Biographical Sketches

Sixth century B.C.

Greek Anatomist, Physician, and Philosopher

Alcmaeon is generally described as a pupil of Pythagoras (580?-500? B.C.), a member of the Pythagorean community, and a physician with a special interest in biological questions. However, very little is actually known about the life, work, and writings of Alcmaeon. Many of the discoveries attributed to him have been disputed by various scholars. Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) wrote a treatise entitled Against Alcmaeon, but only fragments of this text have survived. Alcmaeon of Croton (now Crotona) in southern Italy, the son of Perithous, was, according to Aristotle, a young man in the old age of Pythagoras. Most later writers assumed that Alcmaeon was a Pythagorean, but Aristotle did not specifically say that he was a member of that community. However, Aristotle suggested that either Alcmaeon derived his theory of opposites from the Pythagoreans or they...