1 00:00:02,400 --> 00:00:05,920 Speaker 1: Hello and Happy Saturday. Listener Sheila wrote in recently and 2 00:00:05,960 --> 00:00:09,319 Speaker 1: suggested an episode on Hypatia. That is an episode we 3 00:00:09,400 --> 00:00:12,080 Speaker 1: have already done, and it's from long enough ago that 4 00:00:12,240 --> 00:00:14,800 Speaker 1: some of the podcast apps don't even show it in 5 00:00:14,880 --> 00:00:18,160 Speaker 1: our feed anymore, in case folks are not aware, Just 6 00:00:18,200 --> 00:00:21,319 Speaker 1: as an Fyi, various apps have a cap on the 7 00:00:21,400 --> 00:00:23,479 Speaker 1: number of episodes that stay in the feed, and that 8 00:00:23,600 --> 00:00:26,599 Speaker 1: limit isn't something that's within our control. So if that's 9 00:00:26,600 --> 00:00:29,479 Speaker 1: an app you used, we cannot really assist on the 10 00:00:29,560 --> 00:00:31,880 Speaker 1: old ones coming back in unless we run it as 11 00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:35,720 Speaker 1: a classic. The episodes are all available in the iHeartRadio 12 00:00:35,760 --> 00:00:38,879 Speaker 1: app and on the iHeartRadio website, although those are not 13 00:00:39,080 --> 00:00:44,320 Speaker 1: searchable by individual episode topic. Anyway, we are bringing out 14 00:00:44,360 --> 00:00:48,920 Speaker 1: that past Hypatia episode as today's Saturday Classic. Just the 15 00:00:48,960 --> 00:00:52,479 Speaker 1: note upfront that this episode does include some discussion of 16 00:00:52,560 --> 00:00:57,200 Speaker 1: her murder and that murder was particularly gruesome. This episode 17 00:00:57,240 --> 00:01:03,680 Speaker 1: came out on August fifth, twenty thirteen. Welcome to Stuff 18 00:01:03,680 --> 00:01:13,679 Speaker 1: You Missed in History Class, a production of iHeartRadio. Hello 19 00:01:13,880 --> 00:01:16,840 Speaker 1: and welcome to the podcast. I'm Tracy V. Wilson and 20 00:01:16,880 --> 00:01:19,440 Speaker 1: I'm Holly Frye, and today we're going to talk about 21 00:01:19,520 --> 00:01:26,640 Speaker 1: a very influential and awesome lady mathematician and astronomer. Her 22 00:01:26,720 --> 00:01:30,440 Speaker 1: name was Hypatia and she lived in Alexandria. She was 23 00:01:30,480 --> 00:01:34,399 Speaker 1: a mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher, and although none of her 24 00:01:34,480 --> 00:01:38,680 Speaker 1: original writings have survived until today, we do know that 25 00:01:38,720 --> 00:01:41,119 Speaker 1: she wrote at least one book on astronomy and two 26 00:01:41,319 --> 00:01:45,680 Speaker 1: on math. She also taught and lectured, and she developed 27 00:01:45,880 --> 00:01:49,720 Speaker 1: a whole following of her own devoted students, and she 28 00:01:49,840 --> 00:01:54,200 Speaker 1: really helped preserve the knowledge of other scholars like Euclid 29 00:01:54,280 --> 00:01:58,120 Speaker 1: and Ptolemy. She was one of the earliest female mathematicians 30 00:01:58,160 --> 00:02:00,760 Speaker 1: and astronomers, and even though she wasn't the very first 31 00:02:00,800 --> 00:02:04,400 Speaker 1: woman ever to study these fields, she was definitely the 32 00:02:04,400 --> 00:02:08,160 Speaker 1: best known woman in antiquity to pursue them. She was 33 00:02:08,200 --> 00:02:11,240 Speaker 1: also among the greatest. At the time of her murder, 34 00:02:11,360 --> 00:02:14,640 Speaker 1: she was the foremost mathematician and astronomer in the West 35 00:02:14,760 --> 00:02:18,880 Speaker 1: and possibly in the entire world. Goha Patia, I know 36 00:02:19,080 --> 00:02:23,040 Speaker 1: she's fantastic. Uh. There's no clear record of when Hypatia 37 00:02:23,120 --> 00:02:26,200 Speaker 1: was born. Her year of birth used to often be 38 00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:29,480 Speaker 1: cited as three seventy, but today most scholars will generally 39 00:02:29,520 --> 00:02:32,040 Speaker 1: say it was closer to three fifty or three fifty five, 40 00:02:32,639 --> 00:02:35,440 Speaker 1: but it's still all pretty speculative. It's based on events 41 00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:38,200 Speaker 1: we know she and her father witnessed and how old 42 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:40,280 Speaker 1: they might have been at the time, and also the 43 00:02:40,320 --> 00:02:44,560 Speaker 1: age of her most famous pupil, Sinsius of Syrene. We 44 00:02:44,680 --> 00:02:48,040 Speaker 1: also know basically nothing about her early life, and we 45 00:02:48,120 --> 00:02:52,320 Speaker 1: don't know who her mother was. It's possible that Hypatia 46 00:02:52,400 --> 00:02:55,960 Speaker 1: had a brother named Epiphanius. His name crops up in 47 00:02:56,000 --> 00:02:59,080 Speaker 1: some of her father's writings, but he might have just 48 00:02:59,160 --> 00:03:02,640 Speaker 1: been a favorite student of her father's. The translation could 49 00:03:02,639 --> 00:03:06,320 Speaker 1: really go either way. Hypatia's father, Theon, was also a 50 00:03:06,360 --> 00:03:09,440 Speaker 1: mathematician and astronomer, and he was the last known member 51 00:03:09,520 --> 00:03:13,079 Speaker 1: of the Alexandrian Museum. This museum was not a building 52 00:03:13,160 --> 00:03:15,079 Speaker 1: of exhibits and collections as we would think of a 53 00:03:15,160 --> 00:03:18,799 Speaker 1: museum today. It was more akin to a university or 54 00:03:18,840 --> 00:03:22,160 Speaker 1: a research center, and it also housed the Fame Library 55 00:03:22,200 --> 00:03:26,239 Speaker 1: at Alexandria, which contained about half a million scrolls, including 56 00:03:26,320 --> 00:03:31,519 Speaker 1: Aristotle's entire personal collection, archives of Greek plays, original editions 57 00:03:31,560 --> 00:03:34,760 Speaker 1: of scholarly writings, et cetera. And when people came to 58 00:03:34,800 --> 00:03:37,800 Speaker 1: the library, they would copy any scrolls they had with 59 00:03:37,880 --> 00:03:42,000 Speaker 1: them and leave them there. Most of the physical buildings 60 00:03:42,440 --> 00:03:44,839 Speaker 1: that made up the museum were actually destroyed by two 61 00:03:44,880 --> 00:03:49,080 Speaker 1: seventy two, and it's unclear exactly when the library was destroyed, 62 00:03:49,200 --> 00:03:53,320 Speaker 1: but its work in preservation and education actually continued for 63 00:03:53,360 --> 00:03:55,440 Speaker 1: quite a while after that. Yes, there was a lot 64 00:03:55,440 --> 00:03:58,520 Speaker 1: of destruction and rebuilding and moving things around, so it's 65 00:03:58,520 --> 00:04:01,800 Speaker 1: a little unclear exactly when all of those buildings. Yeah, 66 00:04:01,800 --> 00:04:05,080 Speaker 1: the title way, it's really fuzzy, yes, but the work 67 00:04:05,080 --> 00:04:08,160 Speaker 1: that the museum was doing in terms of educating people 68 00:04:08,240 --> 00:04:11,960 Speaker 1: and preserving knowledge did continue on for quite a while 69 00:04:12,040 --> 00:04:16,960 Speaker 1: after the buildings were probably also all gone. Theon's own 70 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:21,360 Speaker 1: work was also really about preservation and teaching. Euclid's works 71 00:04:21,400 --> 00:04:25,760 Speaker 1: survived in part thanks to Theon's efforts. One of Euclid's 72 00:04:25,839 --> 00:04:29,719 Speaker 1: most important and influential works was called Elements, and until 73 00:04:29,760 --> 00:04:33,120 Speaker 1: the nineteenth century, the only edition of this book that 74 00:04:33,240 --> 00:04:38,400 Speaker 1: existed was Theon's edition. Theon also wrote commentaries on some 75 00:04:38,440 --> 00:04:41,760 Speaker 1: of Ptolemy's works. These were basically copies of the original 76 00:04:41,760 --> 00:04:46,839 Speaker 1: piece with explanations and additional notes. So while Theon wasn't 77 00:04:46,880 --> 00:04:50,400 Speaker 1: like a groundbreaking new mathematician coming up with all kinds 78 00:04:50,440 --> 00:04:56,200 Speaker 1: of new mathematical concepts. He was really preserving ideas of 79 00:04:56,400 --> 00:05:00,440 Speaker 1: earlier mathematicians and making sure that they survived for later 80 00:05:00,520 --> 00:05:03,640 Speaker 1: generations still learn from. So he's the first archivist, and 81 00:05:03,640 --> 00:05:05,839 Speaker 1: maybe not the first, but that was really what his 82 00:05:05,920 --> 00:05:09,800 Speaker 1: work was all about. Yeah, Theon and Hypatia also work together. 83 00:05:10,279 --> 00:05:13,200 Speaker 1: It's actually possible that book three of his commentary on 84 00:05:13,240 --> 00:05:17,159 Speaker 1: Ptolemy's Alma Jest, which is a thirteen volume astronomical manual, 85 00:05:17,839 --> 00:05:21,000 Speaker 1: was really written by Hypatia. His inscription says it was 86 00:05:21,160 --> 00:05:24,240 Speaker 1: quote prepared by her. So yes, it's a little unclear 87 00:05:24,279 --> 00:05:27,039 Speaker 1: whether she did the actual writing on it. So it's 88 00:05:27,080 --> 00:05:30,880 Speaker 1: possible that writing of hers exists, but we don't really 89 00:05:30,880 --> 00:05:33,120 Speaker 1: know this was really hers or her father's, or how 90 00:05:33,160 --> 00:05:36,599 Speaker 1: exactly she was involved in creating it. Yeah, the attribution 91 00:05:36,720 --> 00:05:39,920 Speaker 1: is not absolute on that one. Right, when Theon died, 92 00:05:40,080 --> 00:05:44,400 Speaker 1: he was regarded as the world's foremost mathematician, and after 93 00:05:44,440 --> 00:05:47,479 Speaker 1: his death that distinction passed on to his daughter. She 94 00:05:47,680 --> 00:05:51,760 Speaker 1: continued on with his tradition of teaching and preserving mathematical 95 00:05:51,839 --> 00:05:56,360 Speaker 1: knowledge and writing her own books and commentaries, and in 96 00:05:56,400 --> 00:06:00,919 Speaker 1: point of fact, according to historical accounts, Hypatia far surpassed 97 00:06:00,920 --> 00:06:04,640 Speaker 1: her father's accomplishments. She was said to be profoundly intelligent. 98 00:06:04,720 --> 00:06:08,320 Speaker 1: She was articulate, prudent, community minded, and atop it all 99 00:06:08,360 --> 00:06:13,760 Speaker 1: off apparently also beautiful. Yeah, full package. Socrates Scholasticus, also 100 00:06:13,839 --> 00:06:19,040 Speaker 1: known as Socrates of Constantinople, not the classical philosopher Socrates, 101 00:06:19,240 --> 00:06:22,200 Speaker 1: a different person with the same name, described her this 102 00:06:22,279 --> 00:06:26,280 Speaker 1: way quote. There was a woman at Alexandria named Hypatia, 103 00:06:26,560 --> 00:06:30,000 Speaker 1: daughter of the philosopher Theon, who had made such attainments 104 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:33,120 Speaker 1: in literature and science as to far surpass all the 105 00:06:33,120 --> 00:06:37,000 Speaker 1: philosophers of her own time. Having succeeded to the school 106 00:06:37,040 --> 00:06:41,560 Speaker 1: of Plato and Platinus, she explained the principles of philosophy 107 00:06:41,640 --> 00:06:44,560 Speaker 1: to her auditors, many of whom came from a distance 108 00:06:44,640 --> 00:06:48,160 Speaker 1: to receive her instructions. On account of the self possession 109 00:06:48,200 --> 00:06:51,320 Speaker 1: and ease of manner which she had acquired in consequence 110 00:06:51,360 --> 00:06:55,400 Speaker 1: of the cultivation of her mind, she not infrequently appeared 111 00:06:55,440 --> 00:06:59,200 Speaker 1: in public in presence of the magistrates. Neither did she 112 00:06:59,200 --> 00:07:02,120 Speaker 1: feel abashed and coming to an assembly of men for 113 00:07:02,360 --> 00:07:06,160 Speaker 1: all men, on account of her extraordinary dignity and virtue 114 00:07:06,320 --> 00:07:11,080 Speaker 1: admired her, the more high praise. She was extremely highly respected. Yeah, 115 00:07:11,480 --> 00:07:14,040 Speaker 1: there are many people who, for one reason or another 116 00:07:14,200 --> 00:07:17,560 Speaker 1: did not like her that those reasons also often boiled 117 00:07:17,600 --> 00:07:22,160 Speaker 1: down to religion, but even zo like, the praise of 118 00:07:22,200 --> 00:07:25,040 Speaker 1: her mind and her ability and her presentation is pretty 119 00:07:25,080 --> 00:07:29,720 Speaker 1: much universal among all accounts. If only everyone could enjoy 120 00:07:29,760 --> 00:07:32,840 Speaker 1: such delights, I know, I mean, that's really that's incredibly 121 00:07:32,920 --> 00:07:35,520 Speaker 1: high praise. I can't think of a single like public 122 00:07:35,560 --> 00:07:38,720 Speaker 1: figure now that you could say that. Of right, there's 123 00:07:38,800 --> 00:07:41,840 Speaker 1: no one that's universally like everyone respects them, even if 124 00:07:41,840 --> 00:07:45,400 Speaker 1: they disagree with them. There's always some you know, ra 125 00:07:45,560 --> 00:07:48,440 Speaker 1: ra about the whole thing, right anyway. We also know 126 00:07:48,640 --> 00:07:51,640 Speaker 1: from surviving letters that Hypatia had the skill and knowledge 127 00:07:51,680 --> 00:07:55,680 Speaker 1: to craft scientific devices like astrolabes and what was called 128 00:07:55,720 --> 00:07:59,520 Speaker 1: a hydroscope. Although we're not sure what the hydroscope did exactly, 129 00:07:59,560 --> 00:08:01,720 Speaker 1: we just know there was a thing called that, yes, 130 00:08:01,840 --> 00:08:03,600 Speaker 1: and that had to do with astronomy, and that she 131 00:08:03,600 --> 00:08:16,200 Speaker 1: could figure out how to make one. Primary sources almost 132 00:08:16,360 --> 00:08:19,800 Speaker 1: unanimously describe her as never marrying and leading an entirely 133 00:08:19,840 --> 00:08:23,680 Speaker 1: celibate life, so much so that the one reference that 134 00:08:23,760 --> 00:08:27,000 Speaker 1: does exist to her having a husband named Isidorus is 135 00:08:27,040 --> 00:08:29,920 Speaker 1: mostly written off as an error today. There was also 136 00:08:30,160 --> 00:08:34,520 Speaker 1: a historical person named Isidorus, but he died before she lived. 137 00:08:35,160 --> 00:08:37,520 Speaker 1: She was definitely not married to that guy. Like there 138 00:08:37,559 --> 00:08:40,480 Speaker 1: has been no other candidate for who this Isidorus might 139 00:08:40,520 --> 00:08:44,040 Speaker 1: have been. So pretty much all the scholars who look 140 00:08:44,080 --> 00:08:47,400 Speaker 1: at all of this think that, like that was one 141 00:08:47,760 --> 00:08:51,440 Speaker 1: person's error in writing a biography of her, because everyone 142 00:08:51,480 --> 00:08:53,559 Speaker 1: else right, And we do know that those kinds of 143 00:08:53,679 --> 00:08:57,520 Speaker 1: errors happen in transcription when people are copying down records 144 00:08:57,559 --> 00:08:59,480 Speaker 1: into other books and stuff. It happens all the time 145 00:08:59,520 --> 00:09:05,160 Speaker 1: in history. Yes, that's part of sort of unraveling history. 146 00:09:05,200 --> 00:09:07,079 Speaker 1: A lot of the time is figuring out which accounts 147 00:09:07,120 --> 00:09:11,280 Speaker 1: are factual and which ones are either embellished or accidentally incorrect. 148 00:09:11,480 --> 00:09:16,440 Speaker 1: Right from the early encyclopedia known as the Suda, there's 149 00:09:16,440 --> 00:09:19,240 Speaker 1: a quote that says she was so very beautiful and 150 00:09:19,280 --> 00:09:21,960 Speaker 1: attractive that one of those who attended her lectures fell 151 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:24,360 Speaker 1: in love with her. He was not able to contain 152 00:09:24,440 --> 00:09:28,000 Speaker 1: his desire, but he informed her of his condition. Ignorant 153 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:31,160 Speaker 1: reports say Hypatia relieved him of his disease by music, 154 00:09:31,520 --> 00:09:34,200 Speaker 1: but truth proclaims that music failed to have any effect. 155 00:09:34,920 --> 00:09:37,199 Speaker 1: She brought some of her female rags and threw them 156 00:09:37,200 --> 00:09:39,960 Speaker 1: before him, showing him the sign of her unclean origin, 157 00:09:40,040 --> 00:09:42,600 Speaker 1: and said, you love this, o youth, and there is 158 00:09:42,640 --> 00:09:45,880 Speaker 1: nothing beautiful about it. His soul was turned away by 159 00:09:45,920 --> 00:09:48,440 Speaker 1: shame and surprise at the unpleasant sight, and he was 160 00:09:48,480 --> 00:09:51,679 Speaker 1: brought to his right mind. I love this story so much. 161 00:09:54,800 --> 00:09:59,080 Speaker 1: I both love it and have that. You know, Hi, Patia, 162 00:09:59,280 --> 00:10:00,760 Speaker 1: You're so smart. Why are you got to hate this 163 00:10:00,760 --> 00:10:04,920 Speaker 1: thing about yourself? Well, and that one of the books 164 00:10:04,960 --> 00:10:07,559 Speaker 1: that I read about Hypatia did get into that about 165 00:10:07,559 --> 00:10:12,360 Speaker 1: how to a modern woman's ear? Yeah, you do, kind of. 166 00:10:12,400 --> 00:10:18,480 Speaker 1: But when you look historically at the world of women's 167 00:10:18,480 --> 00:10:21,640 Speaker 1: bodies and women's physiology, even at the time that like 168 00:10:22,600 --> 00:10:26,079 Speaker 1: a girl's first period was sometimes viewed as a magical thing. 169 00:10:27,240 --> 00:10:30,160 Speaker 1: So this whole story may be more about power than 170 00:10:30,200 --> 00:10:33,320 Speaker 1: about look how gross this is? Yeah. Well, And she 171 00:10:33,440 --> 00:10:36,439 Speaker 1: also was moving in circles that were almost entirely males, 172 00:10:36,480 --> 00:10:41,600 Speaker 1: so that probably informed her view on things. I were 173 00:10:41,640 --> 00:10:44,000 Speaker 1: in Highpatia's shoes, and I wanted a dude to get 174 00:10:44,040 --> 00:10:48,160 Speaker 1: away from me. That might be a thing that might 175 00:10:48,160 --> 00:10:54,600 Speaker 1: be a weapon at my disposal. Yeah. Sadly, Hypatia lived 176 00:10:54,600 --> 00:10:56,719 Speaker 1: at a time when the intellectual life in which she 177 00:10:56,880 --> 00:11:01,360 Speaker 1: so obviously excelled was quickly crumbling into hearing, and her 178 00:11:01,400 --> 00:11:04,439 Speaker 1: life and her accomplishments are often overshadowed by her death, 179 00:11:05,040 --> 00:11:08,679 Speaker 1: and understanding how that came to be requires some understanding 180 00:11:08,720 --> 00:11:11,559 Speaker 1: of what was going on politically and socially in Alexandria 181 00:11:11,559 --> 00:11:14,719 Speaker 1: at the time. The Greek city of Alexandria had been 182 00:11:14,720 --> 00:11:17,720 Speaker 1: founded in Egypt during the reign of Alexander the Great 183 00:11:18,240 --> 00:11:21,800 Speaker 1: about six hundred years before Hypatia's birth in three point 184 00:11:21,800 --> 00:11:25,560 Speaker 1: thirty one BCE. It really quickly became a renowned place 185 00:11:25,600 --> 00:11:29,880 Speaker 1: of learning, knowledge, literature, and culture. It was really one 186 00:11:29,920 --> 00:11:34,800 Speaker 1: of the great intellectual centers of the world. Ptolemy was 187 00:11:34,880 --> 00:11:39,199 Speaker 1: Alexandria's founder and first ruler, and Ptolemy sort of co 188 00:11:39,240 --> 00:11:42,000 Speaker 1: opted the Egyptian god Serapis, which was a god of 189 00:11:42,040 --> 00:11:45,400 Speaker 1: the underworld, as a son god to be worshiped in Alexandria, 190 00:11:45,520 --> 00:11:47,839 Speaker 1: and he built a temple to him. That temple will 191 00:11:47,880 --> 00:11:52,800 Speaker 1: be important in just a bit. Rome annexed Alexandria in 192 00:11:53,000 --> 00:11:56,480 Speaker 1: eighty BCE, and it continued to be governed by the 193 00:11:56,520 --> 00:12:01,040 Speaker 1: Pharaohs until Cleopatra's death fifty years later, Although it became 194 00:12:01,160 --> 00:12:04,760 Speaker 1: governed by Rome at this point, Alexandria really continued to 195 00:12:04,800 --> 00:12:09,080 Speaker 1: be a heavily Greek city with very Greek traditions and culture. 196 00:12:10,160 --> 00:12:13,840 Speaker 1: Before the advent of Christianity, both Pagans and Jews lived 197 00:12:13,880 --> 00:12:18,000 Speaker 1: in Alexandria, and Christianity was introduced to Alexandria very early 198 00:12:18,040 --> 00:12:21,680 Speaker 1: in the religion's history. The Apostle Mark founded the first 199 00:12:21,720 --> 00:12:25,760 Speaker 1: Christian church in Alexandria in the year forty eight, and 200 00:12:25,920 --> 00:12:28,800 Speaker 1: Christianity spread over the next few hundred years, becoming the 201 00:12:28,840 --> 00:12:33,000 Speaker 1: dominant and eventually official religion of the Roman Empire. By 202 00:12:33,040 --> 00:12:35,959 Speaker 1: the time Hypatia was born, things were not going well 203 00:12:36,040 --> 00:12:40,640 Speaker 1: in Alexandria. Christianity, Judaism, and Paganism, which was kind of 204 00:12:40,679 --> 00:12:44,640 Speaker 1: a blanket characterization for people who were neither Christian nor Jewish, 205 00:12:45,520 --> 00:12:49,720 Speaker 1: they were not coexisting harmoniously. There was really a lot 206 00:12:49,880 --> 00:12:53,080 Speaker 1: of hostility among the religions, and the Roman Empire at 207 00:12:53,080 --> 00:12:56,199 Speaker 1: the same time was in decline. On top of that, 208 00:12:56,320 --> 00:12:59,760 Speaker 1: ongoing civil wars were leading to the destruction of Alexandria's 209 00:12:59,760 --> 00:13:03,920 Speaker 1: life and other important buildings, and all of the knowledge 210 00:13:03,920 --> 00:13:07,920 Speaker 1: that they contained. In three hundred and sixty four, the 211 00:13:08,040 --> 00:13:12,440 Speaker 1: Roman Empire split into the Eastern and Western Empires, and 212 00:13:12,520 --> 00:13:16,920 Speaker 1: Alexandria became part of the Eastern Empire, and life there 213 00:13:16,960 --> 00:13:21,280 Speaker 1: started to go rather sharply downhill. There was constant conflict 214 00:13:21,320 --> 00:13:24,600 Speaker 1: between the people of different religions and philosophies, and the 215 00:13:24,640 --> 00:13:28,080 Speaker 1: civil government was constantly at odds with the leadership of 216 00:13:28,120 --> 00:13:30,840 Speaker 1: all of these various religions, so it was really just 217 00:13:31,040 --> 00:13:35,280 Speaker 1: a hotbed and a morass of anger and dismay so much, 218 00:13:35,559 --> 00:13:39,880 Speaker 1: and there was also internal strife within Christianity as well. 219 00:13:40,440 --> 00:13:44,120 Speaker 1: Was still a relatively new religion at this point, and 220 00:13:44,240 --> 00:13:47,120 Speaker 1: some people were considering some views to be orthodox and 221 00:13:47,160 --> 00:13:51,559 Speaker 1: others heretical. Without getting into too long of a digression 222 00:13:51,600 --> 00:13:55,000 Speaker 1: on the particulars, the Orthodox Christians were the ones who 223 00:13:55,080 --> 00:13:59,360 Speaker 1: believed everything outlined in the Nicene Creed, which was originally 224 00:13:59,440 --> 00:14:01,960 Speaker 1: drafted in the Council of Nicea in three twenty five. 225 00:14:02,600 --> 00:14:06,400 Speaker 1: The quote heretical Christians disagreed with one or more of 226 00:14:06,440 --> 00:14:09,360 Speaker 1: the specific tenants that's laid out in the Nicene Creed. 227 00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:12,839 Speaker 1: The Nicing Creed was further revised and expanded over the 228 00:14:12,880 --> 00:14:14,920 Speaker 1: next one hundred and twenty five years and it's still 229 00:14:14,920 --> 00:14:18,360 Speaker 1: one of the major statements of orthodox faith in Christianity today. 230 00:14:18,880 --> 00:14:23,240 Speaker 1: So there was really huge strife within Christianity between the 231 00:14:23,240 --> 00:14:25,560 Speaker 1: people who believed all of the Nicing Creed and the 232 00:14:25,560 --> 00:14:30,120 Speaker 1: people who took issue with one or more parts of it. Yeah, 233 00:14:30,280 --> 00:14:32,640 Speaker 1: you're a heretic by virtue of disagreeing with one part 234 00:14:32,640 --> 00:14:35,280 Speaker 1: of it. Basically, that was pretty much what was going on. Yeah, 235 00:14:35,320 --> 00:14:37,160 Speaker 1: it was a pretty black and white split. Yeah. Well, 236 00:14:37,160 --> 00:14:39,240 Speaker 1: and the nicing Creed was basically set down as in 237 00:14:39,280 --> 00:14:42,400 Speaker 1: the official this is what we believe statement. That's basically 238 00:14:42,400 --> 00:14:44,520 Speaker 1: what it is. And so the people who did not 239 00:14:44,640 --> 00:14:47,800 Speaker 1: believe in one of those things were viewed with all 240 00:14:47,920 --> 00:14:52,320 Speaker 1: kinds of like heretical anger, suspicion, and confision and contempt 241 00:14:52,440 --> 00:15:03,400 Speaker 1: are totally what was going on. In three ninety one, 242 00:15:03,480 --> 00:15:07,800 Speaker 1: the emperor ordered that all pagan temples be destroyed. Theophilis, 243 00:15:07,840 --> 00:15:11,160 Speaker 1: the archbishop, carried these orders out and he destroyed the 244 00:15:11,200 --> 00:15:14,040 Speaker 1: Temple to Syrapus that Ptolemy had built, which at this 245 00:15:14,160 --> 00:15:16,720 Speaker 1: point was being used to house the last remnants of 246 00:15:16,760 --> 00:15:20,440 Speaker 1: the museum's work. Most scholars really mark this as the 247 00:15:20,480 --> 00:15:23,360 Speaker 1: final nail in the museum's coffin, like this was really 248 00:15:23,400 --> 00:15:26,080 Speaker 1: the end of that institution. Yeah, that appears to be 249 00:15:26,160 --> 00:15:29,160 Speaker 1: when the work of the museum ceased, even though the 250 00:15:29,200 --> 00:15:33,560 Speaker 1: buildings themselves were pretty much gone before that. In four twelve, 251 00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:38,600 Speaker 1: Theophilus's nephew, Cyril, who later became Saint Cyril of Alexandria, 252 00:15:38,840 --> 00:15:43,400 Speaker 1: succeeded him as the archbishop. Cyril was even less tolerant 253 00:15:43,400 --> 00:15:45,640 Speaker 1: of other religions than his uncle had been, and he 254 00:15:45,760 --> 00:15:49,920 Speaker 1: was constantly fighting with Arrestes, who was the Prefect basically 255 00:15:50,160 --> 00:15:54,280 Speaker 1: Alexandria's governor, and Arrestes was also Christian, but he was 256 00:15:54,320 --> 00:15:59,280 Speaker 1: a more tolerant flavor of Christian than Saint Cyril was. 257 00:16:00,280 --> 00:16:03,280 Speaker 1: At this point, tensions in Alexandria, which had already been 258 00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:07,840 Speaker 1: high yeah for many years at this point, really started 259 00:16:07,880 --> 00:16:11,040 Speaker 1: to escalate. And then two years later, a group of 260 00:16:11,160 --> 00:16:14,960 Speaker 1: Jewish extremists massacred a number of Christians by setting fire 261 00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:16,840 Speaker 1: to one of the major churches in the middle of 262 00:16:16,840 --> 00:16:19,760 Speaker 1: the night and then slaughtered the Christians who came to 263 00:16:19,760 --> 00:16:23,120 Speaker 1: try to put out the fire. In response, Cyril decided 264 00:16:23,160 --> 00:16:27,160 Speaker 1: to drive the Jews out of Alexandria, and riots immediately followed. 265 00:16:27,880 --> 00:16:32,440 Speaker 1: Attempts at reconciliation failed, and tensions between Cyril and the 266 00:16:32,520 --> 00:16:36,320 Speaker 1: Christians versus Arrestes and the secular government just got worse 267 00:16:36,320 --> 00:16:39,960 Speaker 1: and worse. At one point, a monk named Ammonius tried 268 00:16:40,000 --> 00:16:42,720 Speaker 1: to kill Arrestes by throwing a stone at his head 269 00:16:42,800 --> 00:16:46,720 Speaker 1: during a brawl. Ammonius was then arrested and tortured to 270 00:16:46,760 --> 00:16:50,720 Speaker 1: death over the objections of a lot of his followers. 271 00:16:50,720 --> 00:16:55,160 Speaker 1: Cyril canonized Ammonius, which sort of implicated him in this 272 00:16:55,240 --> 00:17:00,000 Speaker 1: whole assassination attempt. This did not reflect well on Cyril, 273 00:17:00,240 --> 00:17:03,480 Speaker 1: and Arrestes came out looking like the victor in the 274 00:17:03,520 --> 00:17:07,680 Speaker 1: whole situation. So, to bring it all back to Hypatia, 275 00:17:07,720 --> 00:17:11,359 Speaker 1: we knew, or we know that Hypatian Arrestes knew one another. 276 00:17:11,800 --> 00:17:15,240 Speaker 1: Arrestes often came to her for advice and counsel, so 277 00:17:15,480 --> 00:17:18,520 Speaker 1: in the aftermath of the dispute between Cyril and Arrestes, 278 00:17:18,720 --> 00:17:23,040 Speaker 1: Hypatia apparently became something of a target for Christian zealots. 279 00:17:23,400 --> 00:17:26,439 Speaker 1: She was also a Neoplatonist, so she fell under that 280 00:17:26,520 --> 00:17:30,760 Speaker 1: broad pagan umbrella and was consequently a target for persecution. 281 00:17:31,160 --> 00:17:33,760 Speaker 1: Right she apparently didn't write down a lot of her 282 00:17:33,800 --> 00:17:37,000 Speaker 1: philosophical writing. She lectured a lot, but didn't record a 283 00:17:37,040 --> 00:17:39,440 Speaker 1: lot of that in writing, so we don't know a 284 00:17:39,480 --> 00:17:42,480 Speaker 1: lot of the particulars of what her beliefs were. That 285 00:17:42,560 --> 00:17:45,800 Speaker 1: everyone pretty much agrees that she was a neoplatonist, and 286 00:17:45,840 --> 00:17:49,159 Speaker 1: since she got lumped in with the bigger quote pagan group, 287 00:17:50,240 --> 00:17:52,560 Speaker 1: sorting out any of it is probably a little bit 288 00:17:52,800 --> 00:17:56,000 Speaker 1: yeah of a trick. Yeah, So, in March of four 289 00:17:56,200 --> 00:18:00,960 Speaker 1: fifteen or possibly four sixteen, during Lent, a mob of 290 00:18:01,040 --> 00:18:04,000 Speaker 1: Christian zealots led by a man named Peter the Lector, 291 00:18:04,560 --> 00:18:08,359 Speaker 1: attacked the carriage that Hypatia was traveling in. They pulled 292 00:18:08,400 --> 00:18:11,119 Speaker 1: her out of it and dragged her into a nearby church, 293 00:18:11,720 --> 00:18:14,480 Speaker 1: and once there they stripped her naked and beat her 294 00:18:14,520 --> 00:18:18,000 Speaker 1: to death with roof tiles. After that, they dismembered her 295 00:18:18,040 --> 00:18:22,000 Speaker 1: body and burned the pieces. We'll just let that sit 296 00:18:22,080 --> 00:18:25,680 Speaker 1: for a minute. Yeah, it's so gruesome and savage. It's 297 00:18:25,680 --> 00:18:28,800 Speaker 1: gruesome and savage, and it's like all of the accounts, 298 00:18:28,880 --> 00:18:31,760 Speaker 1: some of them kind of used different words for what 299 00:18:31,960 --> 00:18:35,480 Speaker 1: was used to beat her to death, but the account 300 00:18:35,520 --> 00:18:41,040 Speaker 1: is pretty much the same in all the historical sources. Okay, 301 00:18:42,160 --> 00:18:46,560 Speaker 1: Mathematics Professor Ari Blanki theorizes a more specific cause for 302 00:18:46,600 --> 00:18:49,720 Speaker 1: the mob's targeting of Hypatia that it actually had to 303 00:18:49,760 --> 00:18:53,639 Speaker 1: do with when to celebrate Easter, which according to the 304 00:18:53,640 --> 00:18:56,640 Speaker 1: First Council of Nicea, falls on the first Sunday after 305 00:18:56,680 --> 00:18:59,959 Speaker 1: the first full moon on or after the spring equinox. 306 00:19:00,640 --> 00:19:05,040 Speaker 1: Thanks to its astronomical tradition, Alexandria was responsible for setting 307 00:19:05,040 --> 00:19:08,640 Speaker 1: the exact dates for Easter, which the rest of Rome followed. 308 00:19:09,080 --> 00:19:12,800 Speaker 1: But Blanki speculates that Hypatia calculated that the equinox would 309 00:19:12,800 --> 00:19:15,399 Speaker 1: fall on a different date than the one Alexandria was 310 00:19:15,440 --> 00:19:19,760 Speaker 1: actually using, which would embarrass the Alexandrian Church and cause 311 00:19:19,800 --> 00:19:22,520 Speaker 1: it to lose face before the rest of Rome. So 312 00:19:22,520 --> 00:19:26,240 Speaker 1: it's really much more of an astronomy intrigue story from 313 00:19:26,240 --> 00:19:28,600 Speaker 1: that point of view, right, And that is one of 314 00:19:28,640 --> 00:19:31,919 Speaker 1: those things that I can see where we would get 315 00:19:31,920 --> 00:19:34,280 Speaker 1: to that conclusion, but it's not something that is actually 316 00:19:34,720 --> 00:19:40,359 Speaker 1: cited in any of the historical sources. But Alexandria and 317 00:19:40,400 --> 00:19:43,800 Speaker 1: the rest of Rome did celebrate Easter on two completely 318 00:19:43,840 --> 00:19:49,480 Speaker 1: different dates, yeah, in four seventeen. So if this did, 319 00:19:49,720 --> 00:19:51,720 Speaker 1: if it was a precursor, that seems to be a 320 00:19:51,720 --> 00:19:54,159 Speaker 1: little piece of evidence but it's not something that's actually 321 00:19:54,200 --> 00:19:58,399 Speaker 1: referenced in historical sources. Yeah, it's like a piece together. 322 00:19:58,480 --> 00:20:01,680 Speaker 1: It's a fairly well thought out theory based on circumstantial evidence, 323 00:20:01,760 --> 00:20:04,399 Speaker 1: yet there's no hard case file on it. Right, And 324 00:20:04,600 --> 00:20:07,840 Speaker 1: regardless of what the root cause was for Hypatia to 325 00:20:07,880 --> 00:20:12,040 Speaker 1: be targeted, the general consensus today is also that Saint 326 00:20:12,080 --> 00:20:16,280 Speaker 1: Cyril as he later became, was not directly involved in 327 00:20:16,400 --> 00:20:20,159 Speaker 1: her death, but that his actions did really inflame the 328 00:20:20,200 --> 00:20:24,800 Speaker 1: tensions that led up to it. After Hypatia's death, the 329 00:20:24,840 --> 00:20:29,320 Speaker 1: tradition of education and knowledge in Alexandria pretty much died out. 330 00:20:30,359 --> 00:20:33,440 Speaker 1: Most of what remains of the scholarly traditions of Alexandria 331 00:20:33,560 --> 00:20:37,200 Speaker 1: we have is thanks to the Arabs, who captured Alexandria 332 00:20:38,080 --> 00:20:40,280 Speaker 1: roughly two hundred years after all of this was over, 333 00:20:40,760 --> 00:20:43,200 Speaker 1: and many of the Greek documents that still exist are 334 00:20:43,200 --> 00:20:48,200 Speaker 1: in the form of translations into Arabic. Yes, and it's 335 00:20:48,240 --> 00:20:52,240 Speaker 1: not that suddenly everyone was stupid after Hypatia died, but 336 00:20:52,680 --> 00:20:55,800 Speaker 1: she had really been, at that point the keystone in 337 00:20:55,840 --> 00:20:59,639 Speaker 1: this intellectual tradition, and once she died, there was not 338 00:21:00,080 --> 00:21:02,560 Speaker 1: an immediate new person to take over. And based on 339 00:21:03,160 --> 00:21:07,080 Speaker 1: what the climate was like socially and politically in Alexandria 340 00:21:07,119 --> 00:21:12,880 Speaker 1: at that point, other cities easily moved into like into 341 00:21:12,920 --> 00:21:16,160 Speaker 1: a higher rung of you know, what's the smartest place, right, 342 00:21:17,920 --> 00:21:20,439 Speaker 1: because it was not a good time to be a 343 00:21:20,480 --> 00:21:24,639 Speaker 1: scholar in Alexandria anymore. In the words of the poet 344 00:21:25,040 --> 00:21:27,960 Speaker 1: Palladus of Alexandria, writing in the fourth or fifth century, 345 00:21:28,560 --> 00:21:34,479 Speaker 1: quote revered Hypatia ornament of learning, stainless star of wise teaching. 346 00:21:35,080 --> 00:21:37,960 Speaker 1: When I see THEE and thy discourse, I worship THEE 347 00:21:38,520 --> 00:21:41,360 Speaker 1: looking on the starry house of the Virgin, for thy 348 00:21:41,440 --> 00:21:48,600 Speaker 1: business is in heaven. So pretty huh. It's a lovely 349 00:21:50,320 --> 00:21:53,920 Speaker 1: memorial to her. Yeah, she comes up frequently in lists 350 00:21:53,960 --> 00:22:00,200 Speaker 1: of important women in science and philosophy. Yeah, well she should. Yes, 351 00:22:00,320 --> 00:22:03,080 Speaker 1: so as we said before, there, you know, there were 352 00:22:03,119 --> 00:22:07,399 Speaker 1: certainly female scholars before Hypatia, but she was the first, uh, 353 00:22:08,119 --> 00:22:13,480 Speaker 1: especially in the Western world, truly famous female scholar about 354 00:22:13,520 --> 00:22:18,399 Speaker 1: whom we have a pretty large amount of information. Yeah, 355 00:22:18,440 --> 00:22:21,800 Speaker 1: I love her. It is not surprising at all that 356 00:22:21,920 --> 00:22:25,959 Speaker 1: now there are you know, there are journals, academic journals 357 00:22:26,040 --> 00:22:34,600 Speaker 1: named after her, conferences and things like that. So thanks 358 00:22:34,680 --> 00:22:37,320 Speaker 1: so much for joining us on this Saturday. 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