Pythagoras and His Contributions to the Math World Although Pythagoras was not the best known Greek mathematician, he made many contributions to the way we use math today. Pythagoras is credited with inventing the Pythagorean theorem. He also founded the Pythagorean brotherhood. Pythagoras also invented a lot of number patterns. Plato and Aristotle were influenced by Pythagoras's way of thinking. Also, he was a Greek religious leader who made huge developments in math that may have changed the math world. Pythagoras of Samos is often described as the first pure mathematician. He is an extremely important figure in the development of modern mathematics yet we know relatively few facts of his life. We are not exactly sure of his birth and death date. Pythagoras was born in about 569 BC in Samos, Ionia. He died in about 475 BC but his death place is not known. Little is known of Pythagoras's childhood. All accounts of his physical appearance seem to be false except the description of a birthmark which he had on his thigh. Pythagoras's father was Mnesarchus who was a merchant from Tyre. There is a story told that Mnesarchus brought corn to Samos at a time of famine and was granted citizenship of Samos as a mark of gratitude. Pythagoras's mother was Pythais and she was a native of Samos. Pythagoras took many trips in his life. His first came when he was only a child. He visited Italy with his father. In about 535 BC Pythagoras went to Egypt. This happened a few years after the Tyrant Polycrates seized control of Samos. There is evidence to suggest that Pythagoras and Polycrates were friends at first but when Polycrates abandoned his alliance with Egypt and attacked it, their friendship abruptly ended. Soon after Polycrates death, Pythagoras returned to Samos. Pythagoras invented many theorems. Probably his most popular theorem is the Pythagorean Theorem. This is used for a right angled triangle. This theorem enables you to find the lengt...
