Alejandro Amenábar

We’re going to be hearing lots about Hypatia, the 4th and 5th century AD Greek mathematician, astronomer and philosopher, over the next few months before and after the release of Agora – a major movie about her life and tragic death, directed by Alejandro Amenábar and starring Rachel Weisz. So it’s probably a good time to meet the lady properly.

About The Author

Malcolm Jack

Malcolm Jack is a freelance arts and entertainment journalist based in Glasgow, Scotland. He graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 2004 with an MA Honours Degree in History.

Last three pieces by this author: Ancient World in London Bloggers Challenge 3: Should the British Museum Return the Rosetta Stone to Egypt?, Ancient World in London Bloggers Challenge 2: Winner Announced!, Seeing King Tut: Tutankhamun Virtual Experienes, Sites, Artefacts and Exhibitions Around the World

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.

About The Author

Malcolm Jack

Malcolm Jack is a freelance arts and entertainment journalist based in Glasgow, Scotland. He graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 2004 with an MA Honours Degree in History.

Last three pieces by this author: Ancient World in London Bloggers Challenge 3: Should the British Museum Return the Rosetta Stone to Egypt?, Ancient World in London Bloggers Challenge 2: Winner Announced!, Seeing King Tut: Tutankhamun Virtual Experienes, Sites, Artefacts and Exhibitions Around the World

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.

Her life and death is set to be the subject of a new big-budget motion picture, Agora, directed by Alejandro Amenábar and starring Rachel Weisz. Ahead of the film’s release, we give a chronological run down of ten top portrayals of Hypatia, in literature, art, comic books and on stage and in movie.

1. Historia Ecclesiastica (439 AD)
Socrates Scholasticus

About The Author

Malcolm Jack

Malcolm Jack is a freelance arts and entertainment journalist based in Glasgow, Scotland. He graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 2004 with an MA Honours Degree in History.

Last three pieces by this author: Ancient World in London Bloggers Challenge 3: Should the British Museum Return the Rosetta Stone to Egypt?, Ancient World in London Bloggers Challenge 2: Winner Announced!, Seeing King Tut: Tutankhamun Virtual Experienes, Sites, Artefacts and Exhibitions Around the World