A closer look
It’s hard to command a cult without a flashy party trick, and Pythagoras apparently went literal with it. Ancient biographers reported that the famous mathematician possessed a shimmering, solid gold thigh. According to legend, he would dramatically hike up his robes at the Olympic Games or in front of skeptical priests to reveal the metallic appendage, proving he was the son of the god Apollo. Whether it was an early prosthetic, a piece of armor, or just an incredibly weird metaphor, it firmly secured his status as the ancient world's most eccentric math teacher.
