Tuesday, March 19, 2019

The Tragedy of Hypatia


Regarding Cyril of Alexandria (c. 375-444 C.E.), a journal presented this research:
While he was bishop of Alexandria, Cyril used bribery, libel, and slander in order to depose the bishop of Constantinople. He is considered responsible for the brutal murder in 415 C.E. of a renowned philosopher named Hypatia.[1]
One scholar wrote:
In 415 CE, on her way home from delivering her daily lectures at the university, Hypatia was attacked by a mob of Christian monks [Christopher Haas disputes this identification, arguing that the murderers were more likely “a crowd of Alexandrian laymen.”[2]], dragged from her chariot down the street into a church, and was there stripped naked, beaten to death, and burned. In the aftermath of Hypatia’s death the University of Alexandria was sacked and burned on orders from Cyril, pagan temples were torn down, and there was a mass exodus of intellectuals and artists from the newly-Christianized city of Alexandria.[3]
Intellectuals and artists leave Alexandria as apostates burn its university.

So apostate Christians were whipped into a frenzy by an arch-apostate bishop into murder and anti-intellectualism.

Apostate Christianity injured Western Civilization.

Footnotes:
[1] The Watchtower. April 15, 2001. The Church Fathers—Advocates of Bible Truth? page 20. wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2001283#h=34
[2] Alexandria in Late Antiquity: Topography and Social Conflict. (Baltimore, Maryland and London, England: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997), p. 314, in “Hypatia,” en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypatia.
[3] Mark, Joshua J. “Hypatia of Alexandria.” Ancient History Encyclopedia. Last modified September 02, 2009. www.ancient.eu/Hypatia_of_Alexandria/ Joshua J. Mark also wrote:
By the year 400 CE Alexandria was in constant religious turmoil and, in 415 CE, this resulted in the murder of the Neo-Platonic philosopher Hypatia and, according to some scholars, the burning of the great library and the complete destruction of the temple of Serapis. Alexandria declined rapidly after this date with scholars, scientists, and thinkers of all disciplines leaving the city for safer locales. The city became steadily impoverished after the rise of Christianity, both financially and culturally, and became increasingly a battlefield for warring faiths. (“Alexandria, Egypt.” Ancient History Encyclopedia. Last modified May 02, 2018. www.ancient.eu/alexandria/.)


See also:
Credits:
  • Depiction of Hypatia by Elbert Hubbard, 1908, from his work Little Journeys to the Homes of Great Teachers.
  • Burning Of The Royal Library by Science Source.

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