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Pythagoras was born in the island of Samos in ancient Greece. There are no good records regarding the life of Pythagoras, so the exact dates and other issues are not known with certainty. But, it is believed that it was around 570 BC. His first teacher was Pherecydes, and Pythagoras stayed in touch with him until Pherecydes' death. When Pythagoras was about 18 years old, he went to the island of Lesbos. There, he worked and learned from Anaximander, an astronomer and philosopher, and Thales of Miletus, a very wise philosopher and mathematician.
Pythagoras was known as "The Father of numbers". He made significant contributions to philosophy and religious teaching in the late 6th century BC. Pythagoras believed that everything was related to mathematics, and could be predicted and measured in rhythmic patterns or cycles.
Pythagoras also went to Sidon, where he was initiated into the Mysteries of Tyre and Byblos. Then he proceeded to Egypt. There he put himself under the instruction of the teachers of Thales. He spent the next twenty-two years perfecting himself in mathematics, astronomy and music, and was finally initiated into the Egyptian Mysteries.
When Cambyses invaded Egypt, he made Pythagoras his prisoner and sent him to Babylon. Pythagoras utilized the next twelve years to study with the Magi and was initiated into the Chaldean Mysteries. Leaving Babylon, he made his way through Persia into India, where he continued his education under the Brachmanes and imbibed the wisdom of the East at its original source. Although Pythagoras went to India as a student, he left it as a Teacher. Even to this day he is known in that country as Yavanacharya, the "Ionian Teacher".
After he arrived in Crotona, Pythagoras gave a lecture to a group of young men. A few days later Pythagoras was invited to speak before the Senate of Crotona. There, he advised the Senators to build a Temple to the Muses, whose harmony and interdependence should be a constant reminder of the primary virtues necessary to good government them to acquire the philosophical knowledge necessary to good citizenship.
Pythagoras was allowed to that build an Institute in Croatia, which would serve the several purposes of a school of philosophy and moral training, an academy of science, and a small model city. During the first eight years of probation, the students were known as Exoterics. Those who entered the higher sections were known as Esoterics.
The Pythagorean theorem was known earlier in Mesopotamia, Egypt and India. Whether Pythagoras himself proved this theorem is not known, as it was common in the ancient world to credit to a famous teacher the discoveries of his students. The earliest known mention of Pythagoras's name in connection with the theorem came five centuries after his death, in the writings of Cicero and Plutarch.
Pythagoras died in 475 BC.
