SOURCE: "Hypatia 370-415" in Women in Mathematics, The MIT Press, 1974, pp. 21-32.

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

During the pre-Christian era, the philosophical schools of Plato and Pythagoras served to create a favorable social climate in which at least some women could pursue an academic career. Because the emphasis on and love of mathematics was so strong in these schools, this tradition persisted long after the Christian era began.

Athenaeus, a Greek writer (ca. A.D. 200), in his Deipnosophistoe, mentions a number of women who were superior mathematicians, but precise knowledge of their work in this field is lacking. It is probable that there were many women who were well educated in the general science of numbers at this time, judging from the pervasive interest in the subject and the rigor with which women sought an education...