Scottish Country Dance of the Day

Pythagoras was born around 570 BC on the Greek island of Samos, but spent much of his life travelling before eventually settling at Croton in southern Italy. There he founded a community devoted to philosophy, mathematics, music and the study of the natural world. His followers became known as the Pythagoreans—and they believed that numbers and mathematical relationships lay behind the order of the universe.

Although his name is forever attached to the famous theorem about right-angled triangles, Pythagoras was equally fascinated by music. He and his followers explored the numerical relationships behind musical intervals, observing that pleasing harmonies could be produced by simple ratios. For dancers, that makes Pythagoras unexpectedly appropriate company: number, pattern, music and movement were all part of the ordered world that fascinated him.

The Pythagoreans were also a rather mysterious lot. Their community followed strict rules, kept some teachings secret, and surrounded their founder with so much legend that it is now difficult to separate the historical Pythagoras from the mythical one. Ancient writers credited him with everything from remembering his previous lives to understanding the language of animals!

Pythagoras probably died around 495 BC, but his name has survived for more than 2,500 years. For more about fascinating math days using calendar dates, click the Pythagorean theorem representation!