Hypatia
370 - 415
370 - 415
Hypatia was born in 370AD, just after the Romans had invaded Greece. During this time the Greek scholars were fighting to preserve the Greek traditions of seeking and developing new ideas. Perl (1978) states that Hypatia was not only one of the last of the great teachers involved in this struggle, but also the last of the Greek Mathematicians.
Furthermore, Osen (1990) believes that Hypatia was actually the first woman to have written on mathematical subjects. So, although she was mainly a critic and commentator rather than a creator, her place in history seems relatively secure. Often she is the only woman mentioned in mathematical histories.
Hypatia was probably educated by her father Theon, who was a noted mathematician and astronomer in Alexandria. He not only noticed Hypatia's talent at an early age, but also encouraged her. Historians believe that Theon tried to raise her to be the perfect human being (Adair 1995).
As Hypatia grew older she developed a great interest in mathematics and science. This interest led her to become the author of several mathematical works. Very little is however known for certain about Hypatia's work, as most of her works were destroyed along with the Ptolemaic libraries in Alexandria (Osen 1990 and ed. Gillispie 1970).
Perl (1978) and Osen (1990), both agree that Hypatia was essentially an algebraist who was inspired by Diophantus. We know that Hypatia wrote a commentary on Diophantus' Arithmetica, as a portion of this original work was found during the fifteenth century in the Vatican library. Her commentaries not only included alternative solutions but also a number of new problems that she had originated.
Additionally, Hypatia also wrote commentaries On the Conics of Apollonius, popularising his text and developing the ideas of the hyperbolas, parabolas and ellipses. Most of her works were actually prepared as textbooks for her students to help make the difficult mathematical classics easier to understand (Mueller 1987, p.76).
Hypatia lectured in her native city. She is reported (Osen 1990) to have lectured specifically on the Arithmetica of Diophantus, including the symbolism he had devised, the techniques he had developed and his solution of indeterminate problems of various types. Hypatia probably also lectured on simple mechanics, as well as philosophy and astronomy. She was one of the University's most popular lecturers. Students came from all around the world to hear her lectures.
However, in 415 she was brutally murdered by a Christian mob, who believed that she would hinder the expansion of Christianity in Egypt. According to Perl (1978) this act symbolised the end of the great age of Greek mathematics and the beginning of a new age of faith. From 641, after the Arabs had invaded and destroyed Alexandria, Western mathematics went into a dormant period, which was to last over a thousand years.
Adair, G., Citing Computer References [Online, accessed 13 Oct. 1996]. URL:http://www.scottlan.edu/Iriddle/women/agnesi.htm, 1995.
Gillispie, C.C. (ed.), Dictionary of Scientific Biography, vol.6, New York: Charles Scribner, 1970.
Mueller, I., 'Hypatia (370?-415)', in Women of Mathematics: A Biobibliographic Sourcebook , eds. L.S. Grinstein & P.J. Campbell, New York: Greenwood Press, pp. 74-79, 1987.
Osen, L.M., Women in Mathematics , Cambridge, Mass. and London, England: M.I.T. Press, 1990.
Perl, T., Biographies of Women Mathematicians and Related Activities, Menlo Park, California: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1978.
Written by Julie Boyd
(University of South Australia, 1996)