Agora

Meanwhile, a wave of social unrest begins to challenge the Roman authority in Alexandria as Pagans and Christians clash throughout the city. As tensions rise, the Christians start to desecrate the statues of the pagan deities, provoking a backlash from the pagans, led by figures like Orestes and the father of Hypatia. In an attempt to suppress the Christians’ escalating influence, the pagans ambush them; however, during the confrontation, they find themselves vastly outnumbered by a large and aggressive Christian mob. This confrontation results in Hypatia’s father sustaining serious injuries, compelling Hypatia and the surviving pagans to seek refuge in the Library of the Serapeum.

The siege on the library eventually comes to an end when an envoy from the Roman Emperor announces that the pagans will be pardoned. However, their relief is short-lived as the Christians are granted permission to invade the library and do with it as they wish. In a frantic race against time, Hypatia and her allies attempt to salvage the most valuable scrolls from the impending destruction before the Christians can take over and obliterate the library’s precious contents. Additionally, Davus, a former slave, makes a shocking choice by siding with the Christian forces. He later returns wielding a gladius and attempts to assault Hypatia. In a moment of compassion, he breaks down in tears and offers her his sword. Hypatia responds by removing his slave collar and granting him freedom.

Years pass, and Orestes, having converted to Christianity, now holds the position of prefect in Alexandria. Meanwhile, Hypatia continues her relentless pursuit of knowledge, focusing on celestial movements, including the Sun, Moon, known planets, and the stars. The Christians mock her findings, particularly the theory that the Earth is a sphere, arguing that people living far from the top would simply fall off. When they consult Davus for his opinion, he evades trouble by stating that only God knows such matters.

Hypatia’s groundbreaking exploration into the heliocentric model of the solar system, initially proposed by Aristarchus of Samos, leads her to conduct an experiment with a dropped object from a moving ship, demonstrating to Orestes that the motion of the Earth would not influence the falling object’s trajectory. However, as religious sentiments intensify against heliocentrism, Christians prohibit her from teaching at the school. The conflict between Christians and Jews escalates, resulting in violent confrontations.

Cyril, one of the leading figures among the Christians, perceives Hypatia’s influence over Orestes as a threat. He orchestrates a public ceremony aimed at compelling Orestes to subdue her. Fortunately, Synesius, Hypatia’s former pupil and now the Bishop of Cyrene, steps in to support her, but he insists that she accept Christianity for his assistance, which she firmly declines. Amidst these struggles, Hypatia makes a groundbreaking theoretical discovery, positing that the Earth orbits the Sun in an elliptical path. Unfortunately, Cyril manages to rally a mob of Christians against her, leading them to decide on stoning her for her beliefs.

As the mob disperses to collect stones, Davus acts swiftly, suffocating Hypatia to spare her from the agony of being stoned to death, convincing the crowd that she has merely fainted. He then escapes before the mob realizes the truth, leaving the dark events of that day to unfold.

Last Updated: May 13, 2025 at 20:30