Hypatia is a Neoplatonist philosopher and mathematician c. 350 - 415 AD in Alexandria. She's both a scholar and teacher. Daughter of a mathematician, she instructs people of all faiths and gains wide renown. She's brutally murdered in 415.
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Hypatia lives in Alexandria, Egypt. In her time it's part of Eastern Rome, an Empire in trouble. Alexandria is a center for scientists, thinkers and developments in alchemy and other fields. In Alexandria Hypatia teaches philosophy and astronomy.
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She's preceded in mathematics by Pandrosion, an Alexandrian mathematician. Not as much is known about Pandrosion though she's identified as female though her writings. Hypatia is considered the first female mathematician whose life and death are fairly well recorded.
Hypatia is known to use astronomical instruments and alchemical apparatus. She's the first person traditionally associated with the hydrometer which measures liquid density.
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In a letter, Synesius of Cyrene asks his teacher Hypatia to make a hydrometer for him:
"The instrument in question is a cylindrical tube, which has the shape of a flute and is about the same size. It has notches in a perpendicular line, by means of which we are able to test the weight of the waters. A cone forms a lid at one of the extremities, closely fitted to the tube. The cone and the tube have one base only. This is called the baryllium. Whenever you place the tube in water, it remains erect. You can then count the notches at your ease, and in this way ascertain the weight of the water."
Renowned as a wise counselor, she's a mathematician, historian, philosopher, editor and probably knows alchemy, a popular practice in Alexandria in her time. In Islamic writings alchemy is defined as a "divine secret" inherited from "our father" Adam.
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Adam passes it on to his sons, the wizards and the philosophers of Islam, through the honorable awliya' (saints) and great prophets. Alchemy divides into two sciences: the elixir, which deals with "fixing of the corrupted," and al-mizan, regarding the theory of balance.
Her murder is related to her vast knowledge, popularity, influence and pagan Neoplatonist belief system. Records show Hypatia is beloved by pagans and Christians alike. She also has influence with the political elite in Alexandria.
Hypatia teaches people of all religions. A dedicated Neoplatonist, she upholds the original teachings of Plotinus, rejecting later interpretations. Hypatia gains recognition for her exceptional teachings, attracting students from across the Mediterranean region.
As recounted by Damascius, the esteemed Athenian Neoplatonist, Hypatia delivers lectures on the works of Plato and Aristotle. Damascius also notes her practice of strolling through Alexandria clad in a tribon, a philosopher's cloak, giving spontaneous public lectures.
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Alexandria is a center of philosophy during this era, rivaling Athens as the philosophical capital of the West. Various schools of Neoplatonism exist, but Neoplatonists essentially believe perfection and happiness can be found in this world, without need of an afterlife.
The attainment of perfection and happiness is viewed as synonymous and can be realized through profound philosophical contemplation. It is believed that all individuals ultimately reunite with the One, the source from which they originate.
Founder of Neoplatonism, Plotinus (304 - 270 BCE), says the first principle of reality is "the One", an utterly simple, ineffable, and unknowable subsistence. This is both the creative source of the Universe, and the end of all existing things.
Acknowledging there's no true name for the first principle, Plotinus deems "the One" or "the Good" as most appropriate. The One is so simple it transcends existence and being, much as the creative force of all things is beyond being, a concept from Plato's Republic.
Plato, in his analogy of the Sun, describes the Good as surpassing being in power and dignity. In Plotinus' conceptualization of reality, the One stands as the origin of the entire realm of reality.
Subsequent Neoplatonists adhere in general to Plotinus' cosmological framework. However, later developments in the tradition diverge significantly from his teachings on key philosophical matters, such as the nature of evil.
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Christian historian Socrates of Constantinople, a contemporary of Hypatia, describes her in his Ecclesiastical History:
There was a woman at Alexandria named Hypatia, daughter of the philosopher Theon, who made such attainments in literature and science, as to far surpass all the philosophers of her own time. Having succeeded to the school of Plato and Plotinus, she explained the principles of philosophy to her auditors, many of whom came from a distance to receive instruction.
On account of the self-possession and ease of manner which she had acquired in consequence of the cultivation of her mind, she not infrequently appeared in public in the presence of the magistrates. Neither did she feel abashed in going to an assembly of men. For all men on account of her extraordinary dignity and virtue admired her the more.
Philostorgius, a Christian historian and contemporary of Hypatia, asserts she surpasses her father in mathematics. Furthermore, the lexicographer Hesychius of Alexandria notes that, like her father, she demonstrates exceptional talent in the field of astronomy.
Damascius writes that Hypatia is "exceedingly beautiful and fair of form" but nothing else is known about her physical appearance. No image of her survives. According to Damascius Hypatia is a lifelong virgin.
When one of the men at her lectures tries to court her, she attempts to soothe his lust by playing the lyre. When he fails to abandon his pursuit, she is forthright in her rejection.
She shows her bloody menstrual rags, saying "This is what you really love, my young man, but you do not love beauty for its own sake." Damascius notes the young man is so traumatized, he immediately abandons all desire for her.
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Writings of seventh-century Egyptian Coptic bishop John of Nikiû allege Hypatia engages in satanic practices and intentionally interferes with the church's influence over Orestes (governor of the diocese of Egypt):
And in those days there appeared in Alexandria a female philosopher, a pagan named Hypatia, and she was devoted at all times to magic, astrolabes and instruments of music, and she beguiled many people through her Satanic wiles.
And the governor of the city honored her exceedingly; for she had beguiled him through her magic. And he ceased attending church as had been his custom ... And he not only did this, but he drew many believers to her, and he himself received the unbelievers at his house.
During the Christian season of Lent in March 415, a mob of Christians under the leadership of a lector named Peter raid Hypatia's carriage as she travels home. They drag her into the Kaisarion, a former pagan temple converted into a Christian church.
There, the mob strips Hypatia naked and flays her alive her with ostraka, translated as pot sherds (shards), or pieces of pottery (ostraka are often used to vote, giving rise to the term "ostracism" in the 17th century). Damascius adds the killers also cut out her eyeballs.
They tear her body to pieces and drag her limbs through the town to a burial place called Cinarion, where they set them on fire. This is how Alexandrians carry bodies of the worst criminals beyond city limits to cremate them, as a way of symbolically purifying the town.
While Hypatia's murderers are never specifically identified, they are thought to be members of the parabalani. Originally a Christian charity for nursing the sick, parabalani later become predatory groups of vigilantes, arousing fears of prominent Romans.
In the Greco-Roman world, philosophers are legally given a certain amount of protection from murderous mobs and other attacks. Killing philosophers is completely taboo. Otherwise we'd have fewer of them to ponder upon today.
Thus the death of Hypatia strikes to the core of the late classical belief systems. Post-mortem attempts to demonize her instead help to make her a martyr.
Writers such as Socrates Scholasticus believe the killing of Hypatia is for political reasons. She steadily gains power and prestige at a time the Roman Empire is collapsing, with the sack of Rome by Alaric and the Visigoths in 395 CE.
Hypatia is popular enough that her murder sends shock waves through the known world. She's considered a "martyr for philosophy". Her death incites future Neoplatonists such as the historian Damascius to become increasingly passionate in opposition to Christianity.
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During the Middle Ages, Hypatia is presented as a symbol of Christian virtue. Scholars believe she's part of the basis for the legend of Saint Catherine of Alexandria. During the Age of Enlightenment, she becomes a symbol of opposition to Catholicism.
In the nineteenth century, European literature, especially Charles Kingsley's 1853 novel Hypatia, romanticizes her as "the last of the Hellenes". In the twentieth century, Hypatia is seen as an icon for women's rights and a precursor to the feminist movement.