Hypatia

Hypatia was the daughter of Theon of Alexandria, a mathematician and astronomer who edited Euclid’s Elements. She was a prominent thinker and teacher in Alexandria, where she taught philosophy and astronomy. She was the first female mathematician whose life and work are well recorded. She wrote commentaries on Diophantus’s Arithmetic, Apollonius’s Conics, and Ptolemy’s Almagest. She also constructed astrolabes and hydrometers. She was a Neoplatonist who followed the teachings of Plotinus and Iamblichus. She was tolerant towards Christians and had many Christian students, including Synesius, who later became the bishop of Ptolemais. She was also an advisor to Orestes, the Roman prefect of Alexandria, who was in conflict with Cyril, the bishop of Alexandria. Hypatia was accused of preventing Orestes from reconciling with Cyril and of being a pagan sorceress. In March 415 AD, she was attacked by a mob of Christians led by a lector named Peter. They dragged her to a church, stripped her naked, and killed her with tiles and shells. They then burned her body and scattered her ashes. Hypatia’s murder shocked the empire and made her a martyr for philosophy. She was later co-opted as a symbol of Christian virtue, Enlightenment rationalism, and women’s rights.