Hypatia (370-415 AD)

Alexandria, Egypt

Hypatia was a Greek who lived in Alexandria, Egypt, the third largest city of the Roman Empire, and a melting pot of cultures. In a time when women were considered second class citizens, Hypatia was a teacher at an all-male school. One of her students later invented the astrolabe, which measures the position of the stars and planets. She was an incredibly gifted astronomer.

Hypatia believed in a divine being, "the One," which was the ultimate source of all reality. She wanted to get closer to "the One" and taught her students to break away from the world of matter by searching for the soul, which she called, "the eye buried within us." By finding the soul, a person could be closer to "the One." Hypatia helped her students get in touch with their spiritual nature, or the "eye within".

Hypatia dressed simply, preferring the white cloak of a philosopher. She was known to ride around the city of Alexandria in a chariot. During Hypatia’s lifetime, there was a lot of fighting between Jews, Christians, and pagans. Because of her great power and belief in "the One," which was considered pagan, she was dragged from her chariot by an angry mob and murdered.

Classroom discussion questions:

If Hypatia were alive today, how would she answer the question,

"Truth or Beauty, which has a greater impact on society?"

In a historical context, what would Hypatia think was the greatest
challenge facing society during her lifetime?

What does Hypatia's term "eye within" mean to you?

What did Hypatia mean by "breaking away from the world of matter"?

Can a person's spiritual nature be used to answer philosophical questions as well as a logical, reasoning approach?

To learn more about Hypatia, follow these links:

http://www-groups.dcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/hypathia.html

http://www.cosmopolis.com/people/hypathia

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