Hypatia of Alexandria: Mathematician and Martyr
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In the late fourth and early fifth centuries of our era, Hypatia of Alexandria was the world's greatest living mathematician and astronomer. A strikingly beautiful woman and a devoted celibate, she lived in a city as turbulent and troubled as Baghdad or Beirut is today. She achieved fame not only in her special field, but also as a philosopher, religious thinker, and teacher who attracted a large popular following. Her life ended tragically in violence at the hands of a rampaging mob of Christian fanatics, who killed her for her "pagan" beliefs, some say at the instigation of St. Cyril of Alexandria. This is the first biography of Hypatia to integrate all aspects of her life. Mathematician Michael Deakin emphasizes that, though she was a philosopher, she was first and foremost a mathematician and astronomer of great accomplishment. In a fascinating narrative that brings to life a richly diverse ancient society, he describes her work so that the mathematics, presented in straightforward terms, finds its true place in the context of her life as a whole. Deakin supplies full detail on the historical, intellectual, and religious context of Hypatia's times. He also analyzes the pattern of her life and thought, and finally gives an account of the events leading up to her lynch-mob execution. Although this outrageous crime has made Hypatia a powerful symbol of intellectual freedom and feminist aspiration to this day, Deakin makes clear that the important intellectual contributions of her life's work should not be overshadowed by her tragic death
Acknowledgments 9A Note on Spelling Conventions 11Introduction 13The Historical Context 19The Intellectual Background 25The Religious BackgroundChristianity 31Neoplatonism 35The Doctrine of the Trinity 39The Sources 43The Details of Hypatia's Life 49Hypatia's Work, Attitudes, and Lifestyle 57Hypatia's Death 67Hypatia's Philosophy 77Hypatia's MathematicsBackground and Sources 87Book III of the Almagest 91Books IV-XIII of the Almagest 93Apollonius's Conics 95The Astronomical Canon 96The Arithmetic of Diophantus 98The Astrolabe 102The "Hydroscope" 104Other Work 105Evaluation 107Mathematical DetailsNumber Representation and Long Division 115Conic Sections 118Diophantine Analysis 119Stereographic Projection 122Pandrosion 127The Legend of Saint Catherine of Alexandria 135Translations of the Primary SourcesThe Suda, Hesychius, and Damascius 137Socrates Scholaticus 143John of Nikiu 148Synesius of Cyrene 150Miscellaneous 158Notes 161Annotated Bibliography 213Index 221
