Hypatia of Alexandria

Hypatia of Alexandria was a philosopher, mathematician, and astronomer living in the city of Alexandria from 370 A.D to 415 A.D. She is credited with the invention of the astrolabe and the hydrometer, as well as with having written several treatises on conic sections and on the works of the geometer and astronomer Ptolemy.

During this time in the history of Alexandria, the forces of the Church had entered the city under the command of the Emperor Theodosius I to destroy all non-Christian worship. It was one of these mobs that set upon Hypatia of Alexandria at the behest of Cyril of Alexandria. They stripped her of her clothing and bludgeoned her with clay pots, and then dragged her through the streets to one of the temples, where they used the shards of the broken pottery to flay her alive. A fire was built and her twitching dismembered limbs were thrown in..

John of Nikiu related later that "all the people surrounded the patriarch Cyril and named him 'the new Theophilus'; for he had destroyed the last remains of idolatry in the city".^{[Citation Needed]} It was for this act of purification that Cyril of Alexandria was later appointed to the position of Doctor of the Church and canonized as St. Cyril of Alexandria.