Hypatia of Alexandria
By: Maria Dzielska ; translated by F. Lyra.
Series: Revealing antiquity ;; 8
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Published: 1995
Place of publication: Cambridge, Mass
Language: eng
Number of pages: 157
Subjects: Hypatia, d. 415; Women philosophers -- Egypt; Alexandrian school
Description: Hypatia - brilliant mathematician, eloquent Neoplatonist, and a woman renowned for her beauty - was brutally murdered by a mob of Christians in Alexandria in 415. She has been a legend ever since. In this engrossing book, Maria Dzielska searches behind the legend to bring us the real story of Hypatia's life and death, and new insight into her colorful world.

Historians and poets, Victorian novelists and contemporary feminists have seen Hypatia as a symbol - of the waning of classical culture and freedom of inquiry, of the rise of fanatical Christianity, or of sexual freedom. Dzielska shows us why versions of Hypatia's legend have served her champions' purposes, and how they have distorted the true story.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [121]-151]) and index.
"Adapted and translated from the unpublished manuscript"--T.p. verso.