In this video, we'll explore the life of Hypatia of Alexandria, a brilliant mathematician and philosopher who was betrayed by history.
Learn about Hypatia's life and work, and see how her loss has shaped the history of mathematics and philosophy. We'll also explore the legacy of Hypatia and her impact on the development of the Sciences.
Hypatia of Alexandria was a remarkable woman who had a significant impact on the development of mathematics and philosophy. This video is a great way to learn more about her life and legacy.
Hypatia (about 355 CE – March 415 CE, Alexandria) was a mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher who lived at a period of immense change in the city. She is the first female mathematician about whom sufficient information is accessible.
Theon of Alexandria (see Note to Researchers about Hypatia's birth date) was a mathematician and astronomer who was also the last known member of the Alexandrian Museum. While Theon is best known for his work in preserving Euclid's Elements, he also offered significant commentary to Ptolemy's Almagest and Handy Tables. Hypatia continued his work, which was a tenacious attempt to preserve the tradition of Greek mathematics and astronomy in the face of great hardship. Aside from an astronomical table (perhaps a modified version of Book III of her father's commentary on the Almagest), she is credited with creating commentaries on Apollonius of Perga's Conics (geometry) and Diophantus of Alexandria's Arithmetic (number theory). Despite efforts to piece together what happened to her writings, the only ones credited to her, they are now lost. Her commentaries on Apollonius and Diophantus expanded her father's initial curriculum into more current and complex subject matter.
Only she can lay claim to being the greatest mathematician and astronomer of all time. She also had a successful career as a lecturer and educator, attracting large crowds to her speeches on general philosophical problems that were popular with both students and the general public. Because she had a Neoplatonist worldview, she was labelled a "pagan" during an era of acute religious conflict between orthodox Christians, Jews, and pagan pagans. Her Neoplatonic philosophy was centred on achieving the One, a metaphysical truth that can be perceived in part through the human capacity for abstraction as represented by the Platonic forms. She was adamant about remaining a virgin because it was an essential aspect of her beliefs.
Theophilus, the bishop of Alexandria until his death in 412 CE, was responsible for the destruction of the Serapeum, the temple of the Greco-Egyptian god Serapis. This act was an early manifestation of the period's theological split. Because the Serapeum may have housed some of the Library's books, this could have been the end of the great Alexandrian reservoir of knowledge. Although Hypatia was unaffected by this transition, she was able to continue her intellectual endeavours without interruption since Theophilus was friends with Synesius, an eager admirer and disciple of Hypatia. But, following the deaths of Synesius and Theophilus, and Cyril's ascent to the bishopric of Alexandria, this tolerant environment vanished, and not long after, Hypatia was brutally killed by a band of Christian zealots. The extent to which Cyril bears culpability for this tragedy is still debated, but the incident created Hypatia as a powerful feminist symbol and a figure of affirmation for intellectual endeavour in the face of foolish prejudice. Her contributions to knowledge were tragic enough on their own, but the manner in which she died has given her legacy even more weight.
