Hypatia of Alexandria
Late Antique · Africa · 360 to 415
Teacher of mathematics, astronomy and Platonic philosophy in Alexandria, killed by a mob in 415.
What it is
Hypatia was a mathematician, astronomer and philosopher who lived and taught in Alexandria. She was the daughter of the mathematician Theon, and she is the earliest woman mathematician whose life and work are reasonably well known.
Her birth year is uncertain, with suggestions ranging from about 350 to 370. In March of the year 415 she was killed by a mob of Christians. Her death made her a symbol for later ages, and different ages have made her a symbol of different things.
The main ideas
- A Neoplatonist. Her philosophy belonged to Neoplatonism, a school that took its lead from Plato. She taught philosophy alongside mathematics and astronomy, and she lectured on the writings of Plato and Aristotle.
- Teaching. She taught students from all over the Mediterranean. Among her pupils was Synesius, an admirer of hers.
- Mathematics. She is credited with commentaries on the conic sections of Apollonius of Perga and on the Arithmetic of Diophantus.
- Left free to work. She taught Christian students as well as others, and she was tolerant toward Christians.
What it looks like in practice
Imagine someone in Alexandria who attends one of her lectures, walking in with a question about a hard passage in a book of geometry. Hypatia would take the text apart with them, explaining each step. This is an illustration of the kind of teaching she is said to have given, not an account of a real lecture.
Books and moments
- Her commentaries. The commentary on Apollonius is lost, and accounts differ over whether any of her other work survives.
- Synesius. A pupil and admirer of hers.
- Her death. In March 415 a mob of Christians killed Hypatia. At that time Cyril was bishop of Alexandria, and how much of the guilt is his is debated.
Questions and criticism
- Who was to blame? How much of the guilt belongs to Cyril is debated.
- What did she believe? She wrote nothing that survives on philosophy, so her own ideas are hard to pin down. It is fair to ask how much of the picture comes from her pupils and later writers.
- A symbol. Later writers made her a feminist symbol and a figure for the pursuit of knowledge against prejudice, and others have made her a martyr for philosophy or a symbol of Christian virtue. It is fair to ask how well these later pictures fit what is known of her.
Close neighbours
Plato, whose page is on this site, is the philosopher behind the tradition her school followed.
Written by epchē in our own words, and checked against independent sources on 29 October 2026. The sources are listed below.
Who they connect to
Influenced by
- Plotinus · She taught in the Platonic tradition that Plotinus shaped.
Other Late Antique thinkers
- Plotinus · 204 to 270
- Porphyry · 234 to 305
- Augustine of Hippo · 354 to 430
- Proclus · 412 to 485
- Boethius · 477 to 524