In this episode, Greg Jenner is joined by Professor Edith Hall and comedian Desiree Burch to learn about ancient Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras. Pythagoras is famous in maths classes everywhere for his triangle theorem, but surprisingly little is known about his actual life, and his theorem was actually invented by Babylonian mathematicians centuries before he was born! This episode explores the myths and legends that grew up in the ancient world about Pythagoras’s life in the centuries after his death.

This is a radio edit of the original podcast episode. For the full-length version, please look further back in the feed.

Research by: Josh Rice