Hypatia

For other uses, see Hypatia (disambiguation).

patias death, and no other philosopher of that name

contemporary with Hypatia is known.[20] The Suda also
stated that she remained a virgin" and that she rejected a suitor with her menstrual rags, saying that they
demonstrated that there is nothing beautiful about carnal desirean example of a Christian source using Hypatia as a symbol of Virtue.[14][21][22]

Hypatia (/hapei/ hy-PAY-sh(ee) or /hapti/ hyPAT-ee-;[2] Greek: Hypata) (born c. AD 350

370; died 415[1][3] ) was a Greek mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher in Egypt, then a part of the
Byzantine Empire.[4] She was the head of the Neoplatonic
school at Alexandria, where she taught philosophy and
astronomy.[5][6][7][8]

2 Death

According to contemporary sources, Hypatia was murdered by a Christian mob after being accused of exacerbating a conict between two prominent gures in
Alexandria: the governor Orestes and the Bishop of
Alexandria.[9]

Life

The mathematician and philosopher Hypatia of Alexandria was the daughter of the mathematician Theon
Alexandricus (c. 335 c. 405).[10] She was educated
at Athens. Around AD 400, she became head of the Platonist school at Alexandria,[11][12][13] where she imparted
the knowledge of Plato and Aristotle to students, includDeath of the philosopher Hypatia, in Alexandria from Vies des
ing pagans, Christians, and foreigners.[4][14][15]
savants illustres, depuis l'antiquit jusqu'au dix-neuvime sicle,
1866, by Louis Figuier.

Although contemporary 5th-century sources identify Hypatia of Alexandria as a practitioner and teacher of the
philosophy of Plato and Plotinus, two hundred years later,
the 7th-century Egyptian Coptic bishop John of Niki
identied her as a Hellenistic pagan and that she was devoted at all times to magic, astrolabes and instruments of
music, and she beguiled many people through her Satanic
wiles.[16][17] However, not all Christians were as hostile
towards her: some Christians even used Hypatia as symbolic of Virtue.[4] The contemporary Christian historiographer Socrates Scholasticus described her in Ecclesiastical History:

Two widely cited but divergent texts describe the feud

between Orestes, the prefect (or Governor) of Alexandria and Cyril, the Bishop of Alexandria. The feud and
the city-wide anger it provoked ultimately brought about
the death of Hypatia. Kathleen Wider proposes that the
murder of Hypatia marked the end of Classical antiquity,[23] and Stephen Greenblatt observes that her murder eectively marked the downfall of Alexandrian intellectual life.[24] On the other hand, Christian Wildberg
notes that Hellenistic philosophy continued to ourish in
Hypatia corresponded with former pupil Synesius of the 5th and 6th centuries, and perhaps until the age of
Cyrene, who was tutored by her in the philosophi- Justinian.[25]
cal school of Platonism and later became bishop of
Ptolemais in AD 410, an exponent of the Christian
Holy Trinity doctrine.[18] Together with the references 2.1 Scholasticus account
by the pagan philosopher Damascius, these are the extant records left by Hypatias pupils at the Platonist school One source, the Historia Ecclesiastica (or Ecclesiastical
of Alexandria.[19] The Byzantine Suda encyclopaedia re- History), was written by Socrates Scholasticus (who was
ported that Hypatia was the wife of Isidore the Philoso- himself a Christian), some time shortly after Hypatias
pher (apparently Isidore of Alexandria);[14] however, death in AD 415. Scholasticus gives the more complete,
Isidore of Alexandria was not born until long after Hy- less biased account of the feud between Orestes and Cyril
1

DEATH

and of the role Hypatia played in the feud that resulted in cluding attempted mediation and, when that failed, in an
her death.
appeal to Orestess allegiances as a Christian Roman,[28]
The other source, The Chronicle,[26] written by John of showing the Gospels to him. Nevertheless, Orestes reNikiu in Egypt around 650 AD, demonizes Hypatia and mained unmoved by such gestures.
Orestes directly, while validating all Christians involved
in the events Nikiu describes. The Chronicle is more biased on the matter of the historical feud, omitting several
points of the narrative that are included in Scholasticuss
account.[27]
Orestes, the Roman governor of Alexandria, and Cyril,
the Bishop of Alexandria, were involved in a bitter feud
in which Hypatia became one of the main points of contention. In 415 AD, the feud began over Jewish dancing exhibitions in Alexandria. Because the exhibitions
attracted large crowds and were commonly prone to civil
disorder of varying degrees, Orestes published an edict
that outlined new regulations for such gatherings. When
crowds gathered to read the edict shortly after it was
posted in the citys theater, it angered Christians as well as
Jews. At one such gathering, Hierax, a devout Christian
follower of Cyril, read the edict and applauded the new
regulations. Many people felt Hierax was attempting to
incite the crowd into sedition. Orestes reacted swiftly and
violently out of what Scholasticus suspected was jealousy [of] the growing power of the bishops[which] encroached on the jurisdiction of the authorities. He ordered Hierax to be seized and tortured publicly in the
theater.

Meanwhile, approximately 500 monks who resided in the

mountains of Nitria, and who were of a very ery disposition, heard of the ongoing feud between the Governor and Bishop and descended into Alexandria armed
and prepared to ght alongside Cyril. Upon their arrival,
the monks intercepted Orestess chariot and proceeded
to bombard and harass him, calling him a pagan idolater.
In response to such allegations, Orestes countered that he
was actually a Christian and had even been baptized by
Atticus, the Bishop of Constantinople. The monks paid
little attention to Orestess claims of Christianity, and one
of the monks, Ammonius, struck Orestes in the head with
a rock, causing him to bleed profusely. At this point, although Orestess guards ed in fear, a nearby crowd of
Alexandrians came to his aid. Ammonius was subsequently secured and ordered to be tortured for his actions.
He died of the torture.

Following the death of Ammonius, Cyril ordered that he

henceforth be remembered as a martyr. Such a proclamation did not sit well with sober-minded Christians,
as Scholasticus pointed out, seeing that he suered the
punishment due to his rashness he would not deny Christ".
This fact, according to Scholasticus, became apparent to
Cyril through general lack of enthusiasm for Ammoniuss
Hearing of Hieraxs severe and public punishment, Cyril case for martyrdom.
threatened to retaliate against the Jews of Alexandria with Scholasticus then introduces Hypatia, the female philosothe utmost severities if the harassment of Christians did pher of Alexandria and the woman who would become a
not cease immediately. In response to Cyrils threat, the target of the Christian anger that was inamed during the
Jews of Alexandria grew even more furious, eventually feud. Daughter of Theon, and a teacher trained in the
resorting to violence against the Christians. They plotted philosophical schools of Plato and Plotinus, she was adto ush the Christians out at night by running through the mired by most for her dignity and virtue. Of the anger she
streets claiming that the Church of Alexander was on re. provoked among Christians, Scholasticus writes, HypaWhen Christians responded to what they were led to be- tia ultimately fell victim to the political jealousy which
lieve was the burning down of their church, the Jews im- at the time prevailed. Orestes was known to seek her
mediately fell upon and slew them by using rings to rec- counsel, and a rumor spread among the Christian comognize one another in the dark and killing everyone else munity of Alexandria blaming her for Orestess unwillin sight. When the morning came, the Jews of Alexandria ingness to reconcile with Cyril. A mob of Christians
could not hide their guilt, and Cyril, along with many of gathered, led by a reader (i.e., a minor cleric) named Pehis followers, took to the citys synagogues in search of ter, whom Scholasticus calls a fanatic. They kidnapped
the perpetrators of the massacre.
Hypatia on her way home and took her to the Church
called Caesareum. They then completely stripped her,
After Cyril rounded up all the Jews in Alexandria, he ordered them to be stripped of all possessions, banished and then murdered her with tiles. Socrates Scholasticus
was hence interpreted as saying that, while she was still
them from Alexandria, and allowed their goods to be
pillaged by the remaining citizens of Alexandria. With alive, Hypatias esh was torn o using oyster shells (tiles;
the Greek word is ostrakois, which literally means with
Cyrils banishment of the Jews, Orestes [...] was lled
[29]
with great indignation at these transactions, and was ex- or by oystershells but the word was also used for brick
cessively grieved that a city of such magnitude should tiles on the roofs of houses and for pottery sherds). Afhave been suddenly bereft of so large a portion of its terward, the men proceeded to mutilate her and, nally,
population. Because of this, the feud between Cyril and burn her limbs. News of Hypatias murder provoked great
Orestes intensied, and both men wrote to the emperor public denouncement, not only against Cyril, but against
regarding the situation. Eventually, Cyril attempted to the whole Alexandrian Christian community. Scholastireach out to Orestes through several peace overtures, in- cus closes with a lament: Surely nothing can be farther
from the spirit of Christianity than the allowance of mas-

2.3

Comparison of the two accounts

sacres, ghts, and transactions of that sort.

2.2

The account given in the Chronicle of

John of Nikiu

3
the great church, named Caesarion, where they proceeded to rip the clothes o her body. Then they dragged
her through the streets of Alexandria until she died and
burned her remains. Nikius description of Hypatias
death also diers from that of Scholasticus. Following
the death of Hypatia, Bishop Cyril was named the new
Theophilus. With the death of Hypatia, Nikiu writes,
the Christians had expelled the last remnant of pagan
idolatry.

Bishop John of Nikiu, who lived several hundred years

after the events he describes, writes bitterly of Hypatia,
claiming that she beguiled many people through (her)
Satanic wiles.[30] Orestes, who Nikiu writes was himself a victim of Hypatias demonic charm, regularly hon2.3 Comparison of the two accounts
ored her and took to abandoning the Christian Church
in order to follow her teachings more closely. Moreover,
the Bishop claimed that Orestes himself persuaded oth3 Works
ers to leave the Church in favor of Hypatias philosophical
teachings and went as far as to host such unbelievers at
No written work widely recognized by scholars as Hypahis house.
tias own has survived to the present time. Many of the
One day, Orestes published an edict regarding public ex- works commonly attributed to her are believed to have
hibitions in the city of Alexandria and all citizens gath- been collaborative works with her father, Theon Alexanered to read the edict. Cyril, curious to see why the edict dricus. This kind of authorial uncertainty is typical for
caused such an uproar, sent Hierax, a Christian possess- female philosophers in antiquity.[32]
ing understanding and intelligence, who, although opposed to paganism, did as Cyril asked and went to learn A partial list of Hypatias works as mentioned by other
the nature of Orestess edict. Meanwhile, the Jews who antique and medieval authors or as posited by modern augathered in anger over the edict believed that Hierax had thors:
come only for the sake of provocation (which, according
A commentary on the 13-volume Arithmetica by
to Scholasticuss text, was Hieraxs intent). Upon this asDiophantus.[14]
sumption, Orestes had Hierax punished for a crime for
which he was wholly guiltless.
A commentary on the Conics of Apollonius.[14]
For the punishment and torture of Hierax, as well as the
Edited the existing version of Ptolemy's
death of several monks, including Ammonius, Cyril grew
Almagest.[33]
increasingly furious with Orestes. (Here, Nikiu blatantly
ignores the assault on Orestes by the 500 monks, in which
Edited her fathers commentary on Euclid's
Ammonius played an active role in bringing about his own
Elements.[34]
torture and death.) Cyril then warned the Jews against any
She wrote a text "The Astronomical Canon".[14]
further harm upon the Christians. However, with the sup(Either a new edition of Ptolemys Handy Taport of Orestes (which is in no way implied by Scholasbles or commentary on the aforementioned Alticus), the Jews felt condent in defying Cyrils authormagest.)[35][36][37]
ity, and so one night ran through the streets proclaiming:
The church of the apostolic Athanasius (Alexander) is on
re: come to its succour, all ye Christians. The Chris- Her contributions to science are reputed to include the
tians responded to the alarms only to be slaughtered by invention of the hydrometer,[38] used to determine the
the Jews in a coordinated ambush.
relative density (or specic gravity) of liquids. However,
invented before Hypatia, and already
The next morning, all remaining Christians of the town the hydrometer was[39][40]
known
in
her
time.
came to Cyril with news of the massacre, after which
Cyril marched with them to purge the Jews from Alexandria. In so doing, Cyril allowed the pillaging of their possessions, and soon after puried all the synagogues in the
city and made them into Churches (Scholasticus makes
no mention of purifying the Synagogues). In the expulsion of the Jews, Orestes was unable to oer them any
assistance.

Her student Synesius, bishop of Cyrene, wrote a letter describing his construction of an astrolabe.[41] Earlier astrolabes predate that of Synesius by at least a century,[42][43]
and Hypatias father had gained fame for his treatise on
the subject.[44] However, Synesius claimed that his was
an improved model.[45] Synesius also sent Hypatia a letter describing a hydrometer, and requesting her to have
[46]
Shortly thereafter, a group of Christians, under Peter the one constructed for him.
magistrate, went looking for Hypatia, the pagan woman
who had beguiled the people of the city and the prefect
through her enchantments. They found her sitting in 4 Legacy
a chair, at which point they seized and brought her to

4.1

Late Antiquity to the Age of Reason

LEGACY

Populace, in Defence of Saint Cyril and the Alexandrian

Clergy from the Aspersions of Mr. Toland, by Thomas
Lewis, in 1721.[54]

4.2 19th century

Hypatia, at the Haymarket Theatre, January 1893

Shortly after her murder, there appeared under Hypatias

name a forged anti-Christian letter.[47] The Neoplatonist
historian Damascius (c. 458 c. 538) was anxious to
exploit the scandal of Hypatias death, and attributed responsibility for her murder to Bishop Cyril and his Christian followers; that historical account is contained in the
Suda.[48] Damasciuss account of the Christian murder
of Hypatia is the sole historical source attributing direct
responsibility to Bishop Cyril.[49] Maria Dzielska proposes that the bishops body guards might have murdered Hypatia, by Charles William Mitchell (1885), believed to be
based on Charles Kingsleys 1853 novel where she is described
Hypatia.[50]
as an erotic heroine.

Some writers have theorized that the origin of the story

of Saint Catherine was based on Hypatia.[51]
In the 19th century, interest in the literary legend of Hy[55]
Diodata Saluzzo Roero's 1827
The intellectual Eudokia Makrembolitissa (10211096), patia began to rise.
Ipazia
ovvero
delle
Filosoe
suggested that Cyril had acthe second wife of Byzantine Emperor Constantine X
tually converted Hypatia to Christianity, and that she had
Doukas, was described by the historian Nicephorus Grebeen killed by a treacherous priest.
goras as a second Hypatia.[52]
Centuries later, the early 18th-century deist scholar John
Toland used the murder of Hypatia as the basis for the
anti-Catholic tract Hypatia: Or the History of a most
beautiful, most vertuous, most learned, and every way accomplish'd Lady; who was torn to pieces by the Clergy of
Alexandria, to gratify the pride, emulation, and cruelty of
their Archbishop, commonly, but undeservedly, stil'd St.
Cyril.[53]

In 1843, German authors Soldan and Heppe argued in

their highly inuential History of the Witchcraft Trials that
Hypatia may have been, in eect, the rst famous "witch"
punished under Christian authority (see Witch-hunt).[56]
In his 1847 Hypatie and 1857 Hypatie et Cyrille, French
poet Charles-Marie-Ren Leconte de Lisle portrayed Hypatia as the epitome of vulnerable truth and beauty.[57]

Charles Kingsley's 1853 novel Hypatia or New Foes with

In turn, the Christians defended themselves from Toland an Old Face, which portrayed the scholar as a helpless,
with The History of Hypatia, a most Impudent School- pretentious, and erotic heroine,[58] recounted her conMistress of Alexandria: Murder'd and torn to Pieces by the version by a Jewish-Christian named Raphael Aben-Ezra

4.3

20th century

Cameron's 1867 photograph Hypatia

An actress, possibly Mary Anderson, in the title role of the play

Hypatia, circa 1900.

after supposedly becoming disillusioned with Orestes.

In 1867, the early photographer Julia Margaret Cameron
created a portrait of the scholar as a young woman.[59]
On 2 January 1893, a stage play Hypatia, written by G.
Stuart Ogilvie, opened at the Haymarket Theatre in London. It was based on the novel by Charles Kingsley, and
was produced by Herbert Beerbohm Tree. The title role
was initially played by Julia Neilson, and it featured an
elaborate musical score written by the composer Hubert
Parry.[60][61]

4.3

20th century

Some authors mention her in passing, such as Marcel

Proust, who dropped her name in the last sentence of
Madame Swann at Home, the rst section of Within
a Budding Grove.
Some characters are named after her, such as Hypatia Cade, a precocious child and main character in the
science ction novel The Ship Who Searched by Mercedes
Lackey and Anne McCarey.

a secluded society of satyr-like creatures who all take

their name and philosophy from Hypatia.
A ctional version of the historic character appears in
several works and indeed series, such as
The Heirs of Alexandria series written by Mercedes
Lackey, Eric Flint and Dave Freer, is an alternate
history in which Hypatia was converted to Christianity by John Chrysostom, which saved her life
and enabled her to stop the mob from destroying the
Library of Alexandria, eventually resulting in her elevation to Sainthood. The books, taking place in
the world of 1530 resulting from the above, include
copies from the alternate Hypatias inuential correspondence with Chrysostom and St. Augustine, as
well as a monastic order, the Hypatian Siblings.
The Corto Maltese adventure Fable of Venice, by
characteristic superposition of anachronistic elements, sees Hypatia preside over an intellectual salon in pre-Fascist Italy;

As a recurring character in Mark London Williams's

Rinne Gro's 2000 play The Five Hysterical Girls Theojuvenile ction Danger Boy.
rem features a character named Hypatia who lives silently,
in fear that she will suer the fate of her namesake.
She also appears, briey, as one of the kidnapped scienHypatia is the name of a 'shipmind' (ship computer) in tists and philosophers in the Doctor Who serial Time and
The Boy Who Would Live Forever, a novel in Frederik the Rani.
Pohl's Heechee series.
American astronomer Carl Sagan, in Cosmos: A Personal
Umberto Eco's novel Baudolino sees the protagonist meet Voyage, gave a detailed speculative description of Hypa-

5 NOTES

tias death, linking it with the destruction of the Library

of Alexandria.
A more scholarly historical study of her, Hypatia of
Alexandria by Maria Dzielska (translated into English
by F. Lyra, published by Harvard University Press), was
named by Choice Magazine as an Outstanding Academic
Book of 1995, Philosophy Category.

The Plot to Save Socrates (2006) by Paul Levinson and his sequel Unburning Alexandria (novelette, 2008; novel 2013) where Hypatia turns
out to have been a time-traveler from 21st century
America.[73][74][75]
Heresy: the Life of Pelagius (2012) by David Lovejoy, which includes Hypatias death as well as a portrait of Synesius[76]

She has been claimed by second wave feminism, most

prominently as Hypatia: A Journal of Feminist Philosophy, published since 1986 by Indiana University Press.
More factually, Hypatia of Alexandria: Mathematician
Judy Chicago's large-scale The Dinner Party awards her and Martyr (2007) is a brief (113 page) biography by
Michael Deakin, with a focus on her mathematical rea place-setting.[62]
search. Hypatia has been considered a universal geA central character in Iain Pears's The Dream of Scipio
nius.[77]
is a woman philosopher clearly modeled on (though not
The 2009 movie Agora, directed by Alejandro Amenbar,
identical with) Hypatia.[63]
focuses on Hypatias nal years. Hypatia, portrayed
The last two centuries have seen Hypatias name honored
by actress Rachel Weisz, is seen investigating the
in the sciences, especially astronomy. 238 Hypatia, a
heliocentric model of the solar system proposed by
main belt asteroid discovered in 1884, was named for her.
Aristarchus of Samos, and even anticipating the elliptical
The lunar crater Hypatia was named for her, in addition
orbits discovered by Johannes Kepler 1200 years later.
to craters named for her father Theon and for Cyril. The
180 km Rimae Hypatia are located north of the crater, The 2014 version of Cosmos portrays Hypatia in a similar
one degree south of the equator, along the Mare Tran- vein as the 1980 version.
quillitatis.[64]
By the end of the 20th, century Hypatias name was applied to projects ranging in scope from an Adobe typeface
(Hypatia Sans Pro),[65] to a cooperative community house
in Madison, Wisconsin. A genus of moth also bears her
name.

4.4

21st century

Her life continues to be ctionalized by authors in many

countries and languages. Two recent examples are Ipazia,
scienziata alessandrina by Adriano Petta (translated from
the Italian in 2004 as Hypatia: Scientist of Alexandria),
and Hypatia y la eternidad (Hypatia and Eternity) by
Ramon Gal, a fanciful alternate history, in Spanish
(2009).[66]
Azazil,[67] by Egyptian Muslim author Dr. Youssef
Ziedan, tells the story of the religious conict of that time
through the eyes of a monk, including a substantial section on Hypatia;[68] Ziedans[69] book has been criticized
by Christians in Egypt.[70]
Her life is portrayed in the Malayalam novel Francis Itty
Cora (2009) by T. D Ramakrishnan.
Examples in English include

5 Notes
[1] Colavito,A. & Petta,A. (April 2004), Hypatia: Scientist
of Alexandria. Milan, Italy: Lightning Print Ltd. (ISBN
9788848804202).
[2] Hypatia (Random House & Collins dictionaries)". Dictionary.com.
[3] http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/Biographies/
Hypatia.html
[4] Scholasticus, Socrates. Ecclesiastical History.
[5] Krebs, Groundbreaking Scientic Experiments, Inventions,
and Discoveries; The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy,
2nd edition, Cambridge University Press, 1999: Greek
Neoplatonist philosopher who lived and taught in Alexandria.
[6] Mueller, I.; L.S. Grinstein & P.J. Campbell (1987).
Women of Mathematics: A Biobibliographic Sourcebook.
New York: Greenwood Press.
[7] Columbia Encyclopedia, Hypatia citation:Alexandrian
Neoplatonic philosopher and mathematician

Remembering Hypatia: A Novel of Ancient Egypt by

Brian Trent,;[71]

[8] Hypatia, Encyclopdia Britannica: Egyptian Neoplatonist

philosopher who was the rst notable woman in mathematics.

Flow Down Like Silver, Hypatia of Alexandria

(2009) by Ki Longfellow, the second in a trilogy of
the divine feminine, the rst being The Secret Magdalene;[72]

[9] Edward Jay Watts, (2006), City and School in Late Antique
Athens and Alexandria. Hypatia and pagan philosophical culture in the later fourth century, pages 197198.
University of California Press

[10] Michael Deakin (August 3, 1997). Ockhams Razor: Hypatia of Alexandria. ABC Radio. Retrieved July 10,
2014.
[11] Multicultural Resource Center: Hypatia
[12] Dzielska 1995, p. 66
[13] Historical Dictionary of Feminism, by Janet K. Boles, Diane Long Hoeveler. p. 166.
[14] Suda online, Upsilon 166
[15] Bregman, J. (1982). Synesius of Cyrene: Philosopherbishop. Berkeley: University of California Press.
[16] Chronicle 84.87103
[17] John, Bishop of Nikiu, Chronicle 84.87103
[18] A. Fitzgerald, Letters of Synesius of Cyrene, London,
1926. (Letter 154 of Synesius of Cyrene to Hypatia).

[33] Dzielska 1995, pp. 712; Until recently scholars thought

that Hypatia revised Theons commentary on Almagest.
The view was based on the title of the commentary on
the third book of Almagest, which read: Commentary by
Theon of Alexandria on Book III of Ptolemys Almagest,
edition revised by my daughter Hypatia, the philosopher.
Cameron, who analyzed Theons titles for other books of
Almagest and for other scholarly texts of late antiquity,
concludes that Hypatia corrected not her fathers commentary but the text of Almagest itself. Thus, the extant text
of Almagest could have been prepared, at least partly, by
Hypatia.
[34] Grout, J. (n.d.). Encyclopaedia Romana: Hypatia. Retrieved 2009-05-16.
[35] Dzielska 1995, p. 72
[36] Hypatia and Her Mathematics. American Mathematical
Monthly 101 (3): 234243. March 1994.

[19] Dzielska 1995, p. 28

[37] http://www.cosmographica.com/cosmo20130812/
alexandria/hypatia.html

[20] Isidorus 1 entry in John Robert Martindale, (1980), The

Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire. Cambridge
University Press

[38] Ethlie Ann Vare and Greg Ptacek, Mothers of Invention

1988, pp. 2426.

[21] Kingsley, Charles. Hypatia preface agreeing with Gibbon quotation.

[22] Great Inspirations Hypatia
[23] Women Philosophers in the Ancient Greek World: Donning the Mantle, by Kathleen Wider. Hypatia 1986
Indiana University Press p. 4950; Mangasarian, Mangasar Mugurditch. The Martyrdom of Hypatia, 1915
[24] Greenblatt, The Swerve: how the world became modern
2011:93.
[25] Christian Wildberg, in Hypatia of Alexandria a philosophical martyr, The Philosophers Zone, ABC Radio National (4 April 2009); Dzielska 1995, p. 105
[26] John, Bishop of Nikiu: Chronicle. London (1916). English Translation.
[27] Socrates Scholasticus (born after 380 AD, died after 439
AD), Ecclesiastical History.
[28] Socrates Scholasticus: "believing that respect for religion
would induce him to lay aside his resentment."
[29] , ostrakois, is the DAT pl. form of ,
ostrakon. See . Liddell, Henry George; Scott,
Robert; A GreekEnglish Lexicon at the Perseus Project.
[30] John of Nikiu, Chronicle, c. 700 AD
[31] Ecclesiastical History, Bk VII: Chap. 15 (miscited as
VI:15).
[32] David Engels: Zwischen Philosophie und Religion: Weibliche Intellektuelle in Sptantike und Islam, in: D.
Gro (Hg.), Gender schat Wissen, Wissenschaft Gender. Geschlechtsspezische Unterscheidungen Rollenzuschreibungen im Wandel der Zeit, Kassel 2009, 97
124.

[39] 'For the sake of completeness we must mention that fact

that SYNESIOS in his letter to HYPATIA mentions a hydrometer, which according to some was already known
in the fourth century AD to PRISCIANUS, that is a century before SYNESIOS and HYPATIA.', Forbes, 'A Short
History of the Art of Distillation: from the beginnings up
to the death of Cellier Blumenthal', p. 25 (1970).
[40] 'In 402, Hypatia receives a letter from the ailing Synesius giving a brief description of what he calls a hydroscope. This is a scientic instrument then in common
use, although Hypatia is often credited with its invention.',
Waithe, 'Ancient women philosophers, 600 B.C.500
A.D.', p. 192 (1987).
[41] 'In his letters he describes a hydroscope (really a hydrometer) he has made as well as a catapult. In addition to
that, he had constructed what the ancients called an astrolabe, an instrument that demonstrated celestial phenomena. Cicero describes one invented by Archimedes; Hipparchus had made another; two rst century A.D. models
were commemorated in the Greek Anthology;', Thomas,
'Paths from Ancient Greece', p. 69 (1988).
[42] 'It is generally accepted that Greek astrologers, in either
the 1st or 2nd centuries BC, invented the astrolabe', Krebs,
'Groundbreaking Scientic Experiments, Inventions, and
Discoveries of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance', p.
196 (2004).
[43] 'The invention of the astrolabe is usually attributed to Hipparchus of the second century BC. But there is no rm
evidence to support this view. It is however certain that
the instrument was well known to the Greeks before the
beginning of the Christian era.', Sarma, 'The Archaic and
the Exotic: studies in the history of Indian astronomical
instruments, p. 241 (2008).
[44] Chris Marvin, Frank Sikernitsky The Window:
Philosophy on the Web

REFERENCES

[45] 'Claudius Ptolemy used astrolabes also, but Synesius says

that his new one is an improved model based on later
research.', Thomas, 'Paths from Ancient Greece', p. 69
(1988).

[63] Evenepol, Willy (September 2010), Sidonius Apollinaris

en Synesius van Cyrene in de roman The Dream of Scipio",
Lampas (in Dutch) 43 (3): 269283. See in particular p.
275.

[46] Ep. 15 is rather short, but gives interesting information: it contains a detailed description of a hydroscope,
which Synesius asks Hypatia to order for him in Alexandria, requesting that she herself oversee its construction.
Kari Vogt, The Hierophant of Philosophy Hypatia
of Alexandria, Kari Elisabeth Boerresen and Kari Vogt,
Womens studies of the Christian and Islamic traditions:
ancient, medieval, and Renaissance foremothers, p. 161
(1993).

[64] Hypatia of Alexandria: A woman before her time. The

Woman Astronomer. November 11, 2007. Retrieved
2007-12-03.

[47] Synodicon, c. 216, in iv. tom. Concil. p. 484, as detailed

in The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. 8, chapter XLVII

[65] Hypatia Sans Pro, my new typeface. Adobe Systems.

Retrieved 2008-08-24.
[66] Hypatia y la eternidad Gali, Ramn ISBN 978-84936773-9-8
[67] page:78-80
[68] Rose al-Yusuf, May 9, 2008 reviewed by Arab-West Report, 2008, week 18, art. 48

[48] Whiteld 1995, p.14

[69] http://www.ziedan.com/English/index_o.asp

[49] Dzielska 1996, p. 18

[70] The sin of apostasy in 'Azazl'". Arab-West Report;

2008, Week 28, Art. 29. Archived from the original on
2011-07-21. Retrieved 2014-03-08.

[50] Dzielska 1995, p. 99

[51] Christine Walsh, The Cult of St Katherine of Alexandria in
Early Medieval Europe, 2007, p. 10
[52] Dzielska 1995 p. 67
[53] Ogilvie, M. B. (1986). Women in science: Antiquity
through the 19th century. Cambridge, MA: The MIT
Press.
[54] The History Of Hypatia, A most Impudent SchoolMistress of Alexandria: Murder'd and torn to Pieces by
the Populace, In Defence of Saint Cyril and the Alexandrian Clergy. From the Aspersions of Mr. Toland.
[55] Dzielska 1995, p. 3
[56] Soldan, W.G. and Heppe, H., Geschichte der Hexenprozesse, Essen reprint 1990. p.82.
[57] Edwards, Catharine. Roman Presences: Receptions of
Rome in European Culture, 17891945 pp. 112.
[58] Snyder, J.M. (1989). The woman and the lyre: Women
writers in classical Greece and Rome. Carbondale, IL:
Southern Illinois University Press.
[59] Marsh, Jan; Pamela Gerrish Nunn (1998). Pre-Raphaelite
Women Artists. London: Thames & Hudson.
[60] Walter Macqueen-Pope, (1948), Haymarket: theatre of
perfection, p. 337. Allen
[61] William Archer, (1969), The theatrical 'world' for 1893,
p. 9. B. Blom.
[62] Snyder, Carol (19801981), Reading the Language of
The Dinner Party"", Womans Art Journal 1 (2): 3034,
JSTOR 1358081, Among the raised images distributed
on the rst two wings of the table are two with broken edgesthe Hypatia and Petronilla da Meath plates.
Chicago conrmed my reading of the broken edge as a
reference to the violent deaths both women suered.

[71] Remembering Hypatia: A Novel of Ancient Egypt.

[72] Flow Down Like Silver, Hypatia of Alexandria.
[73] Levinson, Paul (November 2008). Unburning Alexandria. Analog Science Fiction and Fact (Dell Magazines).
Retrieved 26 March 2013.
[74] Clark, Brian Charles (2006). The Plot to Save Socrates
book review. Curled Up With A Good Book. Retrieved
26 March 2013.
[75] Inteview with Paul Levinson, Author of Unburning
Alexandria. The Morton Report. 2013. Retrieved 3
November 2013.
[76] Heresy: the Life of Pelagius by David Lovejoy, Echo Publications
[77] MacDonald, Beverley and Weldon, Andrew. (2003).
Written in Blood: A Brief History of Civilization (pg.
173). Allen & Unwin.

6 References
Dzielska, Maria (1996) [1995]. Hypatia of Alexandria. trans. F. Lyra. Harvard University Press.
ISBN 0-674-43776-4.
edited by David Fideler (1994) [1993]. Fideler,
David, ed. Alexandria 2: The Journal of Western
Cosmological Traditions II. Phanes Press. ISBN 0933999-97-6.
Whiteld, Bryan J. (Summer 1995). The Beauty
of Reasoning: A Reexamination of Hypatia and
Alexandria. The Mathematics Educator (University
of Georgia) 6 (1): 1421. Retrieved 2009-05-16.

9
This article incorporates text from a publication now in
the public domain: Smith, William, ed. (1870). Hypatia. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and
Mythology.

Further reading
Alic[e?], Margaret (1986). Hypatias Heritage: A
History of Women in Science from Antiquity through
the Nineteenth Century. Boston: Beacon Press.
ISBN 0-8070-6731-8.
Deakin, Michael A.B. (1994), Hypatia and Her
Mathematics, American Mathematical Monthly,
Vol. 101 (3), pp. 234243.
Kingsley, Charles (1853). Hypatia, or New Foes
with Old Faces. Chicago: W.B. Conkley.
Knorr, Richard (1989). Textual Studies in Ancient
and Medieval Geometry. Boston: Birkhuser. ISBN
0-8176-3387-1.
Molinaro, Ursule (1990). A Christian Martyr in
Reverse: Hypatia. A Full Moon of Women. New
York: Dutton. ISBN 0-525-24848-X.
Osen, Lynn M. (1990). Women in Mathematics.
Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. ISBN 0-262-15014X.
Parsons, Reuben (1892), St. Cyril of Alexandria
and the Murder of Hypatia in Some Lies and Errors
of History, Notre Dame, IND.: Oce of the Ave
Maria, pp. 4453.
Richeson, A. W. (1940), Hypatia of Alexandria,
National Mathematics Magazine, Vol. XV, No. 2,
pp. 7482.
Schaefer, Francis (1902), St. Cyril of Alexandria
and the Murder of Hypatia, The Catholic University
Bulletin 8, pp. 441453.
Teruel, Pedro Jess (2011). Filosofa y Ciencia en
Hipatia (in Spanish). Madrid: Gredos. ISBN 97884-249-1939-9.
Cain, Kathleen (1986), Hypatia, the Alexandrian Library, and M.L.S. (Martyr-Librarian Syndrome)", Community & Junior College Libraries,
Vol. 4(3) (Spring 1986), pp. 3539.

External links
International Society for Neoplatonic Studies
Hypatia, Alexandrias Great Female Scholar: from
Smithsonian magazine

HYPATIA, THE DAUGHTER OF THEON paper

by Giovanni Costa
Socrates Scholasticus, Ecclesiastical History, VII.15,
at the Internet Archive
(Greek) (Latin) Socrates Scholasticus, Ecclesiastical
History, VII.15 (pp. 760761), at the Documenta
Catholica Omnia

10

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