Chapter 10 - Women Philosophers and Ideals of Being a Woman in Neoplatonic Schools of Late Antiquity

Summary

Sosipatra of Ephesus and Hypatia of Alexandria are the most prominent female philosophers and teachers of the Neoplatonic schools of late antiquity. However, none of their philosophical writings were passed down to us, so that – in recovering their thoughts – we depend on letters written to them and texts written about them. In these sources, Sosipatra and Hypatia appear to us as some kind of schisms, that is as historical figures on the one hand and as literary characters on the other hand, used by other authors to express their views on the philosophical life and the ideal way of living as a woman. This chapter will do justice to both aspects, unpacking what the sources allow us to conclude about the philosophical teaching of the historical Sospiatra and Hypatia and discussing how both characters are used by other Neoplatonists to convey certain ideals of femaleness.