If ever there was a woman in history deserving of more attention, certainly Hypatia of Alexandria is one. Not only was this fifth century (CE) scholar a noted mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher (her father, Theon, was the last head of the Museum at Alexandria before the city was sacked and the famous library went up in flame), she was also, according to ancient texts, a bit of a menstrual activist.
The story goes that one of her male students had developed a crush on her and, rather than showing respect for her intellect, expressed his romantic desire. She rebuffed him by exposing her bloody menstrual rags and accusing him of base lust.
AGORA, the 2009 film starring Rachel Weisz and directed by Alejandro Amenabar, does a good job of depicting Hypatia’s intelligence as well as her beauty. (It is a big feature film, after all.) And though the trailer for the film does not include the menstrual scene, the full film itself does do it justice by showing how the teacher used her menstrual rags to refute a young man’s presumptuous overture.
I think AGORA is an under-appreciated film on many levels, not merely for its menstrual forthrightness. Hypatia and Rachel (in the biblical book of Genesis) are the only two women I know of in classical history who boldly confronted the menstrual taboos and they deserve our respect. AGORA helps bring one of these women to a contemporary audience.
