Finally! The movie Agora starring Rachel Weisz as Hypatia, the Lady Philosopher of Alexandria made it to the US shores. I’ve been following the controversy around this film for several months. Alejandro Amenábar wrote (with Mateo Gil) and directed this English language film with an international cast. Because it shows early Christians as intolerant and murderous, it kicked up some dust in Catholic European countries. There was even some talk about whether it would make it across the pond. In New York City, it is only in two “art house” theaters, hardly a major release, but it did garner a “critics’ choice” designation by the New York Times.
But, why was I excited? Because the movie is about my people and my events; characters and times I’ve studied and lived with for over twenty years; characters and events featured in my book Selene of Alexandria. Normally, I’ll go to a historical movie with some relish, but this time it was with eager anticipation and some trepidation. Would the writers/director get it right—the setting, the politics, my beloved characters? And here’s the answer: big picture yes, details no. For the record, this is not a movie review. I’ll leave the assessment of Agora’s worth as a piece of art to others. For those who haven’t seen the movie, there are spoilers. But if you know the story of Hypatia, you basically know the movie plot. What I talk about is the history behind the movie-what the writers/director got right and what (in my opinion) they got wrong.
The movie starts in AD 391 in Alexandria, Egypt. Since early in the 4th C and the time of Constantine the Great, Christianity has been a legal religion and, except for Julian the Apostate, the religion of the Emperors. But it is wracked by controversy and constant accusations of heresy. In spite of Constantine’s efforts to get some unity through the adoption of the Nicene Creed in 325, the next seven decades see brutal infighting in what was to become the Catholic Church. Bishop Hilary of Poitiers described it this way:
Every year, nay every moon, we make new creeds to describe invisible mysteries. We repent of what we have done, we defend those who repent, we anathematize those whom we defended. We condemn either the doctrine of others in ourselves, or our own in that of others; and reciprocally tearing one another to pieces, we have been the cause of each other’s ruin.
Alexandria is no different. There are frequent riots throughout the 4th C as one group persecutes another. In 391, the pagans are a dwindling but still powerful group and the Jews constitute a third religious force. Theodosius I is Emperor of the Roman Empire, reigns from Constantinople and outlaws all public non-Christian worship. Theophilus is Bishop of Alexandria and is engaged in a campaign to purify the Church of all heresies and extend Christianity throughout the city. The pagan mathematician Theon and his philosopher daughter Hypatia are active in teaching and writing. That sets the stage. Now for some general reactions in roughly the order they appear in the movie:
The Fire-walking Christian
Early on, Theon (played by Michael Lonsdale) witnesses a Christian (Ammonius played by Ashraf Barhom) taunting a pagan about the impotence of his gods. Ammonius then does a “fire walk” across a bed of coals to prove the superiority of Christ. When the pagan refuses to do the same, he is picked up and thrown on the coals allowing time for his clothes to burst into flame. This “miracle” helps convert several witnesses including Hypatia’s slave Davus (Max Minghella.)
This is one of my favorite stories from the texts. But it happened between two Christians of different sects, not between a Christian and pagan. I also have this story in my book and one of the characters gets to explain how the “miracle” works: “He will take no hurt if he walks quickly and keeps his robes from the coals…Anyone can move their hand through a flame without harm. The fire burns only when the hand stops over the flame or a man stays in one place on the coals.”
Hypatia’s Science and Students
In the big picture, Amenábar got this right. We see Hypatia challenging her students to explain an astronomical anomaly, exhorting them to be “brothers” in spite of their religious differences, and rebuffing an amorous student by giving him a handkerchief stained with her menstrual blood. Although little of what Hypatia worked on survived, we do know she was an avid astronomer and built instruments like the astrolabe. I was delighted that the movie presented Aristarchus‘ (3rd Century BC) heliocentric model of the earth revolving around the sun (not to be revived in the West until Copernicus.) But using it as a theme for Hypatia to study and try to prove is most likely bogus.
There is no evidence that she agreed with or studied this model. Dr. S. James Killings, a Medieval scholar, wrote a piece called Was Hypatia of Alexandria a Scientist (as opposed to a mathematician) in which he argues that the empirical way of thinking and experimenting Hypatia displays in the movie didn’t exist until several centuries later. Dr. Richard Carter, a classical scholar, in his piece called Killings Hypatia, says empirical thinking did exist, but Neo-platonism was antithetical to its use. Both men agree that Hypatia was unlikely to have thought about science in the way the movie depicts. It’s a lovely thought and served the dramatic arc, but probably inaccurate. (Note: since I first posted this, there have been a number of on line discussions about Hypatia’s science. A scientist in the UK who blogs at History Books Review posted an interesting piece “What did Hypatia really know? The science of Agora.” He agrees that it’s impossible to know what Hypatia knew or didn’t but does a good job of laying our what was generally known about astronomy, and Hypatia would have had access to, at the time.)
As to her students, they came from prominent families from all over the Empire to study with her. She had both Christian and non-Christian students and many went on to occupy high positions in both the Church and government. We know the names of some of her most intimate circle from the letters of Synesius of Cyrene who later became Bishop of Ptolemais. Hypatia espoused the philosophy of Neo-Platonism that taught that in man’s search for god; he must live in harmony with himself and give up the distractions of the world—similar to the teachings of the aesthetic Christians. In order for her students to attain “union with the divine” they must study, meditate, and live ethical lives. Beauty is a result of inner perfection, not physical beauty. Which leads us to the story of the bloody handkerchief—another of my favorite Hypatia stories.
The Bloody Handkerchief
Amenábar has one of Hypatia’s students Orestes (Oscar Isaac) fall in love with her. He corners her in the library to press his suit, where she suggests that he choose another muse—music. He then declares his love for her and praises her beauty in a public theater where he plays an original musical piece and presents his pipes to Hypatia. During their next class, Hypatia hands Orestes a “present” in return—a handkerchief stained with her menstrual blood—and asks, “Is there any beauty in that?” Humiliated, Orestes storms out.
Bravo! The movie managed to get both versions of the story as told by Damascius in his Life of Isadore. The student wasn’t Orestes (I’ll talk about all the characters in a later post), but the sentiment was real. Damascius reports that after a student professed his love for her, Hypatia showed him her bloody menstrual rag and said, “This is what you really love, my young man, but you do not love beauty for its own sake.” He relates another version of the story where Hypatia counsels music as an antidote to love, but he deemed that version “ignorant.”
I’ll continue my “reel” vs. “real” analysis in Part II where I’ll look at the destruction of the Serapeum, the expulsion of the Jews from Alexandria, and Hypatia’s murder and in Part III where I look at the major characters.
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Hypatia: Her Life and Times
Print book and eBook now available in all digital formats.
Like most bloggers, I obsess over my “views” and track which articles are most popular. Hands down, anything about Hypatia draws the most readers and generates the most discussion. As a favor to my readers and Hypatia fans, I put all the material in one place. This article and many others from my website, this blog and guest posts are now collected in ebook and print versions (buy direct or order from any online or private bookstore). If you feel you can’t afford the book, contact me through this website and I’ll send you a free PDF copy. Check it out and let me know what you think!
How can you find the release dates for this? It seems to be playing only on the coasts right now and I’m wondering when it will make it to the Midwest. There’s been buzz about this for a year. I want to see it but at this rate I may have to buy a foreign copy on Ebay or something
I’m also frustrated at the slow release in the US. Newmarket Films bought the distribution rights and hasn’t posted anything on their site other than the New York and LA releases. It’s also been playing some festivals. The religious reaction may have scared them off, but I hope not. Maybe they’re just building up buzz on the coasts before bringing it out in the heartland. If I run across anything else, I’ll send you note. Thanks for dropping by!
Thanks so much for mentioning this movie! I love historical flicks and novels and look forward to reading yours and seeing the movie now. ;D Thanks for the link to my blog, btw. I’ll be sure to reciprocate. You’ve got a very nice site here.
Thanks, Victoria. Glad you had such a great time at your retreat. Good luck with your book!
I’m eyeing an Agora R2 DVD from Spain from Ebay. I’d suggest you buy it from foreign Ebay markets instead of waiting for it.
There are frequent riots throughout the 4th C as one Christian group persecutes another.
Rioting was the favorite municipal sport in old Alexandria. This was noted by Ammianus Marcellinus, the Historia Augusta, Socrates Scholasticus, and others.
The Arian bishop George was killed not by the orthodox Christians, but by the pagans. He was pulled apart, dragged through the streets, his body burned, and the ashes scattered. (The last, Ammianus says, because they knew the Christian custom of building churches over the relics of their martyrs.)
The “holy virgins” of Heliopolis were stripped and exposed by pagans, their bellies cut open and swine fodder mixed with their entrails. Then pigs were let loose on them.
When Theophilus dug up an old Giant Phallus of Priapus and sundry other gods during the renovation of an old Arian church (built on the ruins of a derelict pagan fane) the pagans rioted, there were street battles, and the pagans took refuge in the fortress-like Serapeum, where they tortured and killed their hostages. This is what led the Augustus of the East to order the temple dismantled. No dead baby skulls, no fighting over dead baby skulls.
When Orestes announced regulations on the dancing exhibitions, Hierax cheered too loudly and the Jews said it was to raise sedition, so Orestes had Heirax tortured. When Cyril chastized the Jewish leaders over this, they organized a mob, cried that night that the local church was on fire, then attacked and killed the Christians who came running out to put out the fire. This led to a Christian mob the next day seizing the synagogues and driving the Jews out of town.
When Cyrus and Orestes started bickering over who had a bigger one, a mob of Nitrian monks came to town and assaulted the prefect. Another mob of Christians rescued him from the monks. The prefect then had one of the monks tortured to death.
When the rumor went around that Hypatia was preventing Orestes from reconciling with Cyrus, a mob of orthodox Christians led by Peter the Lector did to her what an earlier mob did to George the Arian. The difference was that even the Arians disliked George while Hypatia was universally admired.
Later, the orthodox bishop Proterius was assassinated by Monophysites, who then did to him what was done to Hypatia and to George. Dismember, drag, burn, and scatter.
Alexandria. You gotta love the town.
[...] For a good historical overview of Hypatia’s life and times go to Historian’s Notebook. It’s a great 3 part analysis of the movie’s [...]
Maybe I should read your book before making more unsupported claims about the movie…
Hi Jared. I’d love it if you read my book! ; ) However, I didn’t find any unsupported claims in your review. You were talking more about the science than the history, something, I’ve only studied tangentially. Unfortunately almost all of Hypatia’s writings are lost, so we don’t really know what she believed about the cosmos. I’d like to think she was an original thinker who could work out the math and proofs of a heliocentric system, but…we just don’t know. Michael Deakin has a newer biography Hypatia of Alexandria: Mathematician and Martyr which I haven’t read. Maybe it has some insights into her math studies.
Just wondering about the depictions of the Parabolani burning the bodies of fellow Christians. I appreciate that Pagans and Jews would be happily burnt but I am sure I recall a scene where bodies of poor Christians are piled up and burnt outside the city walls?
Would this not have been entirely outside the scope of early Christian practice? (This is not a criticism in any way but rather either a deficiency in my memory of the film or in my knowledge of early Christian burial practices – which one?)
I have to admit I have only vague recollections of that scene where parabolani were hauling and burning bodies and don’t recall whether the dead were Christian, Jewish, pagan or unclaimed dead from the charity hospitals (the parabolani’s roots are as hospital workers transporting the sick and dead.) The Jews generally buried their dead, so if the scene is after the Jewish massacre, the artistic impression would be one of the parabolani desecrating the Jewish dead. Ditto of pagans who believed in some version of the Egyptian afterlife in which their bodies had to remain whole. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia early Christian rites (prayers, sacred ground, etc.) were more closely aligned with local customs than with a overall Church dogma. But the Christian belief in resurrection of the body would indicate that burial was the preferred method. I’ll be getting the DVD soon and will see if I can determine who the dead were. In the meantime, if anyone else has information please post!
Thanks a lot for such interesting comments! I adore this movie and this epoch and appreciate your contribution.
Hi Justice,
I just saw Agora last night and was amazed by it. I know it has some inaccuracies, but it was still amazing. Particularly myself as a woman who studies science but also believes in a larger connection with the universe, I find Hypatia a very inspiring heroine.
But of course, she had flaws (which definitely DID NOT warrant her death, but oh fundamentalists and politicians… what can I say…). One of the ‘flaws’ that I saw was her considering her menstrual blood as not beautiful.
I know in many cultures, menstrual cycle is considered dirty and unworthy of attention. Many women (including my friends) never celebrates menstrual cycle; they curse it as a hindrance to their performance.
I am different. I see menstrual cycle as sacred and holy. The menstrual blood flushes out unnecesarry chemicals from women’s bodies, and can also gives life to the baby inside the uterus.
In this sense, Hypatia’s menstrual rag contained not only beauty. It has a perfect harmony, circle and balance. It is one of the representations of life.
In 2008, I wrote a blog post about menstrual cycle, and although you may not agree with me, may you find it at least interesting to read.
http://becomingicha.blogspot.com/2008/03/benefits-and-blessings-of-periods.html
[...] Faith Justice has a series of interesting posts (part 1, part 2, and part 3) comparing the movie to the history it [...]
[...] (edit: After reading Faith’s blog Historian’s Notebook, specifically her post on the factual accuracy of Agora, I’ve learned that while she was an “avid astronomer and built instruments like the [...]
This was a phenomenal post! Very interesting and helpful! Thanks a lot, Faith.
Glad you enjoyed it Joel!
[...] Parts I & II of this series on the history behind the movie, I talked about several major historical [...]
Thanks so much for visiting and my site (http://www.netflixjunkie.com/) and commenting on Agora.
As a guy who studied the classics at St. John’s College, I’m fascinated with ancient history and find your blog to be a delightful resource. Thank you for directing me to it.
Thanks, Alex. I really enjoyed your review of Agora!
[...] people. She’s a major character in my novel Selene of Alexandria, the subject of the recent movie Agora directed by Alejandro Amenabar, and she rated a plate in Judy Chicago’s massive art piece The [...]
[...] film. This historian, Faith Justice, knows her stuff when it comes to Alexandria and has written a three part series on how the film stacks up to the [...]
[...] conics and astronomical observations; that is highly unlikely. I discuss the possibilities in depth here. Although it makes for a wonderful dramatic arc, there just isn’t any evidence for it. As for [...]
The first use of the name “Catholic” referring to the Christian Church that I’ve found is from St. Ignatius of Antioch, which ironically is the same place the term “Christian” was first used. He wrote a letter to the Smyrnaeans in about 110 A.D. while on his way to be put to death in Rome. So, saying that the Catholic Church was first formed during this time is really not true. This may be where it came out of hiding and began to fight the heresies associated mostly with Arianism and other Gnostic. A little funny history associate with Arius and St. Nicholas. During the Council of Nicaea, Nicholas, Bsp., walked to Arius and slapped him across the face. The other bishops were outraged and sent him to Constantine for punishment. Constantine gave the bishops authority to make the decision to what happened to Nicholas. Olde St. Nick was stripped of his ecclesiastical garments and shackled in prison while the council continued. Repenting of his sin he was eventually reinstated. Love that story when it’s told in a funny way. Oh, yes. There really is a St. Nicholas, in case you didn’t know..
Thanks for the info on St. Nick and the earliest use of “Catholic” in reference to the earlier Christians. I was trying to put the 5C Christians on the evolutionary timeline of the modern Catholic Church in my comment, “In spite of Constantine’s efforts to get some unity through the adoption of the Nicene Creed in 325, the next seven decades see brutal infighting in what was to become the Catholic Church.” I suppose I should have inserted “modern” in there to clarify. And, yeah, some of those early guys were hot-headed and brutal…Amenabar’s point about the corrupting influence of zealotry in any age or in any religion.
i SAW THIS MOVIE LAST NIGHT ON CABLE. I had studied about Hypatia years ago. It was so refreshig to see Xians depicted as they really were, and still are, today. Wonderful movie, even though the history was changed a little. They had to have at least a tiny “hollywood ending”, and Davus killing Hypatia to spare the pain of execution was as close as they could get.