Buy a Pythagoreian Cup ,Shows Pythagoras! Pythagoras of Samos[a] (570-495 BC)was an ancient Greek philosopher and the eponymous founder of Pythagoreanism. His political and religious teachings were well known in Magna Graecia and influenced the philosophies of Plato, Aristotle, and, through them, Western philosophy. Knowledge of his life is clouded by legend, but he appears to have been the son of Mnesarchus, a gem-engraver on the island of Samos. A Pythagorean cup (also known as a Pythagoras cup, a Greedy Cup or a Tantalus cup) is a form of drinking cup which forces its user to imbibe only in moderation. Credited to Pythagoras cup, it allows the user to fill the cup with wine up to a certain level. If the user fills the cup only to that level, the imbiber may enjoy a drink in peace. If the imbiber exhibits gluttony, however, the cup spills its entire contents out the bottom (onto the lap of the immodest drinker).