Hypatia Of Alexandria Essay

Hypatia of Alexandria, a renowned scholar and philosopher of the ancient world, holds a significant place in history as a historical figure because of her knowledge, resilience and fight for intellectual freedom as a woman in fourth century Alexandria, Egypt. Over the course of her life (350-370 to 415 CE) she made many remarkable achievements in the fields of mathematics, science, astronomy and neoplatonism, creating a positive transformative impact on the gender stereotypes of the time, and gained a remembered legacy through her unique beliefs on religion. Despite the limited evidence historians have about Hypatia and her achievements, through to the present day, the extent of which her impacts have changed and developed humanity have been

Ever since a young age, her father Theon, a Greek scholar and member of the famous museum in Alexandria enforced the qualities of a “perfect human being” upon her, and educated her in the likes of art, literature, philosophy, science, mathematics, physical activity and speech. Education that was typically unavailable to women and education that provided a foundation for her future achievements. From around 380-400 CE, Hypatia began to become a prominent mathematics, science, astronomy and philosophy teacher at the University of Alexandria who expanded upon the works of her predecessors, refining mathematical concepts, developing new theories, writing commentaries/textbooks and even creating new inventions. Throughout her career, she authored several treatises on algebra, number theory, and geometry, and insightfully contributed to commentaries on various works which were highly regarded in her time. As Hypatia was such a popular, powerful teacher, drawing loyal crowds from far and wide, there were numerous opportunities for her to work with her students. In 385 CE, she grew a close bond with one of her students, Synesius, a wealthy bishop of a nearby area,

The brutal murder of Hypatia in March of 415 CE at the hands of a Christian Zealot mob led by Peter the Lector aligned with opposing religious and political beliefs exemplified the power of her ideas and the threat they supposedly posed to those in power. Within this period of time, between around 395 CE and right up until her death there were high political and religious tensions across Alexandria and the overall Roman Empire. In Alexandria, there was mass back and forth conflict between the Christians, Jews and Pagans, and between Governor Orestes and Bishop Cyril causing the spread of rumours, riots and the destruction of temples, statues, art works and libraries. Within this mess of a society, stood Hypatia. A targeted, defenceless threat supporting Cyril as she was heavily involved with paganism and non christian philosophy, neoplatonism (principle-monism involved with unity of the one and connecting with underlying reality), being the leader of Alexandria’s Neoplatonic school. Along with the numerous beliefs that she was the solution for “solving” the problem this was the main reason for her unfortunate, harsh death outside of one of her numerous public lectures. Around 25 years after Hypatia’s murder and the decline of both