Pythagoras, an important philosopher, mathematician and music theorist, was born on the island of Samos, probably in 585 BC. He studied with the philosopher Pherecydes in Syros and with Thales and Anaximander in Miletus, and travelled widely, including to Egypt, where he lived for more than twenty years, and Babylonia. Pythagoras eventually settled in Croton in southern Italy, where he founded his school.
His teachings have come down to us thanks to his hundreds of pupils since Pythagoras himself left no written work.