Pythagoras was specifically known for accumulating the wisdom of diverse cultures—supposedly he met Thales, was initiated as Egyptian priest in Hermopolis, spent time in Babylon after being captured, and was initiated into every mystery cult he could. And as a boy on his home island of Samos, he would have been exposed to the building of the largest stone temple in Ancient Greece (to Hera) and the incredible engineering feat of the tunnel of Eupalinos.

Iamblichus’s “life of Pythagoras” [1] is worth a read as he had access to all the old sources now lost. The relationship between math and spirituality was very strong back then!

There are lots of fun stories that may be true but no one will ever know. In Diogenes Laertius’ “Lives of the Philosophers,” it is claimed that when Pythagoras made his discovery of what we call the Pythagorean theorem, he sacrificed 100 oxen (a hecatomb) [1]. As noted by Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carrol), “that would produce an inconvenient supply of meat” [3], especially for a vegetarian. Iamblichus, on the other hand, claims it was a single ox — and made of flour!

[1] Guthrie, K. S., & Fideler, D. R. (Eds.). (1987). The Pythagorean sourcebook and library: an anthology of ancient writings which relate to Pythagoras and Pythagorean philosophy. Red Wheel/Weiser.

[2] “he sacrificed a hecatomb, when he had discovered that the square of the hypotenuse of a right-angled triangle was equal to the squares of the sides containing the right angle.” DL, found in [1]

[3] Maor, E. (2019). The Pythagorean theorem: a 4,000-year history. Princeton University Press.