The Treatment and Reception of a Female Philosopher

Hypatia is a female philosopher, mathematician, and teacher who lived in Alexandria during the fifth century. Scholars have studied Hypatia\u27s mathematical texts, her modern representations, or her life to draw attention to the existence female philosophers (Dzielska 2008, Snyder 1989, Watts 2017). However, there are few surviving texts by Hypatia herself. Scholars who wish to learn about Hypatia rely on other sources such as letters by her student Synesius or later biographers like Socrates Scholasticus. Of Synesius\u27 letters that we have today, there are seven letters to Hypatia and numerous letters to other students of Hypatia and other philosophers. These letters range from letters about personal or city affairs to requests for a scientific instrument to praise. Scholars have used these letters and information about Alexandria in late antiquity to piece together an idea of Hypatia\u27s life and philosophy (Watts 2017). However, these authors all have their own portrayals of Hypatia. This paper examines Synesius\u27 portrayal of Hypatia within the context of Plato\u27s Symposium and argues that Synesius uses language similar to Socrates\u27 language when describing his teacher Diotima in order to portray Hypatia as the expert who inducts him into philosophy