Hypatia of Alexandria
An Outspoken Pagan and One of the First Women to Study Mathematics, Astronomy, and Philosophy
Do you think that being a woman and doing something which has never been done by a man is so easy at all?
In the year 415 or 416, a mob of Christian zealots led by Peter the Lector attacked a woman’s carriage on the streets of Alexandria, Egypt, and pulled her from it into a church, where they undressed her and beat her to death with roofing tiles. They then dismembered and burned her body.
What was the nature of this woman’s crime? By the way, who was she?
In a time of religious warfare, Hypatia was an outspoken pagan who was also one of the first women to study math, astronomy, and philosophy. Her life is little remembered, but her tragic death at the hands of Christian fanatics is well-known.
She was the daughter of the mathematician Theon, the University of Alexandria’s last Professor, who trained her in mathematics, astronomy, and the philosophy of the day, which would be termed science in modern times. Her mother is undocumented, and as previously said, there is little…
