IME 2017 — Questão 32 · Língua Inglesa

PARA AS QUESTÕES 31 a 37, RESPONDA DE ACORDO COM O TEXTO 2 A SEGUIR.

Texto 2

HYPATIA OF ALEXANDRIA

1 Hypatia of Alexandria (c. 370 CE – March 415 CE) was a female philosopher and

mathematician, born in Alexandria, Egypt possibly in 370 CE (although some scholars cite her

birth as c. 350 CE). She was the daughter of the mathematician Theon, the last Professor at

the University of Alexandria, who tutored her in math, astronomy, and the philosophy of the day

5 which, in modern times, would be considered science. Nothing is known of her mother and

there is little information about her life. As the historian Deakin writes, "The most detailed

accounts we have of Hypatia's life are the records of her death. We learn more about her death

from the primary sources than we do about any other aspect of her life". She was murdered in

415 CE by a Christian mob who attacked her on the streets of Alexandria. The primary

10 sources, even those Christian writers who were hostile to her and claimed she was a witch,

portray her as a woman who was widely known for her generosity, love of learning, and

expertise in teaching in the subjects of Neo-Platonism, mathematics, science, and philosophy

in general.

In a city which was becoming increasingly diverse religiously (and had always been so

15 culturally) Hypatia was a close friend of the pagan prefect Orestes and was blamed by Cyril,

the Christian Archbishop of Alexandria, for keeping Orestes from accepting the 'true faith'. She

was also seen as a 'stumbling block' to those who would have accepted the 'truth'

of Christianity were it not for her charisma, charm, and excellence in making difficult

mathematical and philosophical concepts understandable to her students; concepts which

20 contradicted the teachings of the relatively new church. Alexandria was a great seat of learning

in the early days of Christianity but, as the faith grew in adherents and power, steadily became

divided by fighting among religious factions. It is by no means an exaggeration to state that

Alexandria was destroyed as a centre of culture and learning by religious intolerance, and

Hypatia has come to symbolize this tragedy to the extent that her death has been cited as the

25 end of the classical world.

By all accounts, Hypatia was an extraordinary woman _____(36)_____. Theon refused

to impose upon his daughter the traditional role assigned to women and raised her as one

would have raised a son in the Greek tradition; by teaching her his own trade. The historian

Slatkin writes, "Greek women of all classes were occupied with the same type of work, mostly

30 centered around the domestic needs of the family. Women cared for young children, nursed

the sick, and prepared food". Hypatia, on the other hand, led the life of a respected academic

at Alexandria's university; a position to which, as far as the evidence suggests, only males

were entitled previously. She never married and remained celibate throughout her life, devoting

herself to learning and teaching. The ancient writers are in agreement that she was a woman

35 of enormous intellectual power. Deakin writes:

“The breadth of her interests is most impressive. Within mathematics, she wrote or lectured

on astronomy (including its observational aspects - the astrolabe), geometry (and for its day

advanced geometry at that) and algebra (again, for its time, difficult algebra), and made an

advance in computational technique - all this as well as engaging in religious philosophy and

40 aspiring to a good writing style. Her writings were, as best we can judge, an outgrowth of her

teaching in the technical areas of mathematics. In effect, she was continuing a program

initiated by her father: a conscious effort to preserve and to elucidate the great mathematical

works of the Alexandrian heritage.”

CE = Common Era, the same as AD, Anno Domini.

MARK, Joshua J. Hypatia of Alexandria. In: Ancient History Encyclopedia, 2017. Disponível em <http://www.ancient.eu/Hypatia_of_Alexandria/>. Acesso em: 20/06/2017.

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