Alejandro Amenábar’s forthcoming big-budget movie Agora tells the story of Hypatia of Alexandria, the 4th century AD beauty and pioneering Greek astronomer-philosopher who was killed for her pagan beliefs. So why is it named after a crumbled old bunch of ruins in Athens, where ancient Greeks once traded figs, pickled fish and olive oil? Because the film seeks to use Hypatia’s story to explore the struggle between ideas and intolerance on the cusp of the Dark Ages. Despite its outwardly mundane function, the Agora of Athens was where intellectual and political debate was born.
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Great statesmen, philosophers, writers and orators traded not tangibles but words, ideas and policies at the Agora. Socrates practically lived there.
Greek polymath Hypatia of Alexandria was a genius mathematician, philosopher, astronomer and all round pioneering female intellectual. Her influence and beauty are legendary. Sadly, Hypatia was also pagan at a time when Christianity was becoming increasingly de rigueur, and she suffered a grim execution in 415 AD at the hands of some angry monks.
Hypatia was a 4th and 5th century AD philosopher, mathematician, astrologer and scientist, and one of the most famous female intellectuals in history.
She was born in Alexandria, Egypt around 350 AD, the daughter of Theon, who was the curator of the Museum of Alexandria, an important seat of learning in the Roman Empire. Theon schooled Hypatia as his star pupil from a young age, and she demonstrated a remarkable aptitude for maths, philosophy, astronomy and technological sciences. After travelling to Athens and Italy to further her studies, she returned to Alexandria, where she became a highly-respected teacher, lecturer, writer and inventor. She penned many well-thought-of commentaries in collaboration with her father, and was appointed Director of the Neoplatonist School of Alexandria in 400 AD. Hypatia was by all accounts (although few of them survive) extremely beautiful, and had many suitors from the great and good of Alexandria society, but she rejected them all, and reportedly remained chaste throughout her life.
To be released in October 2009, the Hollywood-made film Agora - set in Alexandria, Egypt, 391 AD, directed by Alejandro Amenábar and starring Rachel Weisz - about the life and death of the Greek scholar Hypatia of Alexandria should be next in the long line of 'historically correct' blockbusters that succeed at capturing the attention of a wide audience. The film contains everything it needs - pretty heroine (including love story with Davus) gets killed over science vs. religion conflict and thus becomes a martyr - to appeal to a large crowd and to generate a huge amount of ticket sales. But is it indeed that historically correct?
Tom O'Neil at Armanium Magnum is quite sceptical about the upcoming release:
A Psidian city built at a height of 1050 metres in the Taurus mountains, Termessos' strategic position caused Alexander the Great to liken it to an eagle's nest and pass up the opportunity to conquer it. The city became gradually hellenized during the Hellenistic period, and had a turbulent history, engaging frequently in military conflict. The stoa in Termessos's agora was a gift from Attalos II of Pergamum in recognition of Termessos' military aid in his conflict with Selge.
Termessos later passed under the influence of Rome and became part of the Roman empire although it retained a level of autonomy and never included imperial images or symbols on its coins. The city went through a gradual decline and was abandoned in the 5th Century AD. Ancient remains at this mountainous and inaccessible site include: the theatre, Hadrian's triumphal arch, cisterns, the gymnasium, agora, heroon and odeon and several tombs.
As is the case with many ancient cities, Smyrna had a troubled history that saw it pass between many different hands. Established perhaps as early as the 10th Century BC, Old Smyrna has various foundation myths including the story that it was founded by the Amazons. A greek colony at Smyrna was destroyed in the 7th Century BC and a new city founded by Lysimachus, one of Alexander the Great's generals, in the 3rd Century BC. In 288 BC, the city became subject to the Kingdom of Pergamon, and passed to the Roman empire in 133 BC when Attalos III bequeathed his kingdom to the Romans. The city remained an important Roman commercial centre, because of its port on the Aegean and in later times, Polycarp was martyred here in 155 AD. The modern city of Izmir on the site is one of the largest urban centres in Turkey. Ancient remains still visible include the agora, theatre and parts of a Roman aqueduct. Excavations revealed the 2nd Century AD agora to be portico-lined with an altar to Zeus.
The best-known example of its type, the Athenian agora was a meeting place and melting pot for all the business of ancient Athens. Debates, legal proceedings and public meetings were all carried out there, as well as worsjip in the numerous temples on the site. Remains of many of the key buildings are still in evidence, while other artifacts found during over seventy years of excavation are housed in the reconstructed South Stoa II, which now serves as a museum.
To be released in October 2009, the Hollywood-made film Agora - set in Alexandria, Egypt, 391 AD, directed by Alejandro Amenábar and starring Rachel Weisz - about the life and death of the Greek scholar Hypatia of Alexandria should be next in the long line of 'historically correct' blockbusters that succeed at capturing the attention of a wide audience. The film contains everything it needs - pretty heroine (including love story with Davus) gets killed over science vs. religion conflict and thus becomes a martyr - to appeal to a large crowd and to generate a huge amount of ticket sales. But is it indeed that historically correct?
