the Egyptians, but it is likely that he was already acquainted with geometry from the teachings of Thales and Anaximander.” (www.kyes-world.com)Cambyses II, the king of Persia, invaded Egypt. Pythagoras was captured, and taken prisoner in Babylon. Soon after Pythagoras left Babylon and returned to Samos, but it is nowhere explained how Pythagoras gained his freedom. Polycrates had been killed, which may have been a factor in Pythagoras's return to Samos. Darius of Persia had taken control of Samos after Polycrates’s death and still controlled the island during Pythagoras's return. Pythagoras made a journey to Crete shortly after his return to Samos to study the system of laws there. After a short stay in Crete, Pythagoras found himself back in Samos. There he discovered a school called the semicircle. This was the site of his own philosophical teaching, spending most of the night and daytime there and doing research into the uses of mathematics. He tried to use his unique method of teaching, which was similar to the lessons he had learned in Egypt, but Samians were not very keen on this. Pythagoras saw that the Samians were not giving him the respect and credit he deserved, so he moved on Pythagoras left and founded a philosophical/religious school in Croton on the southern tip of Italy. His school practiced secrecy and communalism making it hard to tell the difference between the work of Pythagoras and work of his followers. Although it did made outstanding contributions to mathematics. Pythagoras gained many followers there, and became the head of a society with an inner circle of followers known as mathematikoi. The mathematikoi lived permanently with the Society, had no personal possessions and were vegetarians. “They weren’t acting as a mathematics research group does in a modern university. There were no ‘open- problems’ for them to solve, and they were not in any sense interested in trying to...
