Archytas of Tarentum: Pythagorean, Philosopher and Mathematician King

Archytas of Tarentum was a central figure in fourth-century Greek life and thought and the last great philosopher in the early Pythagorean tradition. He solved a famous mathematical puzzle, saved Plato from the tyrant of Syracuse, led a powerful Greek city state, and was the subject of three books by Aristotle. This first extensive study of Archytas' work in any language presents a radically new interpretation of his significance for fourth-century Greek thought and his relationship to Plato, as well as a full commentary on all the fragments and testimonia.

Carl A. Huffman is Professor of Classics at DePauw University. He is the author of Philolaus of Croton: Pythagorean and Presocratic (052141525X) and contributor to The Cambridge Companion to Early Greek Philosophy (ed. A. A. Long) (0521446678).