Hypatia, known to many historians as the "Divine Pagan", was born in Alexandria, Egypt in 370 CE. She was the daughter of Theon, a Greek philosopher and geometrician, but we have no record of who her mother was. She was raised in an unusual manner for a Greek girl of her time. Her father schooled her in philosophy and mathematics. When she had learned all she could from him, Hypatia began to seek out the other scholars of Alexandria. Wearing a man's cloak, she would travel alone through the city to attend lectures and classes.

It was extremely fortunate that Hypatia lived in Alexandria, for in no other place in the world were so many scholars and teachers gathered. Alexandria was the first great cosmopolitan city. A wonderfully diverse population of Egyptian, Roman, Greek, Jewish, and Phoenecian cultures, it had been founded in 332 BCE by Alexander, the Great, who had always respected and honored the various cultures and beliefs of the lands his armies conquered. Alexander died in Egypt and was entombed in what was to become the most beautiful city ever dedicated to him. His bodyguard became the architect, designing marble palaces and temples for the city that was shaped like a "chlamys," an emperor's cloak.

Also here was the great Library of Alexandria, surely the reason for Hypatia's family to have come to Egypt. At the height of its greatness it consisted of three separate locations. The first was the Museum, established by Ptolemy II in 283 BCE and containing living quarters, dining hall, laboratories, library, observatories, and a zoo. Later, a second library was established in the temple of Serapis, which was one of the first lending libraries. By 130 CE Hadrian had established a third major library at the Caesareum, a temple for the worship of the deified emperors. The collections of these libraries were built up and damaged by wars and disasters many times over the centuries.

By the year 415 CE Alexandria had reached a breaking point. The population was widely divided by political and religious issues, and riots and random street violence had became common. Egypt was ruled by Rome, and the appointed governor, Orestes, was trying to keep the city at peace. The majority of the people were still Pagan, but a militant Christianity had taken root under the leadership of the Patriarch Cyril.

Hypatia was now a woman respected by the Roman government and the citizens alike. She had become the director of the Library and one of the most honored teachers of the Neoplatonic School of Philosophy. City leaders would openly consult her, and her public lectures, in which she dared to address even the rulers, were well attended.

The fact that a Pagan woman had this much power in Alexandria, might have been enough for Cyril to hate her. But, she was also very beautiful and by the age of 45 had never married, living an independent life that the Christian community found completely unacceptable. The one thing that made Cyril vow to destroy her was her close friendship with Orestes. Cyril wanted to get the governor to drive the Jews out of Alexandria. The Pagans opposed this. He thought that Hypatia's influence with Orestes was all that prevented the Christians from having the help of the Romans in this matter. However, he must have overlooked that Orestes himself was Pagan, and while there were a number of Christian Romans with influence back in Rome itself, it had not been the policy of the emperor to encourage religious war within the Empire.

Cyril and his followers also had a problem with the Library itself. Up to this time, with very few exceptions, those who would seek out knowledge and experiment to find new wisdom as scholars and scientists, were all Pagan. Many of the Christians believed that science, the seeking of knowledge, and the acceptance of other people's beliefs were unholy and dangerous pursuits.

Hypatia's life ended on March 12, 415 CE as she was returning to the Library. It was late afternoon when she drove her chariot down the street that ran past the Caesareum. Cyril had sent out his black-robed monks, the local church's means of controlling its people, to stir up a violent mob and wait for her to return. She was pulled from her chariot and dragged into the Caesareum. Using shards of broken pottery she was killed, her body literally torn apart, and burned on the floor of the Roman temple. Then the focus turned to the Library itself. Scrolls were swept off shelves and set ablaze. The mob destroyed virtually everything in the Caesareum. The date of Hypatia's death is seen by many historians as the beginning of 500 years of the Dark Ages of western civilization.

Author's note: I had no idea who Hypatia was until I saw an entry for her in the Pagan Book of Days. Her times and her story had many similarities to what is going on today. Modern Pagans, like Hypatia, seek to have an open mind, never give up in their search for knowledge, and have a respect for others' beliefs. May we all acknowledge her and light a candle to honor her on March 12th.

• The Vanished Library; a Wonder of the Ancient World by Luciano Canfora, 1989 Hutchinson-Radius
  
• Cosmos by Carl Sagan,1980 Random House Inc.
  
• The Pagan Book of Days by Nigel Pennick, 1992 Destiny Books
  
• Internet Source: hypatia.html@www.io.com [Defunct, but Google gives excelent hits.]