As a new film chronicling the life and times of Hypatia of Alexandria premieres at this year’s Cannes festival, Woman’s Hour gives you a guide to the editor of Euclid’s ‘Elements'. As a leading pagan she met a grisly end at the hands of a Christian mob. We only know of Hypatia from four sources, three of which decry her as a troublesome individual. But modern historians have reconstructed her as a leading woman of her age and a martyr to reason. Jenni discusses Hypatia’s significance with historian, writer and broadcaster Bettany Hughes and Edith Hall, professor of classics at Royal Holloway, University of London.
