34. Backlash Against a Math ISIS
Like most cults, that of Pythagoras and his followers ended up alarming the rest of the community in which they dwelt. At first, the people of Croton, where Pythagoras lived with his followers, put up with the math weirdos in their midst. Then the Pythagoreans stepped over the line. Overestimating their power – and the appeal of their beliefs – they made a bid for power, and tried to compel ordinary citizens into adopting the Pythagorean lifestyle. It did not end well for Pythagoras and his adherents.
Morphing into an Ancient Greek math ISIS or Boko Haram, the Pythagoreans tried to prevent the people of Croton from eating beans, and directed that at all costs, they must abstain from eating meat. The good people of Croton reacted violently, and it ended in general persecution of Pythagoreans. By the time the dust had settled, many of the cultists had been killed, while the rest were forced to flee. The survivors attempted to regroup and carry on elsewhere, but they never again achieved as much prominence or power as they had secured in Croton, and the cult soon faded away.