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Pythagoras | |
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Mathematician; theologian | |
Gender: | Male |
Family: | Arcas : Brother |
Species: | Human |
Aliases: | The triangle guy |
Status: | Alive |
Appearances: | The Earth Bull A Girl By Any Other Name A Boy of No Consequence Twist of Fate White Lies The Song of the Sirens The Rules of Engagement The Furies Pandora's Box The Price of Hope Touched by the Gods Part 1 Touched by the Gods Part 2 A New Dawn Part 1 A New Dawn Part 2 Telemon The Marriage of True Minds The Day of the Dead The Grey Sisters |
Portrayed by: | Robert Emms |
- “I would have to say the probability of us dying seems extremely high.”
- ~ Pythagoras[src]
Pythagoras (Greek: Πυθαγόρας) is a young and brilliant mathematician and philosopher. He is one of the many interesting characters that Jason meets upon arriving in Atlantis. Pythagoras' wide-eyed innocence and awkward naivety belies his brilliant mind. However innocent and unwieldy of weaponary, Pythargoras is a crucial part of the trio, and could not be replaced.
Pythagoras is a legendary figure of myth in the futuristic "Other World", with Jason recognising him as the "triangle guy", going on to say that his theories and triangles are "destined to bore millions of children throughout history."
Biography[]
Early Life[]
In the time when Pythagoras lived in Samos, one night when Pythagoras' father was drunk, Pythagoras saw him hitting his mother. He tried to stop his father by pushing him away, but he accidentally fell and his father gashed his head, bleeding to death. Pythagoras kept this secret from his brother, Arcas, who admired their father. (The Furies)
Time in Atlantis[]
Pythagoras meets Jason when the other man is escaping the guards of Atlantis. He allows him to stay in his home to be protected. He tends to Jason's wounds from an arrow and advises him to speak with the Oracle to answer some questions.
He is sorry to hear that Jason's father had died, but tells him not to worry. Pythagoras explains to Jason that there is a curfew on the next night before the ceremony to choose stones. He persuades Hercules to stay in the house.
During the curfew, Pythagoras is awoken by Jason to hear that Hercules has left. They go to find Hercules but are confronted by hunting lions whilst trying to persuade him to stay in Atlantis.
The next day, in the ceremony, Pythagoras is unfortunate to choose a Black stone. He claims that he is not skilled in fighting except for his wisdom.
He is angered to hear that Jason has taken his place and he tries to persuade him not to as Jason is escorted away. As a new idea comes to mind, he and Hercules gather weapons in order to equip Jason at the mouth of the Labyrinth. There, they transfer the weapons, but are captured in the process.
Pythagoras is frightened, entering the Labyrinth and when Jason splits from the group of tributes to find the Minotaur himself, he runs when the creature attacks them. He falls and hits his head on the ground. He is reunited with Jason who tells him to head back to the entrance.
After Jason defeats the Minotaur, back at the city of Atlantis, Pythagoras and his friends are rewarded for their success by King Minos and Queen Pasiphae. As they leave the palace, Pythagoras doesn't believe that Hercules will be a name to father a legend. (The Earth Bull)
Pythagoras agrees to help Itheus when he comes for their help to find his daughter Demetria. Whilst at first he is reluctant to dare enter the Forest of Nysa, he is keen to help in any way possible. When Jason returns from his trip with Celandine, he is surprised to hear the story about her death and examines the poison. He identifies it as hemlock and the mark on the side of the bottle as a symbol of the god Dionysus.
Travelling through the forest, they decide to rest next to a fire. As Hercules is guarding for the night, Pythagoras feels he could sleep through. However, when he awakes the next morning, he is afraid to discover that Hercules had disappeared. He feels relief when Hercules appeared through the undergrowth.
At the Temple of Dionysus, Pythagoras and Hercules are put in a cell. Unable to hold back his fright at being trapped for a while, Pythagoras tries pulling strength from Hercules' confidence, but is saved anyway, and all he feels is embarrassment.
They quickly escape with a tag along - Medusa - who helped them find Demetria in the temple. Escaping the temple itself, Pythagoras finds running through the forest a hard task and is hit a few times by trees. He witnesses the death of the Maenads leader, Anysia by Medusa and then he safely returns home. (A Girl By Any Other Name)
Pythagoras is sent to the Bull Court by King Minos thanks to Jason's rash decision to confront Heptarian. Whilst making himself at home there, he quickly realises that he and his friends are doomed. In particular, he knows that he would not really be able to face the Bull when it comes to it. However, thanks to the cooperation of his new friends, Elpis, Cyrus and Shabaka, as well as Jason's courage and ability, he is able to feel more confident.
A plot against Jason is unveiled. Pythagoras agrees to help resolve it. He agrees also that allowing Hercules to speak to an ex-girlfriend of his, Sophia would help them stop Pasiphae from harming Jason during the event of bull-leaping.
During the event, Pythagoras is very frightened. But, with perseverance, he is able to jump the bull quite easily. He is successfully judged by Poseidon and allowed to live in the eyes of the King. At the end of the event, he has a brief chance to say goodbye to their new friends, who were about to return to their home villages. (A Boy of No Consequence)
While out hunting, Pythagoras and his friends find an abandoned baby in the Forest of Nysa. They take the baby home with them and try taking care of it. Like the others, Pythagoras struggles to look after the baby and is not very experienced in the field. Despite this, he manages to repair a broken piece of pottery found near the baby. He discoveres that it was a Clay pig, probably used by the baby, apparently nobility, as a toy.
When they find out that the royalty are looking for the baby, Pythagoras and his friends decide they need to escape to protect it. Thanks to the help of Medusa, they are allowed to escape and travel to the Sacred Way Tavern where they can hide the baby. But there Tiresias finds them. However, they realise that he has actually come with the mother, Jocasta, who wants to protect her baby from harm. Following the decision of his friends, Pythagoras is enrolled into helping them cross the desert to Zephlon in order to find a safe place for the baby. He names the child "Oedipus" before handing the baby over. (Twist of Fate)
During a competition with Dung beetles, Pythagoras learns that Hercules has gambled all his money away. He quickly becomes engrossed in the competition in order to win some wares back. He also becomes embroiled in protecting the small beetle, which Hercules had named Astrabacus. While helping Korinna and Jason bring Ariadne to Therus, he and Hercules are unfortunate to lose the beetle temporarily, but he is recovered. However, after returning to Atlantis, they discover the beetle is not as he used to be and lose the competition. They believe they had perhaps taken the wrong beetle. (White Lies)
When Hercules invokes a Colchean witch's (Circe's) magic to woo Medusa and it backfires rapidly, Pythagoras is the one to desperately try to nurse her back to health, to no avail. He accompanies Jason on his journey to confront Circe. In typical Pythagoras fashion, he comforts Jason when he is uncertain about his choices - Circe had asked him to kill Queen Pasiphae in exchange for his friends' lives. (The Song of the Sirens)
When Hercules manages to secure the trio a job carrying cargo through the desert to Helios, Pythagoras unexpectedly ends up taking his younger brother Arcas on for the journey. They travel amongst a mismatched group of people, one of whom a murderer (evident by his mark), which angeres Arcas. After the murder of his and Pythagoras' father, Arcas has remained bitter, and inadvertently, he invokes the Furies' wrath on his brother, who, unbeknown to Arcas, had actually murdered their father in their childhood in defence of their mother.
As the Furies can only be turned away from their victim if the person who called on them showed true forgiveness, the gang beg Arcas to forgive Pythagoras, and he does. He then decides to remain in Helios to begin a new life there, never to be seen again. (The Furies)
When the trio are asked to retrieve Pandora's Box from the Underworld to save Medusa's life and pay off one of Hercules' debts, Pythagoras is the one who has to stay behind in a very complex ritual. The other two would enter a state of near death so as to descend into Hades, and Pythagoras would stay conscious to wait for signs that they are ready to be woken up.
Only, he inadvertently sets the house on fire and knocks himself out in the process. Upon waking up, he realizes that the witnesses had taken Jason and Hercules for having died in the fire, because of their near non-existent pulse. So he has to race against time and find which corpse-burier in the city his friends had been taken to, lest they stay dead forever.
But the box is a dangerous artefact. Medusa accidentally opens it and gets cursed into a creature with serpents for hair who can turn people into stone. (Pandora's Box)
Later, Jason asks Pythagoras to try and find out if the scribbles on the box mean anything to help them lift Medusa's curse. He then takes the box to Daedalus, apparently a far more skilled and clever man than Pythagoras, by his own words, who discovers the only way to break the curse. (The Price of Hope)
In Hunger Pangs, the trio are shown to be so low on money that they're starving. So when Jason, hungry and jobless, seals and eats a piece of meat meant as an offering for the goddess Hecate, he ends up turning himself into a Kynikoi - a wolf-like creature. It's then up to Pythagoras and Hercules to figure out a way to undo the curse, which Pythagoras does.
Soon, Jason is reminded of his oath to Circe - killing her sister, Pasiphae. The trio start preparing a plan to sneak into the palace and take the Queen's life. Pythagoras comforts Jason again, saying he doesn't need to kill Pasiphae if it weighs on his conscience, but Jason couldn't bear failing his friends.
So they make their way into the palace, where Hercules and Pythagoras lower Jason from the roof with a rope. However, Jason can't bring himself to kill Pasiphae for yet unknown reasons. She wakes up and he flees, but the alarm is raised. Hercules convinces Pythagoras they'd be more useful to Jason alive and they flee, hoping Jason has escaped somehow, inadvertently leaving him stranded.
Jason hides in Princess Ariadne's rooms. When Pythagoras and Hercules return home and don't find him, they are in despair and spend the whole night worrying.
As dawn breaks, Ariadne helps Jason escape through a secret door and he returns to his friends. He reveals to them that he didn't kill Pasiphae. They try to come up with a plan of action, but Jason already has one - he sedates his friends so that he doesn't endanger them, and goes out to face and kill her alone.
Pythagoras and Hercules follow immediately after they've awoken, helping Jason fight the skeletons Circe called from the ground before she died.
However, back in the palace, Ariadne is discovered to have harboured the fugitive who made an attempt on the Queen's life. With King Minos being ill, Pasiphae rules Ariadne guilty of treason and sentences her to death.
In the second part of the episode, Jason wantys to turn himself in to prevent Ariadne being put in the Brazen Bull. Pythagoras stops, saying it would be futile, as Pasiphae hates Ariadne too much.
Therefore the trio plan to save the princess the night of her execution. They risk much as she would be heavily guarded, but Ramos comes to the house to offer them aid. With his help, they manage to set off an explosion on the cortyard and run off with the princess. In thew midst of it, they are separated - Jason and Ariadne, Hercules and Pythagoras, and Ramos, who receives a wound.
They all reunite at the town square, from where they must go into the sewers and head the forests at the end of the city and hide, becoming fugitives.
At the mouth of the sewer, Heptarian and his guard finally catch up, and ramos holds them off as everyone escapes, and finds his death there.
They steal through the streets of the city(Touched by the Gods)
As of the season 2 finale Pythagoras is shown to have a romantic relationship with Icarus.
Personality and Traits[]
It is clear Pythagoras is a thoughtful individual. He greets Jason with kindness and even helps him understand the City of Atlantis and its traditions. He also demands that he and Hercules help Jason by supplying him with weapons at the entrance to the Labyrinth. (The Earth Bull) His kindness continues when he agrees to help Itheus find his daughter. (A Girl By Any Other Name) He cares very tenderly (if a bit inadequately) for the baby who suddenly comes into their company. He even helps with the chores. (Twist of Fate)
He is particularly cautious, especially when it comes to making rash decisions. He especially is unsure about entering the Temple of Dionysus when his friends have already made their way to the entrance. (A Girl By Any Other Name) He is first to realise his and his friends' fate at the Bull Court. (A Boy of No Consequence) His forgetfulness is a part of this as he doesn't bring his sword with him on their journey to find Circe. (The Song of the Sirens)
Whilst he is intelligent, as with his mathematical skills and his love of triangles, at times he can allow his instinct to take over. (The Earth Bull) His thoughts also wander as with the Forest of Nysa, he is hit by a tree branch. (A Girl By Any Other Name) He works hard to find a cure for Medusa's condition and even creates a few remedies to stunt the infection. (The Song of the Sirens)
Aswell as Mathematics, Pythagerous is also knowledgeable on herbal and chemical matters (A Girl By Any Other Name, White Lies) and is good enough with Medicine to treat wounds (A Boy of No Consequence, The Song of the Sirens). Although he apparantly can't practice magic, he still knows enough about it to recognise its affects and some of its nature. (The Song of the Sirens, The Earth Bull)
Pythagoras believes in Jason as an individual of unique skills and is reluctant to leave him behind when taking the baby to Zephlon. (Twist of Fate) He also tries to defend Jason from mental harm when Hercules reveals that a Pankration will be held following the marriage of the one Jason loves. (The Rules of Engagement)
Pythagoras is also the person they turn to when they need an intellectual point of view or a study of something.
Abilities[]
- Intellect: Pythagoras is an undeniable genius, possessing knowledge and skills in a variety of fields from Mathmatics, to Chemistry and Herbology.
- Medicine: Pythagerous is also knowledgable in medicine, being able to treat and dress wounds. (A Boy of No Consequence, The Song of the Sirens, A New Dawn Part 1)
- Swordsmanship: Although initially lacking in combat skills, at some point Pythagoras learned a reasonable ammount about sword fighting, able to defend himself from several soldiers, however he is still the weakest fighter of the trio. (A New Dawn Part 1)
- Archery: Pythagoras also had some skill with a bow and arrow, killing a couple Colchean soldiers when he, Jason and Hercules joined the defense against the invasion of Atlantis, however he quickly switched to a sword. (A New Dawn Part 2)
Quotes[]
External links[]
Atlantis |
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Main Characters |
Ariadne • Hercules • Jason • Medusa • The Oracle • Pasiphae • Pythagoras |
Recurring Characters |
Dion • Heptarian • Korinna • Melas • King Minos • Ramos |
Other Characters |
Alytarch • Andreas • Biton • Critias • Daedalus • Dymas • Elias • Gallus • Harmon • Helena • Karpos • Lysis • Maia • Mikos • Palos • Sophia |
Locations |
Atlantis amphitheatre • Atlantis palace • Atlantis marketplace • Forest of Nysa • Hercules' Home • Labyrinth • Mountain farmstead • Northern Gate • Sacred Way Tavern • South Gate • Synas • Telapias Gate • Temple of Poseidon |
Creatures |
Dung beetle • Hunting Lion • Minotaur • Satyr • Two-headed Lizard • Cyclops • Stymphalian birds |