Knowledge can be a wonderful thing, but in the case of the ancient philosopher and mathematician Hypatia of Alexandria, it also lead to her doom.
Hypatia the Greek Philosopher Skinned Alive with Seashells Knowledge can be a wonderful thing, but in the case of the ancient philosopher and mathematician Hypatia of Alexandria, it also lead to her doom. Hypatia was one of the most important intellectuals of Byzantine Empire in the 4th Century, and she was also a woman. Her story is both inspiring and terrifying. Hypatia was born around 355, when the Roman empire had just split, leaving Alexandria in a disconnected state of religious and social unrest. Members of all religions - Christians, Jews, and pagans - were now living together in perpetual strife. Over the next few decades, their constant clashes would wipe out even more of the library's contents as they struggled to define their new boundaries. The Egyptian city of Alexandria was founded by Alexander the Great in 331 BC - about 600 years before Hypatia was born. Alexandria became a culturally sophisticated region of the world in a rather short amount of time. It was not on...