It was stated in the book Lives of Eminent Philosophers by Diogenes Laertius that Pythagoras claimed he had embodied five times before his final life.

Given that he spent about twenty years of his life in Egypt, during which he followed the thought and creeds reached by Egypt's sages, physicians, and philosophers, many have leaned toward the belief that he received all his doctrines from Egypt—especially the doctrine of transmigration. To prove his reincarnation, Pythagoras said the following: in one of his embodiments, he was one of the heroes of Troy named Euphorbus, and he recognized in a museum of weapons the shield he used to wear during the siege. He also heard the howling of a dog being beaten and saved it from the beating because he recognized in it the voice of a deceased person.

It is related of him that when he first entered Egypt and saw tablets written in Hieroglyphics, he began to read them fluently as if he had been among those who wrote them, though he had no prior knowledge of Hieroglyphics.