Hypatia, Ancient Alexandria’s Great Female Scholar

[icymist]

An avowed paganist in a time of religious strife, Hypatia was also one of the first women to study math, astronomy and philosophy
By Sarah Zielinski
Smithsonian.com, March 15, 2010


One day on the streets of Alexandria, Egypt, in the year 415 or 416, a mob of Christian zealots led by Peter the Lector accosted a woman’s carriage and dragged her from it and into a church, where they stripped her and beat her to death with roofing tiles. They then tore her body apart and burned it. Who was this woman and what was her crime? Hypatia was one of the last great thinkers of ancient Alexandria and one of the first women to study and teach mathematics, astronomy and philosophy. Though she is remembered more for her violent death, her dramatic life is a fascinating lens through which we may view the plight of science in an era of religious and sectarian conflict.

Founded by Alexander the Great in 331 B.C., the city of Alexandria quickly grew into a center of culture and learning for the ancient world. At its heart was the museum, a type of university, whose collection of more than a half-million scrolls was housed in the library of Alexandria.


Read more at Smithsoianmag.com

[Hestia]

1. I seriously doubt she was one of first - just the most well know. She was part of a

long tradition of women scholars. How insulting to think she was an anomoly rather than the norm.

[icymist]

2. I hear you.

I am thankfull for the article for without it I wouldn't even know that she existed. It's also appalling to discover how the early Christians treated her and gives another insight into the time-line on when Christians began persecuting others, which would become their legacy and tradition.