Eurytus (; grc-gre, Εὔρυτος; fl. 400 BC) was an eminent

Pythagorean Pythagorean, meaning of or pertaining to the ancient Ionian mathematician, philosopher, and music theorist Pythagoras, may refer to: Philosophy * Pythagoreanism, the esoteric and metaphysical beliefs purported to have been held by Pythagoras * Ne ...

philosopher who

Iamblichus Iamblichus (; grc-gre, Ἰάμβλιχος ; Aramaic: 𐡉𐡌𐡋𐡊𐡅 ''Yamlīḵū''; ) was a Syrian neoplatonic philosopher of Arabic origin. He determined a direction later taken by neoplatonism. Iamblichus was also the biographer of ...

in one passage describes as a native of Croton, while in another, he enumerates him among the Tarentine Pythagoreans.

Biography

Eurytus was a disciple of

Philolaus Philolaus (; grc, Φιλόλαος, ''Philólaos''; ) was a Greek Pythagorean and pre-Socratic philosopher. He was born in a Greek colony in Italy and migrated to Greece. Philolaus has been called one of three most prominent figures in the Pytha ...

, and

Diogenes Laërtius Diogenes Laërtius ( ; grc-gre, Διογένης Λαέρτιος, ; ) was a biographer of the Ancient Greece, Greek philosophers. Nothing is definitively known about his life, but his surviving ''Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers'' is a ...

mentions him among the teachers of

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

, though this statement is very doubtful. It is uncertain whether Eurytus was the author of any work, unless we suppose that the fragment in

Stobaeus Joannes Stobaeus (; grc-gre, Ἰωάννης ὁ Στοβαῖος; fl. 5th-century AD), from Stobi in Macedonia, was the compiler of a valuable series of extracts from Greek authors. The work was originally divided into two volumes containin ...

, which is there ascribed to one Eurytus, belongs to this Eurytus. Through a dubious commentary to

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...

's ''

Metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...

'' a caricatural image of Eurytus has gained wide currency. A mediaeval writer confused with

Alexander of Aphrodisias Alexander of Aphrodisias ( grc-gre, Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ Ἀφροδισιεύς, translit=Alexandros ho Aphrodisieus; AD) was a Peripatetic school, Peripatetic philosopher and the most celebrated of the Ancient Greek Commentaries on Aristo ...

presented Eurytos as a kind of mosaic-setter who delineated various shapes with some definite number of pebbles.

Reviel Netz Reviel Netz (born January 2, 1968) is an Israeli scholar of the history of pre-modern mathematics, who is currently a professor of classics and of philosophy at Stanford University. Life and work Netz was born January 2, 1968, in Tel Aviv, ...

,''The problem of Pythagorean mathematics'' in ''A History of Pythagoreanism'', ed C. Huffman, Cambridge UP, 2014: " Pseudo-Alexander, writing not earlier than late antiquity and probably in Byzantium, tried to imagine Eurytus’ procedure; he ended up with Eurytus the mosaicist...(p.175)"

forcefully commented that "pseudo-Alexander’s picture of Eurytus the mosaicist is a non-starter for it is evidently idiotic"and he noted that "while

Theophrastus Theophrastus (; grc-gre, Θεόφραστος ; c. 371c. 287 BC), a Greek philosopher and the successor to Aristotle in the Peripatetic school. He was a native of Eresos in Lesbos.Gavin Hardy and Laurence Totelin, ''Ancient Botany'', Routledge ...

and Aristotle both consider Eurytus’ results patently false, nothing suggests they consider his procedure silly". Taking in account specific mathematical usage he suggested an emended translation of the original passage from Aristotle's work (Metaphysics 1092b9-13): According to the historian's from the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', ''Philolaus'' and ''Eurytus'' are identified by

Aristoxenus Aristoxenus of Tarentum ( el, Ἀριστόξενος ὁ Ταραντῖνος; born 375, fl. 335 BC) was a Greek Peripatetic philosopher, and a pupil of Aristotle. Most of his writings, which dealt with philosophy, ethics and music, have been ...

as teachers of the last generation of

Pythagoreans Pythagoreanism originated in the 6th century BC, based on and around the teachings and beliefs held by Pythagoras and his followers, the Pythagoreans. Pythagoras established the first Pythagorean community in the ancient Greek colony of Kroton, ...

(D. L. VIII 46).'' An

Echecrates In ancient Greece, Echecrates ( el, Ἐχεκράτης) was the name of the following men: *Echecrates of Thessaly, a military officer of Ptolemy IV Philopator, documented around 219–217 BC. *A son of Demetrius the Fair (c. 285–250 BC) by Olymp ...

is mentioned by ''Aristoxenus'' as a student of ''

'' and ''Eurytus''. (p. 166)

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Eurytus Ancient Greek metaphysicians Pythagoreans of Magna Graecia Ancient Crotonians 4th-century BC philosophers 4th-century BC deaths Year of birth unknown Pythagoreans