Some of the magical acts attributed to him include:

• Being seen at the same hour in two cities.
• A white eagle permitting him to stroke it.
• A river greeting him with the words "Hail, Pythagoras!"
• Predicting that a dead man would be found on a ship entering a harbor.
• Predicting the appearance of a white bear and declaring it was dead before the messenger reached him bearing the news.
• Biting a venomous snake to death (or in some versions driving a snake out from a village).

These stories also hint at Pythagoras being one of these "divine man" figures, theios aner, his ability to control animals and to transcend space and time showing he has been touched by the gods.