- Hypatia was the first woman to make a
significant contribution to mathematics.
- Her scientific ideas were identified
with paganism. She was a pagan.
- "Hypatia dressed in the clothing of
a scholar or teacher, rather than in women's clothing. She moved about
freely, driving her own chariot, contrary to the norm for women's
public behavior. She exerted considerable political influence in the
city. (About)"
Death:
"Cyril, bishop of Alexandria in 412, publicly preached against
Hypatia and her ideas. He is said to have been envious after seeing
the hordes waiting to greet her, ordered her death. He is said to
have been what incited a mob led by fanatical Christian monks in 415 to
attack Hypatia as she drove her chariot through Alexandria. They dragged
her from her chariot and, according to accounts from that time, stripped
her, killed her, stripped her flesh from her bones with broken pieces of
pottery, scattered her body parts through the streets, and burned some
remaining parts of her body in the library of Caesareum." (About)
Fields:
Math, Science, and Philosophy
Employment:
400 AD - She became the salaried director of the Neoplatonist
school of philosophy at Alexandria, Egypt.
Family:
Her father: scholar and mathematician Theon, the last head of
the Museum at Alexandria.
Her husband: the Philosopher Isidorus.
Teacher of:
Synesius
Accomplishments:
Inventions
- Possibly, the invention of the Astrolabe
(astronomy).
- An Instrument for Water
Distillation.
- A Planisphere.
- A tool for measuring the specific
gravity of water.
Literary Works
- Edited On the Conics of Apollonius - This
work developed the concepts of hyperbolas, parabolas, and
ellipses. Her work allowed these concepts to be passed on to
other mathematicians.
- The first woman to have such an impact on the perpetuation of early
thought in math.
- Wrote A Commentary on the Arithmetica of
Diophantus.
- Wrote A Commentary on the Conics of
Apollonious.
- Edited the third book of her father's
Commentary on the Almagest of Ptolemy.
Notes on the time
period:
During Hypatia's Lifetime,
Christianity became dominate over Paganism in Alexandria.
Riots began in the early 390s, due to
religious differences between the Christians and the Pagans. There
were two main figures (opposers) in this religious struggle: Cyril (christianity)
and Orestes (civil governor). Hypatia was a friend of Orestes, and
it is possible that Cyril spread rumors about her that led to her death in
order to diminish her influence over Orestes.
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