Speaking to the Past by Zoe

Speaking to the Past by Zoe - February 2016 Scholarship Essay

In my freshman year of high school, I discovered my role model- Hypatia of Alexandria. She was one of the first prominent women in science and mathematics, but little is known about her life. In my search for information about her life, I found very few books and even fewer conclusive academic papers. For the first time in my life, I had a true role model, yet I knew almost nothing about her.
What I did know was that she lived in an incredible time and place. Hypatia existed on the cusp of history. She read books in the Library of Alexandria, but she was also present when it burned. She was the leader of the Neoplatonic school, but also lived in a time when women were shut out of public life. The paradoxes of a life like Hypatia’s are incredible and fascinating.
Unfortunately, the Holy Roman Empire disagreed with almost all of her scientific ideals, and most of all, her gender. They destroyed almost every trace of this amazing woman and scientist. What we know about Hypatia now comes almost entirely from her father, Theon Alexandrinus, and the correspondence of her male students. Hypatia was brutally murdered for her “paganistic” science, but almost more significantly, her work and her influence was wiped out of existence.
Few people today have even heard of Hypatia of Alexandria, but she is my role model. I would love to meet the woman who lived through this intriguing period of history. She would be amazing to talk to, to discuss how science and philosophy have changed, and to learn all of the knowledge she held that was lost in time.