Hypatia

Famed for being the first known female mathematician, Hypatia was a pioneer who was brutally murdered for her beliefs.

Her name in Greek means “supreme."

Hypatia was born around AD 350, in Alexandria, Egypt.

She was daughter of Theon of Alexandria, an eminent Greco-Roman mathematician and astronomer.

According to the writer Damascius, Hypatia was “exceedingly beautiful”.

A CAREER WOMAN

Alexandria was a prestigious center of learning. Hypatia taught mathematics, astronomy, and philosophy to scholars from across the Mediterranean. Her reputation grew in a career that spanned decades. In a male-dominated world, she became one of its finest mathematicians and astronomers.

BRUTAL MURDER

Hypatia’s philosophical beliefs and reputed political influence made her a target of hatred to some factions. This culminated in her murder in AD 415 by a band of Christian zealots, who dragged her into a church, attacked her with oyster shells, and tore her limb from limb.

A POWERFUL LEGACY

Hypatia is regarded as a martyr of philosophy and became a powerful feminist symbol. She inspired writers, painters, philosophers, and scientists for millennia.”

Her life is loosely adapted in the movie AGORA