Below, Dzielska surveys the confusion of fact and fiction that constitutes Hypatia's posthumous fame, evaluating the literary works of European and North American writers from the mid-eighteenth century to 1989, as well as the ancient sources that gave rise to that literary tradition. Dzielska points out that over the centuries, Hypatia's legendary story has been used to support a diverse range of viewpoints and ideologies.

In the excerpt below, Rist focuses on Hypatia's philosophical position, but he also attempts to separate the legends surrounding her from the accounts given in Socrates's Ecclesiastical History and the Suda. She was more closely aligned with traditional Platonism than with advanced Neoplatonism, he asserts, and her achievements in the field of philosophy have been inflated because of the circumstances of her death.

In the essay below, Hubbard offers an elaborate account of Hypatia's life and thought, stressing her independent mind and spirit as well as her indebtedness to Plato and Plotinus. Throughout, Hubbard uses details of her biography to express his personal antipathy to formal systems of religion.

Here, Waithe focuses on Hypatia's accomplishments as a scholar and educator, emphasizing in particular her application of philosophic analysis and methodology to the exposition of mathematics and astronomy. Waithe also examines the texts of possible early editions or prototypes of Hypatia's writings that appear in the work of later authors.

In the following excerpt, Osen presents an overview of Hypatia's life, emphasizing her skill in mathematics.

In the following excerpt, Alic summarizes Hypatia's career within the context of the political and intellectual climate of early-fifth-century Alexandria.

In the following excerpt from an essay describing the earliest female mathematicians, Zahm outlines what is known of Hypatia's life and works.

In the prose poem reprinted below, Molinaro recreates the life and death of Hypatia from the perspective of a feminist poet and novelist.

In the following excerpt from a work originally published in 1788, Gibbon fixes the responsibility for Hypatia's death on Cyril of Alexandria, charging that the bishop used her as a scapegoat to resolve a breach between church and state.