A brilliant mathematician, philosopher, and astronomer, Hypatia was one of the great thinkers of the ancient world (the only woman for whom such a claim can be made).
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Born in about 355 CE in Alexandria, an Egyptian city famous for being a center of learning, Hypatia was the child of Theon, a philosopher and mathematician. Although it was unusual for the time, Theon educated his daughter and she EXCELLED IN HER STUDIES.
Hypatia became the leading mathematician of her era, achieving recognition in algebra, geometry, and astronomy. She also BUILT A REPUTATION AS AN OUTSTANDING TEACHER, particularly of philosophy. Hypatia taught a kind of philosophy called “Neoplatonism,” which, at the time, was seen as a form of paganism. Her lectures drew huge crowds, and she played an active role in Alexandrian life.
Cyril, the Christian archbishop of Alexandria, was involved in an intense feud with the city’s pagan governor, Orestes. As the governor’s friend, Hypatia became a FOCAL POINT OF RELIGIOUS TENSION. Things came to a head in 415 CE, when she was brutally murdered by a Christian mob.
They pulled her from her carriage on a street in Alexandria, dragged her to a church, stripped her naked, beat her to death and/or flayed her, tore off her limbs, and burned her remains.
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CE
Common Era is one of the notation systems for the world's most widely used calendar era. BCE is the era before CE.
PAGAN
A person holding religious beliefs other than those of the main world religions.
