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Suite Hypatia

by Wyndsok and Toveco

7:30

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For the record, I distance myself from ALL “fundamentalisms”: religious or secular, ancient or modern, eastern or western, scientistic or metaphysical, Darwinist or creationist, political or psychological; etc.

That being said, I first encountered story of Hypatia (d. 415 CE) back in the early 1990s, and was deeply impacted by it. She has become a heroine of mine.

Combining the beauty of the legendary Helen of Troy, and the wisdom and spiritual piety of the lesser known Diotima (Plato, Symposium 201d-212b), Hypatia was a veritable paragon of womanhood.

For any interested in reading about her, beyond what can be found on Wikipedia and the like, a recent and pretty solid scholarly source is:

HYPATIA Of ALEXANDRIA, by Maria Dzielska (Harvard University Press)

---I've personally researched the original source materials, and do not embrace all of the author's conclusions; but it is still, in my view, the best monograph in print.

This is an art-rock, or progressive-rock song suite. The mid-section---broken into three parts and featuring acoustic and electric guitar, along with synthesized accordion, strings, cello, flute and oboe---is a kind of musical summary of her story.

BTW, the “Hypatia quotes” you may read on YouTube and the like are almost without exception fabrications by radicalized Feminists and/or the science-versus-religion crowd. None of these so called “quotes” are an accurate representation of who this amazing Neoplatonist philosopher/mathematician really was! Only a couple things she actually said have come down to us, so beware…

IMHO the memory of this amazing woman deserves far better than to be made a poster child for some looney Left (or RIGHT) wing ideology.

'Nuff said...

Heartfelt thanks to Tom Hellstens for his stellar mastering, and thanks in advance for listening friends!

Released: 27-May-2024

Category: Rock

Application: Logic Pro

File type: mp3

File size: 14.3 Mb

Plays: 22

Downloads: 3

Weekly plays: 18

Weekly downloads: 3

License: No derivative works allowed

Lyrics

SUITE HYPATIA

1st  Movement: The Teacher

I.
Long ago in Alexandria...
a hub of knowledge in the ancient world;
chaste and beautiful;
brilliant as the Sun that shines
was her mind.

II.
She taught mathematics and philosophy.
Her students came from far and wide.
I can see her in my mind's eye,
standing straight and proud,
and pointing to a higher beauty.

 Chorus:
Hypatia!
You lit up the night.
The dignity of woman, 
shining oh so bright...

Hypatia!
You could not foresee;
your death at the hands of 
the denizens
of envy.

2nd Movement: Reflections

A) In The Shadow Of The Church
B) The Teacher And Her Students
C) In the Hands Of The Righteous

3rd Movement: The Martyr

III.
Her teaching was so influential, but
her allegiance was suspect.
The guardians of "orthodoxy" deemed her,
a force that must be checked.

IV.
They dragged you from your teaching post.
Stripped you naked in the street.
And for your intelligence and beauty,
reduced you to a bloody heap...

Chorus:
Hypatia!
Down ages dark and long;
somehow the memory lingers,
of how you suffered wrong.

Hypatia!
Your soul it did not die.
If you can hear me now
have pity,
on our ignorance...

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