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Hypatia was a brilliant 3rd century neoplatonist philosopher, mathematician and astronomer in Egypt. Records and data estimate her IQ as 190, a profoundly gifted genius. In her heyday, she was revered for her wisdom, and made herself accessible across peoples, cultures and religions. She was also revered for her ability to explain concepts to all levels of education and ability. This contributed to her ability to wear a philosopher’s robe, acknowledging her accepted attributes.
While preceded by other female intellects, her history was recorded more extensively, which lends credence to her acceptance by the leaders as a great teacher and wise counselor. She provided material and editorial papers on works by Ptolemy’s Almagest, Diophantus’ Arithmetica, and many others, and had great influence with the political elite of Alexandria. Students from around the Mediterranean came to her, all of which recorded were Christians who sought her out because of her intellect and tolerance of religions. Socrates of Constantinople described her as surpassing all the philosophers of her time.
There are no records of her publishing independent works on philosophy, but did write commentaries and is presumed to have written chapters in other male philosophers well-known works. In later centuries, she was seen as an icon for women’s rights and the feminist movement.
Eventually she was considered a threat to religious politics, labeled a witch, and was violently murdered by a group of Christians. In centuries to follow, the Catholic Church promoted an image that she was opposed to Christianity, despite all evidence indicating otherwise. The blasphemous lies about her drove philosophers to teach and publish from a pagan perspective, and to avoid Christian connections altogether.