Pythagoras

Pythagoras, Pythagoreanism

1. Pythagoras

Pythagoras, son of Mnesarchus, one of the most mysterious and influential figures in Greek intellectual history, was born in Samos in the mid-6th cent. bc and migrated to Croton (S. Italy) in c.530 BC. There he founded the sect or society that bore his name, and that seems to have played an important role in the political life of Magna Graecia (the Greek settlements of S. Italy) for several generations. Pythagoras himself is said to have died as a refugee in Metapontum. Pythagorean political influence is attested well into the 4th cent., with Archytas of Tarentum.

The name of Pythagoras is connected with two parallel traditions, one religious and one scientific. Pythagoras is said to have introduced the doctrine of transmigration of souls into Greece, and his religious influence is reflected in the cult organization of the Pythagorean society, with periods...

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