Pythagoras

"You can't go until you've cleaned this place!" This article is in need of cleaning/updating. Help Atlantis Wiki improve this article.

Pythagoras
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

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.

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 hunts with a knife.

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 agreed to help Itheus when he came for their help to find his daughter Demetria. Whilst at first he was reluctant to dare enter the Forest of Nysa, he was keen to help in any way possible. When Jason returned from his trip with Celandine, he was surprised to hear the story about her death and examined the poison. He identified it as hemlock and that the mark on the side of the bottle was a symbol of the god, Dionysus.

Travelling through the forest, they decided to rest next to a fire. As Hercules was guarding for the night, Pythagoras felt he could sleep through. However, when he awoke the next morning, he was afraid to discover that Hercules had disappeared. He felt relief when Hercules appeared through the undergrowth.

At the Temple of Dionysus, Pythagoras and Hercules were put in a cell. Unable to hold back his fright at being trapped for a while, Pythagoras tried pulling strength from Hercules' confidence, but was saved anyway, and all he felt was embarassment.

Pythagoras jumping a bull.

They quickly escaped with a tag along - Medusa - who helped them find Demetria in the temple. Escaping the temple itself, Pythagoras found running through the forest a hard task and he was hit a few times by trees. He witnessed the death of the Maenads leader, Anysia by Medusa and then he safely returned home. (A Girl By Any Other Name)

Pythagoras was 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 realised that he and his friends were doomed. In particular, he knew that he would not really be able to face the Bull when it came to it. However, thanks to the co-opoeration of his new friends, Elpis, Cyrus and Shabaka, he was able to feel more confident.

A plot was unveiled against Jason to which Pythagoras agreed to help resolve. He agreed 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 was very frightened. But, with perseverance, he was able to jump the bull quite easily. He was successfully judged by Poseidon and allowed to live in the eyes of the King. At the end of the event, he had 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 found an abandoned baby in the Forest of Nysa. They took the baby home with them and tried taking care of it. Like the others, Pythagoras struggled to look after the baby and was not very experienced in the field. Despite this, he managed to repair a broken piece of pottery found near the baby. He discovered that it was a Clay pig, probably used by the baby as a toy.

When they found out that the royalty were looking for the baby, Pythagoras and his friends decided they needed to escape. Thanks to the help of Medusa, they were allowed to escape and travel to the Sacred Way Tavern where they could hide the baby. But it was here that Tiresias found them. However, they realised that he had actually come with the mother, Jocasta, who wanted to protect her baby from harm. Following the decision of his friends, Pythagoras was enrolled into helping them cross the desert to Zephlon in order to find a safe place for the baby. He named the child "Oedipus" before handing the baby over. (Twist of Fate)

Pythagoras celebrates Astrabacus' victory.

During a competition with Dung beetles, Pythagoras learnt that Hercules had gambled all his money away. He quickly became engrossed in the competition in order to win some wares back. He also became embroiled in protecting the small beetle, which Hercules had named Astrabacus. While helping Korinna and Jason bring Ariadne to Therus, he and Hercules were unhfortunate to lost the beetle temporarily, but he was recovered. However, after returning to Atlantis, they discovered the beetle was not as he used to be and lost the competition. They believed they had perhaps taken the wrong beetle. (White Lies)

When Hercules invoked a Colchean witch's (Circe's) magic to woo Medusa and it backfired rapidly, Pythagoras was the one to desperately try to nurse her back to health, to no avail. He accompanied Jason on his journey to confront Circe. In typical Pythagoras fashion, he comforted Jason when he was 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 managed to secure the trio a job carrying cargo through the desert to Helios, Pythagoras unexpectedly ended up taking his younger brother Arcas on for the journey. They travelled amongst a mismatched group of people, one of whom a murderer (evident by his mark), which angered Arcas. After the murder of his and Pythagoras' father, Arcas had remained bitter, and inadvertedly, he invoked the Furies' wrath on his brother, who, unbeknown to Arcas, had 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 forgivness, the gang begged Arcas to forgive Pythagoras, and he did. He thendecided to remain in Helios to begin a new life there, never to be seen again. (The Furies)

When the trio are asked to retrive Pandora's box from the Underworld to save Medusa's life and pay off one of Hercules' debts, Pythagoras was the one who had 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 concsious to wait for signs that they are ready to be woken up.

Only, he inadvertedly set the house on fire and knocked himself out in the process. Upon waking up, he realized the witnesses had taken Jason and Hercules for having died in the fire, because of their near non-existent pulse. So he had to race against time and find which corpse-burier in the city his friends had been taken to, lest they stay dead forever. (Pandora's Box)

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 discovers a Thyrsus.

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

Jason: "You're the triangle guy!"

Pythagorus: "How did you know I've been thinking about triangles?"

— Jason and Pythagoras just after Pythagorus introduces himself.

Pythagoras: "But I don't know if I can even grow a beard!"

Hercules: "Well then you're on your own Pythagoras."

— Hercules talking to Pythagoras and Jason about how they should create new identities.

External links

• Pythagoras's profile on the BBC Atlantis website