Theano

Bust of Theano who lived in the 6th century BC.

Traveling far back in time to 520 BC, we find ourselves among the great thinker Theano of Crotone. It is believed that Theano was the wife of Pythagoras (although this is debated as other sources believe she was the wife of Brontinus) and was both his student and his collaborator. In addition to working on astronomy and mathematics, Theano dabbled in such sciences as physics, medicine, and child psychology. After Pythagoras died, Theano took over as head of the Pythagorean Community and spread its philosophy throughout Greece and Egypt. The Pythagorean Community made a variety of significant contributions to the field of mathematics including work on the theorem of the Golden Mean and the Golden Rectangle. However, little is known about the extent to which Theano herself contributed to the fields of mathematics and astronomy as few writings from her time remain today.