moral. Moreover, he believed in the theory of metempsychosis or the transmigration of the soul and its reincarnation again and again after death into the bodies of humans, animals or vegetables until it became moral. One of his central beliefs was that the essence of being can be found in the form of numbers, and that it can be encountered through the study of mathematics. For instance, he believed that things like health relied on a stable proportion of elements, with too much or too little of one thing causing an imbalance that makes a person unhealthy.
Astronomy
As far as his work in the field of astronomy is concerned, he was the first to consider the Earth as a sphere revolving with the other planets and the Sun around a universal "central fire." Ten planets were believed to exist in order to produce the "magical" number of 10. This arrangement was explained as the harmonious arrangement of bodies in a complete sphere of reality based on a numerical pattern, calling it a "harmony of sphere." The Pythagoreans also recognized that the orbit of the Moon was inclined to the equator of the Earth, and were one of the first to accept that Venus was both the evening star and the morning star.
Music In the field of music, he discovered that the tones in music are relative to the length of the strings and that producing different notes in harmony happened because of mathematical ratios.
Mathematics When it comes to mathematics and numbers, Pythagoras’ contribution can never be overstated. Today, he is best remembered for his concept of numbers. He believed that everything could be reduced to numbers and these numbers had their own characteristics, strengths and weaknesses. For example: 1 is the generator of all numbers, 2 refers to opinion, 3 refers to harmony, 4 refers to justice, 5 refers to marriage, 6 refers to creation, 7 refers to the seven planets The holiest number of all was ten, a triangular number composed of the sum of one, two, three and four (see figure 1).
ďƒ˜ Pythagorean theorem In mathematics, the Pythagorean theorem, also known as Pythagoras' theorem, is a fundamental relation in Euclidean geometry among the three sides of a right triangle. It states that the square of the hypotenuse (the side opposite the right angle) is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides. The theorem can be written as an equation relating the lengths of the sides a, b and c, often called the "Pythagorean equation":[1] a2 + b2 = c2 where c represents the length of the hypotenuse and a and b the lengths of the triangle's other two sides. What Pythagoras and his followers did not realize is that this theorem also works for any shape: thus, the area of a pentagon on the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the pentagons on the other two sides, as it does for a semi-circle or any other regular (or even irregular shape.). He is said to have started dealing with this theorem when visiting the pyramids as a youth, and when he had worked it out he thanked the gods, sacrificing a hundred oxen.
Sources: http://www.storyofmathematics.com/greek_pythagoras.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythagorean_theorem https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/philosophy-and-religion/philosophybiographies/pythagoras https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pythagoreanism/ https://www.philosophybasics.com/philosophers_pythagoras.html https://www.in2greece.com/english/historymyth/history/ancient/pythagoras.htm https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/pythagoras-504.php https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pythagoras https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_School_of_Athens http://www.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani/en/collezioni/musei/stanze-diraffaello/stanza-della-segnatura/scuola-di-atene.html