Pythagoras
A celebrated philosopher born at Samos. He first made himself known in Greece at the Olympic games, where, when he was eighteen years old, he obtained the prize for wrestling. He also distinguished himself by his discoveries in geometry, astronomy, and mathematics. He was the first who supported the doctrine of metempsychosis, or transmigration of the soul into different bodies. He believed that the universe was created from a shapeless mass of passive matter by the hands of a powerful Being, who was the mover and soul of the world, and of whose substance the souls of mankind were a portion.
The time and place of death of this great philosopher are unknown, but some suppose that he died at Metapontum about 497 years before Christ.