Challenging Gender Roles: The Asexual Scholar Hypatia, Suda Y.166

The Suda’s Account of Hypatia

Name:    The Suda Date:      10th century CE      Region:    Unknown   Citation:     Y.166

About Hypatia the Philosopher [proof that Alexandrians are rebellious]: She was born, raised, and educated at Alexandria.  When she grew to be more talented than her father, she wasn’t satisfied with just teaching mathematics, she also devoted herself to the study of philosophy as well. Despite being a woman, she wore the ascetic philosopher’s cloak and went forth to the middle of the city,  and taught all who wished to learn the works of Plato, Aristotle, or other philosophers.  Not only was she a scholar, but she also achieved the pinnacle of virtue: she was upright and modest, and she remained a virgin throughout her life... 

This is the way Hypatia was, eloquent in speech and classy in her actions, and the whole city adored her—even worshipped her. The city’s political leaders often visited her in class—something that also happened in Athens. For even if it weren’t true anymore, the name “philosophy” [“love of wisdom”] still seems important and revered among those who serve the state.

It happened that her rival Cyril, the Bishop of the Christian religion, once was passing by Hypatia’s home, saw a crowd of people excitedly gathering outside of her front door, some coming, some going, some just standing around.   He asked whose house it was and what the crowd was doing there, and one of his lackeys told him that it was Hypatia’s house, and she was giving a lecture.  Insane with jealousy, Cyril plotted to kill her as soon as possible  and in the most unholy way possible. When she went out in public again (as she was accustomed to), a bunch of savage people, who feared neither gods nor men, savagely attacked the philosopher, perpetrating the greatest crime against their country. The Emperor would have been furious, if his friend Aedesius hadn’t been offered a bribe. He pardoned the perpetrators, but the fault fell on his own head and his offspring. His offspring paid the ultimate penalty for it.

αὕτη ἐν Ἀλεξανδρείᾳ καὶ ἐγεννήθη καὶ ἀνετράφη καὶ ἐπαιδεύθη. τὴν δὲ φύσιν γενναιοτέρα τοῦ πατρὸς οὖσα οὐκ ἠρκέσθη τοῖς διὰ τῶν μαθημάτων παιδεύμασιν ὑπὸ τῷ πατρί, ἀλλὰ καὶ φιλοσοφίας ἥψατο τῆς ἄλλης οὐκ ἀγεννῶς, περιβαλλομένη δὲ τρίβωνα ἡ γυνὴ καὶ διὰ μέσου τοῦ ἄστεος ποιουμένη τὰς προόδους ἐξηγεῖτο δημοσίᾳ τοῖς ἀκροᾶσθαι βουλομένοις ἢ τὸν Πλάτωνα ἢ τὸν Ἀριστοτέλην ἢ ἄλλου ὅτου δὴ τῶν φιλοσόφων. πρὸς δὲ τῷ διδασκαλικῷ καὶ ἐπ' ἄκρον ἀναβᾶσα τῆς πρακτικῆς ἀρετῆς, δικαία τε καὶ σώφρων γεγονυῖα, διετέλει παρθένος, οὕτω σφόδρα καλή τε οὖσα καὶ εὐειδής, [1]  ... οὕτω δὲ ἔχουσαν τὴν Ὑπατίαν, ἔν τε τοῖς λόγοις οὖσαν ἐντρεχῆ καὶ διαλεκτικὴν ἔν τε τοῖς ἔργοις σώφρονά τε καὶ πολιτικήν, ἥ τε ἄλλη πόλις εἰκότως ἠσπάζετό τε καὶ προσεκύνει διαφερόντως, οἵ τε ἄρχοντες ἀεὶ προχειριζόμενοι τῆς πόλεως ἐφοίτων πρῶτοι πρὸς αὐτήν, ὡς καὶ Ἀθήνησι διετέλει γινόμενον. εἰ γὰρ καὶ τὸ πρᾶγμα ἀπόλωλεν, ἀλλὰ τό γε ὄνομα φιλοσοφίας ἔτι μεγαλοπρεπές τε καὶ ἀξιάγαστον εἶναι ἐδόκει τοῖς μεταχειριζομένοις τὰ πρῶτα τῆς πολιτείας. ἤδη γοῦν ποτε συνέβη τὸν ἐπισκοποῦντα τὴν ἀντικειμένην αἵρεσιν Κύριλλον, παριόντα διὰ τοῦ οἴκου τῆς Ὑπατίας, ἰδεῖν πολὺν ὠθισμὸν ὄντα πρὸς ταῖς θύραις, ἐπιμὶξ ἀνδρῶν τε καὶ ἵππων, τῶν μὲν προσιόντων, τῶν δὲ ἀπιόντων, τῶν δὲ καὶ προσισταμένων. ἐρωτήσαντα δὲ ὅ τι εἴη τὸ πλῆθος καὶ περὶ οὗ κατὰ τὴν οἰκίαν ὁ θόρυβος, ἀκοῦσαι παρὰ τῶν ἑπομένων, ὅτι προσαγορεύοιτο νῦν ἡ φιλόσοφος Ὑπατία καὶ ἐκείνης εἶναι τὴν οἰκίαν. μαθόντα δὴ οὕτω δηχθῆναι τὴν ψυχήν, ὥστε φόνον αὐτῇ ταχέως ἐπιβουλεῦσαι, πάντων φόνων ἀνοσιώτατον. προελθούσῃ γὰρ κατὰ τὸ εἰωθὸς ἐπιθέμενοι πολλοὶ ἀθρόοι θηριώδεις ἄνθρωποι, ὡς ἀληθῶς σχέτλιοι, οὔτε θεῶν ὄπιν εἰδότες οὔτ' ἀνθρώπων νέμεσιν ἀναιροῦσι τὴν φιλόσοφον, ἄγος τοῦτο μέγιστον καὶ ὄνειδος προστρεψάμενοι τῇ πατρίδι. καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς ἠγανάκτησεν ἐπὶ τούτῳ, εἰ μὴ Αἰδέσιος ἐδωροδοκήθη. καὶ τῶν μὲν σφαγέων ἀφείλετο τὴν ποινήν, ἐφ' ἑαυτὸν δὲ καὶ γένος τὸ ἀφ' ἑαυτοῦ ταύτην ἐπεσπάσατο, καὶ ἐξέπλησε δίκην ὁ τούτου ἔκγονος.

Haec Alexandriae & nata & educata & erudita fuit. Cum autem esset ingenio generosiore, quam pater, non contenta fuit paterna in mathematicis disciplinis institutione, sed & relique philosophiae strenuam operam navavit. Mulier enim sumpto pallio, per mediam urbem progrediens, publice audire se volentibus vel Platonem vel Aristotelem vel cuiusvis alius Philosophi scripta enarrabat. Ceterum praeter peritiam docendi, ad summum etiam virtutis practicae fastigium pervenerat: eratque iusta & casta, & virgo semper permansit, ... Talis igitur cum esset Hypatia, tam prompta expeditaque dicendi facultate valeret, quam factis modestam & urbanam se praeberet, tum reliqua civitas eam merito amabat & insigniter colebat, tum rectores quoque urbis (Alexandriae) primum eam semper invisebant; quod Athenis etiam fieri consuevit. Nam etsi res ipsa perierit, nomen tamen philosophiae adhuc magnificum & venerabile videtur viris, principum locum in Repub. administranda obtinentibus. Quodam igitur tempore contigit, ut Cyrillus, Christianae religionis Episcopus, ante aedes Hypatiae transiens, maximam turbam pro foribus conspiceret hominum simul & equorum, quorum alii adveniebant; alii abibant; alii vero manebant. Cumque sciscitatus fuisset, quenam esset ea multitudo, & quorum tantus fieret tumultus, responsum est a sequentibus, Hypatiam philosopham tunc salutari, eiusque illa aedes esse. Quod cum didicisset Cyrullus, tantopere stimulatus est invidia, ut caedem ei protinus machinatus sit, eamque omnium sceleratissimam. Cum enim Hypatia more solito prodiret ex aedibus, multi ferini homines, nec Deorum vindictam, nec hominum ultionem reveriti, impetu facto eam trucidant; gravissimo piaculo & probro patriam suam obligantes. Et Imperator quidem eam rem gravissime tulit, ultusque essent nisi Aedesius amico Imperatoris corrupisset. Et intersectoribus quidem Imperator poenam remisit: sed in suum ipsius caput & stirpem suam ultionem attraxit. Eius enim nepos poenas exsolvit. Translated into Latin by Christianus Wolff

The Suda is a literary encyclopedia created in the 10th century CE by an anonymous Byzantine scholar.

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[1] The next anecdote, in which Hypatia weaponizes her menstruation in order to defend herself from a man’s unwanted affection, does not fit the scope of this blog and will not be published here.