Hypatia was a Greek mathematician, scientist and philosopher, who taught at the Mouseion in Alexandria.

Hypatia's Life

Hypatia was born in 370AD, and was the daughter of Theon, the last curator of the Museum at Alexandria. Her father gave her a classical education; she studied the works of Plato and Diophantine equations.

Hypatia was reputedly a beauty, and had many suitors, although according to the most reliable sources she never married.

The Museum or Mouseion where Hypatia taught was a library originally built to rival the library system of Athens. This library grew, however, and became more of a university than a library. Archemedes invented the 'Archimedes Screw' there in the third century BC.

Hypatia also wrote commentaries on the Arithmetica of Diophantus, the Conics of Apollonious and edited part of her father's Commentary on the Almagest by Ptolemy.

We know about Hypatia from a few sources. Some of these are

• The Suda Lexicon, in some ways the tenth-century version of the Encyclopedia Britannica. It has an unusually long entry on her, which is self contradictory and muddled, and derives from earlier sources.

• Socrates Scholasticus, who was a church historian in the fifth century.

• John of Nikiu's Chronicle, which came to light quite recently.

• Synesius of Cyrene was her most famous pupil, studied in his own right for his stance on Pagan/Christianity issues of his day. He was either converted to Chrisianity or was a Christian from the beginning, but in any case he respected her greatly.

The Death of Hypatia

Hypatia was a pagan in a time of Christian uprising. She was a friend of Orestes, civil govener of Alexandria, who was an enemy of Cyril, the Christian leader. Rumour had it that she prevented the two men becoming reconciled to one another. She also stood for learning and science, two things that the Christians of the era especially associated with paganism. Hypatia was walking home one day in the year 415AD, when she was attacked by a band of Chrisitians, beaten, and killed with sharp tiles and pieces of pottery. Her remains were burnt. The Suda says that this was because the Christians were jealous of her; John of Nikiu completely approved of her killing. Socrates Scholasticus, while being a Christian, considered her killing as wrong.

After her death, her works were destroyed and her name almost forgotten. Cyril, however, was made a saint. The Museum at Alexandria disappeared, and the dark ages began.

Hypatia's Impact

Hypatia is the only woman to have made an impact on the world of classical mathematics. Her work was expanded on by Newton, Leibnitz and Descartes. Although it may not seem all that much- she only published a couple of commentaries - her influence was considereble. She was also remembered as an excellent teacher. What stands out though is that she was a woman. In her position that was amazing; there are no other female mathematicians either of her era or for a very long time after her. Charles Kingsley wrote a book on her.

Her death was tragic, but her life wasn't lived in vain.