Pythagoras

A Drawing of Pythgoras

To me, a hero is someone who has helped in a special way, an individual, a group, or all mankind. It might be a person who has found a cure for cancer, or a person who has saved someone from being hit by a car. These are all heroes in my eye. Many historical examples are found in ancient Greece

Pythagoras, the Greek philosopher and mathematician is one such hero. He was born in 570 B.C. and died around 474 B.C. His birthplace was on the small Island of Samos, off the Western coast of Asia. Not much is known about his childhood; except that he had a large birthmark on is right thigh. We also have evidence that he had at least three brothers and was learning to play the lyre. From his writings, it's clear that he was well educated and was learning to recite the writings of Homer.

Pythagoras is best known for his mathematical theorem, a2 + b2 = c2, the Pythagorean theorem. Today some people think that the Babylonians knew about it a thousand years before Pythagoras, but did not prove it. Pythagoras according to these people added to our knowledge by proving the idea rather than discovering it. Despite what some people think, Pythagoras also made major contributions to other fields such as Astronomy and String Theory in Music. He found that when you add lengths to strings by whole numbers, it produced a different harmonious tone, which he applied to other instruments.

Pythagoras is the center person writing.

Pythagoras had a philosophical and religious school in Croton, in which he had many followers. The followers were called Pythagoreans. They lived by the rule of 1+2+3+4 = 10 (which is also known as the rule of ten), and they were all vegetarians. Another idea (or rule) they believed in was rebirth. This means that one dies and then is reborn again and again, until the spirit and soul are purified

A Profile of the Aging Pythagoras

Pythagoras is my hero because of his contributions to math and music, especially his work with numbers and his discovery of harmonious string lengths. His many contributions are in continuous use by scientist and musicians and even by some who think about spiritual matters.