Women's History Month intends to honor, inspire, educate, unite and promote women in the face of forces intent on subjugating and silencing them. It is about those who overcame overt and imbedded assumptions and prejudice to be their best selves. RGB said it well:
“I ask no favor for my sex. All I ask of our brethren is that they take their feet off our necks.”
DAY 15: HYPATIA
(Image from Wikipedia common)
Hypatia was a brilliant 4rd century neoplatonist philosopher, mathematician and astronomer in Egypt. Records and data estimate her IQ as 190, a profoundly gifted genius level held by 1 in 1,000,000,000 people. In her heyday, she was revered for her wisdom, and made herself widely accessible across peoples, cultures and religions. She was also revered for her ability to explain concepts to all levels of education and ability, and would randomly hold open discussions and exchanges in the city. This contributed to her ability to wear a philosopher’s robe, acknowledging her accepted attributes.
While preceded by other female intellects, her history was recorded more extensively, due in part to her political and religious neutrality that lends credence to her acceptance by the leaders as a great teacher and wise counselor. She provided material and editorial papers on works by Ptolemy’s Almagest, Diophantus’ Arithmetica, and many others, and had great influence with the political elite of Alexandria. Students from around the Mediterranean sought her out because of her intellect and tolerance in the growing Christian movement. Socrates of Constantinople described her as surpassing all the philosophers of her time.
There are no copies of her publishing independent works on philosophy, but records refer to her written commentaries. It is implied that she wrote chapters in other male philosophers well-known works. Over the centuries, she has been seen as an icon for women’s rights and the feminist movement.
Wars between religious factions grew in the early four hundreds. Eventually she was considered a threat to Christian politics, labeled a witch, and was violently murdered by them. In centuries to follow, the Catholic Church promoted an image that she was opposed to Christianity, despite all evidence indicating otherwise. The blasphemous lies about her drove philosophers to teach and publish from a pagan perspective, and to specifically avoid Christian connections altogether.
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