I The Literary Legend of Hypatia II Hypatia and Her Circle III The Life and Death of Hypatia Conclusion Abbreviations Sources Notes Index
This book is an important monograph for anyone with an interest in the fourth and fifth century Alexandria, its social life, church history, neo-Platonism and mathematics. The book reads well and for this the translator must be congratulated. -- Leonora Jackson, Scholia: Natal Studies in Classical Antiquity
Maria Dzielska, an internationally recognized authority on the cultural life of the Roman Empire, was Professor of Ancient Roman History at Jagiellonian University in Kraków.
This gem of academic detective work may be the last word on a
subject that has fascinated for centuries.
*New York Times Book Review*
Like Cleopatra, Mary Magdalene, Joan of Arc...Hypatia has been
retailored to suit the psychic needs of anybody retrospecting her,
rational, romantic, nostalgic, or loony. [In this book] Dzielska
demystifies Hypatia, sifting patiently through the original
sources, from the Sud lexicon to the correspondence of Synesius of
Cyrene.
*Nation*
Through a subtle reading of the ancient sources, Dzielska
reconstructs a powerful and persuasive account of Hypatia's life.
She also addresses the difficult task of describing her
philosophy...with engagement and finesse.
*Science*
[A] pithy and engaging attempt to state what we actually know about
Hypatia.
*Philadelphia Inquirer*
Hypatia, an exceptional philosopher, mathematician and high profile
public figure of late fourth and early fifth century Alexandria,
ironically owes her fame in history to the violent and politically
contentious nature of her death in 415 AD. From the moment she was
brutally murdered by a mob of angry Christians, Hypatia became a
legend, a figure who has ever since been used and manipulated by
artists, writers, poets and feminists. Maria Dzielska in Hypatia of
Alexandria, explores who Hypatia was, what she believed, why she
was killed and what she has come to symbolize in the centuries
since...Dzielska's discussion of Hypatia has contributed to the
understanding of women in late antiquity. Hypatia was an
exceptional woman and has been of particular benefit to those
interested in Christian and Roman/Hellenic history. The ideas
commonly held regarding Hypatia have been strongly influenced and
shaped by a tradition which used Hypatia as a symbol for its own
attitudes and beliefs. Such details have created a veil over the
true figure of Hypatia. This has effectively been removed by
Dzielska revealing the historical Hypatia, an extraordinary woman,
without the benefit of legend.
*Ancient History*
This book is an important monograph for anyone with an interest in
the fourth and fifth century Alexandria, its social life, church
history, neo-Platonism and mathematics. The book reads well and for
this the translator must be congratulated.
*Leonora Jackson, Scholia: Natal Studies in Classical
Antiquity*
Dzielska...provides here an exemplary 'retrieval' of the life and
achievements of Hypatia of Alexandria (c. 335-415). Dzielska traces
in detail the modern literary tradition of Hypatia--from the
Enlightenment authors who claimed her as the last of the great
pagan neoplatonists, through Victorian novelist Charles Kingsley,
to today's feminists...The author portrays the close circle of her
students and provides the context for her public lectures; she
concludes with 35 sober pages on the 'life and death of Hypatia,'
interpreting her death as a kind of witch-burning in the transition
from pagan Empire to Christian state. Dzielska is meticulous in her
pursuit of facts from the widely scattered sources...The book as a
whole is a model of feminist scholarship in its sorting out of
legend from facts.
*Choice*
Maria Dzielska has finally brought us definitive and sober research
into who that grand historic figure really was, the circumstances
of her life and scholarship, and the dynamics that led to her
death. We shall be permanently indebted to Dzielska for her
thorough research and for her highly readable book...If you are a
historian, Greco-Roman scholar, Egyptologist, anthropologist,
psychologist, theologian or a thoughtful person in any field who
likes a good read...buy this book!
*Biblical Archaeology Review*
History fades to myth. Dzielska's aim in this book is to peel away
those mythical images of Hypatia to examine the reality beneath.
The result is a splendid example of demythologizing
scholarship...[It] deserves to be read by anyone studying ancient
gender or her time period [and] is a delight to read, in a
translation which is light and natural.
*Classical Review*
Historians and patristic scholars as well as general readers should
be grateful to Dzielska for this book which clarifies a dark and
interesting spot in Church history.
*Coptic Church Review*
Hypatia of Alexandria is a clearly written, tightly focused book
In
contrast to a number of earlier writers on Hypatia, Maria Dzielska
is meticulous about disentangling fact from speculation;
meticulous, too, about documenting her sources and leading her
readers, via her footnotes, to a variety of interesting discussions
about the various points at issue.
*ISIS*
This gem of academic detective work may be the last word on a
subject that has fascinated for centuries. -- Anthony Gottlieb *
New York Times Book Review *
Like Cleopatra, Mary Magdalene, Joan of Arc...Hypatia has been
retailored to suit the psychic needs of anybody retrospecting her,
rational, romantic, nostalgic, or loony. [In this book] Dzielska
demystifies Hypatia, sifting patiently through the original
sources, from the Sud lexicon to the correspondence of
Synesius of Cyrene. -- John Leonard * Nation *
Through a subtle reading of the ancient sources, Dzielska
reconstructs a powerful and persuasive account of Hypatia's life.
She also addresses the difficult task of describing her
philosophy...with engagement and finesse. -- Wilbur Knorr * Science
*
[A] pithy and engaging attempt to state what we actually know about
Hypatia. -- Carlin Romano * Philadelphia Inquirer *
Hypatia, an exceptional philosopher, mathematician and high profile
public figure of late fourth and early fifth century Alexandria,
ironically owes her fame in history to the violent and politically
contentious nature of her death in 415 AD. From the moment she was
brutally murdered by a mob of angry Christians, Hypatia became a
legend, a figure who has ever since been used and manipulated by
artists, writers, poets and feminists. Maria Dzielska in Hypatia
of Alexandria, explores who Hypatia was, what she believed, why
she was killed and what she has come to symbolize in the centuries
since...Dzielska's discussion of Hypatia has contributed to the
understanding of women in late antiquity. Hypatia was an
exceptional woman and has been of particular benefit to those
interested in Christian and Roman/Hellenic history. The ideas
commonly held regarding Hypatia have been strongly influenced and
shaped by a tradition which used Hypatia as a symbol for its own
attitudes and beliefs. Such details have created a veil over the
true figure of Hypatia. This has effectively been removed by
Dzielska revealing the historical Hypatia, an extraordinary woman,
without the benefit of legend. -- P. Murphy * Ancient History *
This book is an important monograph for anyone with an interest in
the fourth and fifth century Alexandria, its social life, church
history, neo-Platonism and mathematics. The book reads well and for
this the translator must be congratulated. -- Leonora Jackson,
Scholia: Natal Studies in Classical Antiquity
Dzielska...provides here an exemplary 'retrieval' of the life and
achievements of Hypatia of Alexandria (c. 335-415). Dzielska traces
in detail the modern literary tradition of Hypatia--from the
Enlightenment authors who claimed her as the last of the great
pagan neoplatonists, through Victorian novelist Charles Kingsley,
to today's feminists...The author portrays the close circle of her
students and provides the context for her public lectures; she
concludes with 35 sober pages on the 'life and death of Hypatia,'
interpreting her death as a kind of witch-burning in the transition
from pagan Empire to Christian state. Dzielska is meticulous in her
pursuit of facts from the widely scattered sources...The book as a
whole is a model of feminist scholarship in its sorting out of
legend from facts. * Choice *
Maria Dzielska has finally brought us definitive and sober research
into who that grand historic figure really was, the circumstances
of her life and scholarship, and the dynamics that led to her
death. We shall be permanently indebted to Dzielska for her
thorough research and for her highly readable book...If you are a
historian, Greco-Roman scholar, Egyptologist, anthropologist,
psychologist, theologian or a thoughtful person in any field who
likes a good read...buy this book! -- J. Harold Ellens * Biblical
Archaeology Review *
History fades to myth. Dzielska's aim in this book is to peel away
those mythical images of Hypatia to examine the reality beneath.
The result is a splendid example of demythologizing
scholarship...[It] deserves to be read by anyone studying ancient
gender or her time period [and] is a delight to read, in a
translation which is light and natural. -- Richard Hawley *
Classical Review *
Historians and patristic scholars as well as general readers should
be grateful to Dzielska for this book which clarifies a dark and
interesting spot in Church history. * Coptic Church Review *
Hypatia of Alexandria is a clearly written, tightly focused
book In contrast to a number of earlier writers on Hypatia, Maria
Dzielska is meticulous about disentangling fact from speculation;
meticulous, too, about documenting her sources and leading her
readers, via her footnotes, to a variety of interesting discussions
about the various points at issue. -- J.J. MacIntosh * ISIS *
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