Theano c. 546 BC – c. 470 BC

Theano of Croton was a Greek Pythagorean philosopher of the late sixth and early fifth century BC and one of the earliest women in the Western philosophical tradition. According to different ancient reports she was the wife or the pupil of Pythagoras and the mother of Damo, Telauges, Myia, and Arignote, all of them credited as Pythagoreans in their own right. A small body of writings on numbers, virtue, moderation, and family life circulated under her name in antiquity, including a series of letters of practical philosophical counsel. She has remained a touchstone for the recovery of the history of women in philosophy.