Hypatia: Respected
Woman of Science
By Dana Smith
~Beginnings~
Hypatia was one of
the first noted and respected women within the field of science. She
made great contributions in both mathematics and science, notably
astronomy. Hypatia was from Alexandria, Egypt. She was the daughter of
mathematician and philosopher, Theon. He was a noted philosopher, and
raised his daughter in a world of education. He taught her his
knowledge of mathematics, and love for answering questions about the
unknown. He also tried to emphasize the philosophy of a "sound body and
a sound mind". He also put her on an exercise regimen in addition to
teaching her other things. These other things consist of teaching her
about different world religions so that she could sway people with her
words, and also the basics of teaching.
~Contributions~
Very little of Hypatia’s original writings have
survived over the
years. Most of what we have of her today is from one of her students,
Synesius of Cyrene. Through their correspondence, Hypatia is credited
with inventing the astrolabe which is an ancient astronomical computer
for solving problems relating to time and the position of the Sun and
stars in the sky. Hypatia was better known for her study in
mathematics. She edited On the Conics of Apollonius, which talked about
dividing cones into many parts by a plane, which then introduced the
idea of hyperbolas, parabolas, and ellipses. A very notable
accomplishment of Hypatia was when she became head of the Platonist
school at Alexandria in about 400 AD. When she was there, she taught
Neoplatonism, which is a blend of Platonism, Aristotlism, Stoicism, and
Pythagoreanism, and provides a profound interpretation of classical
Greek Paganism, it incorporated philosophy, mysticism, and theosophy.
~Death~
Hypatia died a
tragic death at the hands of early Christians. In 415 AD, she was
attacked by a mob, stripped and killed by broken pottery. After that,
they dragged her through the streets. There are differing accounts on
her death, some say it was the mob, some say it was a group of Nitrian
monks. It has been agreed that the early Christians felt threatened by
Hypatia’s knowledge and teaching.
~Legacy~
After her death,
the influence of Hypatia went on. She wrote many commentaries on
different works, such as Diophantus's Arithmetica, Apollonius's Conics
and Ptolemy's works on astronomy. She was also so renowned that she had
many honors given to her. These include a lunar crater and a lunar
rimae.
~Author's Notes~
Hypatia made
many contributions to the field of science. This was shown by the
respect she received both while she was alive, and after she died.
Becoming the head of the Platonist school was one of her many
accomplishments during her life. This shows how revered she was not
only within the realm of science, but also among men. She is a
wonderful example of the impact that women can have when allowed to
shine.
Bibliography:
Damascius, "The
Life of Hypatia". Life of Isidore, (Phanes Press, 1993).
*This primary source is the first English
translation of this work by Damascius. It was reproduced in The
Suda. *
J J O'Connor and
E F Robertson,“Hypatia of
Alexandria”
http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Mathematicians/Hypatia.html
*This is a
reliable resource because this is from a reputable source, the School
of Mathematics and Statistics in Scotland*
Ginny Adair,
“Hypatia” http://www.agnesscott.edu/lriddle/women/hypatia.htm
*This site is a
reliable source because this is from a reputable source and the author
seems to be very well informed*
Picture:
sculpture of Hypatia
Website:
http://greciantiga.org/img/esc/sjsu-hypatia.jpg
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