PHOTO: Internet Movie Database
The movie, “Agora,” tells the story of Hypatia, the great female mathematician, philosopher, and scientist of ancient Egypt during the fifth century CE. The story follows atheist Edward Gibbon’s account of the destruction of the great library in Alexandria that has Christians destroying the collected wisdom of the ancient world. While a number of ancient sources place the burning of the library well before the time of Christ let alone the life of Hypatia, the library’s destruction was likely not due to a single event but to many, some as mundane as crumbling papyrus and lack of time, money, and interest to maintain such a huge collection.(see The Mysterious Fate of the Great Library of Alexandria, Bede’s Library, James Hannam ; The Great “Library” of Alexandria?” by Heather Phillips; Library of Alexandria, Wikipedia; The Burning of the Library of Alexandria by Preston Chesser . )
While the story of Hypatia, an independent woman in the male domain of scholarship, the history of Alexandria, and the fate of the library kept me riveted to the screen, the theme of intolerance and violence born of religious fanaticism was uncomfortably current.
How quickly human beings divide themselves into “us” and “them,” making oppression, violence, terrorism, and holy wars acceptable, even good. My stomach felt sick as I watched Christians, Jews, and Pagans slaughter one another in the name of God.
Humankind has made great strides in science and technology, but we have not moved as far from the self-righteousness and arrogance that oozed out of the movie’s religious “leaders.” The philosophical Hypatia was the most noble of character, tolerant, peaceful, and committed to the search for understanding the mysteries of the universe.
I left the theater curious about the Royal Library and Hypatia. I also left with the conviction that people of faith must live lives of peace and justice. Many do that in quiet ways, living good lives. Little at a time they allow Grace to touch the world. Still, we should not be afraid to speak out against atrocities committed in the name of God of Love no matter who is responsible. How would todays people of faith, I wondered, fare in a movie made about struggles in the beginnings of the twenty-first century?
© 2010 Mary van Balen
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