# Pythagoras — The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers character guide

> Pythagoras in The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers by Diogenes Laërtius.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** wise Pythagoras, Pherecydes of Pythagoras

**First appearance:** 0072-pythagoras

## Snapshot

The sage who heard music in a blacksmith's hammer, sacrificed a hundred oxen over a triangle, and forbade his followers to eat beans or flesh.

## Who they are

Pythagoras founded the Italian school that turned philosophy into a way of life, drawing disciples into a brotherhood bound by silence, ritual, and the belief that souls migrate through bodies. He carried geometry to perfection, discovered the numerical ratios of musical harmony, and was so revered that his friends treated his every saying as the oracle of a god. Yet this same man who banned animal sacrifice for the sake of purity was mocked for his taboos and remembered for a hecatomb of oxen slain over a theorem, a contradiction that makes him the most enigmatic figure in Diogenes Laërtius's gallery.

## Relationships

### [Parmenides](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se/characters/parmenides)

_social_

Parmenides was influenced by Pythagorean thought, though he developed his own monistic philosophy.

### [Parmenides](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se/characters/parmenides)

_social_

Parmenides was influenced by Pythagorean thought, though he developed his own monistic philosophy.

## In the story

### [The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se/chapters/the-lives-and-opinions-of-eminent-philosophers)

Founder of the Italian school, emphasized mathematics and the immortality of the soul.

### [Pherecydes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se/chapters/pherecydes)

Mentioned as a pupil of Pherecydes and as the one who buried him in Delos according to Aristoxenus. Also referenced in the epigram by Ion of Chios.

### [Anaximenes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se/chapters/anaximenes)

Recipient of two letters from Anaximenes; praised for migrating to Crotona.

### [Book VIII: The Pythagorean and Promiscuous Philosophers](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se/chapters/book-viii)

Referenced as a teacher of Empedocles and as the founder of the Pythagorean school which Empedocles later made public.

### [Pythagoras](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se/chapters/pythagoras)

Central figure of the chapter; his life, teachings, and transmigration beliefs are detailed.

### [Empedocles](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se/chapters/empedocles)

Empedocles is said to have been a pupil of Pythagoras and later divulged his doctrines.

### [Epicharmus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se/chapters/epicharmus)

Mentioned as the teacher of Epicharmus.

### [Alcmaeon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se/chapters/alcmaeon)

Mentioned as the teacher of Alcmaeon.

### [Hippasus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se/chapters/hippasus)

Mentioned as the teacher of Hippasus.

### [Philolaus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se/chapters/philolaus)

Philolaus was a pupil of Pythagoras.

### [Xenophanes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se/chapters/xenophanes)

Xenophanes attacked the opinions of Pythagoras.

### [Endnotes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se/chapters/endnotes)

Mentioned in relation to Zoroaster's chronology and as a possible teacher of Charondas.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se/characters/pythagoras
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se/characters