Rachel Weisz - Ancient Librarian

[Lanista]

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/film/2008/03/b..._alexandri.html

[Primus Pilus]

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/film/2008/03/b..._alexandri.html

 

 

This film sounds as if it could be interesting, though I am slightly concerned that the religious tension might tend to take on a modern flavor. However, Alexandria is one of the ancient world's great cities and the library of course is worthy of overdue attention.

 

I may be alone on this, but I must admit to not being a Rachel Weisz fan. I can't even really pinpoint a reason other than that I just don't like her (or the movies I've seen her in... the Fountain made me wretch). Pathetic excuse perhaps, but what can I do? I suppose she was chosen because she was type-cast as a librarian in an ancient world theme for the movie "The Mummy"?

[M. Porcius Cato]

I'm thrilled--the story of Hypatia is one of the best kept secrets of the ancient world. A renowned mathematician and philosopher, Hypatia is (I think) the only woman depicted in Raphael's School of Athens.

 

From Socrates Scholasticus:

Yet even she fell a victim to the political jealousy which at that time prevailed. For as she had frequent interviews with Orestes, it was calumniously reported among the Christian populace, that it was she who prevented Orestes from being reconciled to the bishop. Some of them therefore, hurried away by a fierce and bigoted zeal, whose ringleader was a reader named Peter, waylaid her returning home, and dragging her from her carriage, they took her to the church called Caesareum, where they completely stripped her, and then murdered her by scraping her skin off with tiles and bits of shell. After tearing her body in pieces, they took her mangled limbs to a place called Cinaron, and there burnt them.

 

Historically, interest in her story typically waxes and wanes with the popularity of free-thought, so it's a nice cultural sign that she's garnering interest again. Maybe the Church will finally do the right thing and strip Cyril, who led the mob against her, of his sainthood.

[DecimusCaesar]

Hypatia became famous to a generation of people following the broadcast of Carl Sagan's 'Cosmos' series back in the eighties.

 

There's a clip about her on Youtube from the series that's worth digging up. The history might be a bit off (we can't be completely sure if the library of Alexandria was burnt down by Christian zealots) but nonetheless it is rather powerful.

 

That's a striking picture of her by Raphael. Thanks for posting it Cato.

Edited April 9, 2008 by DecimusCaesar

[Nephele]

Hypatia became famous to a generation of people following the broadcast of Carl Sagan's 'Cosmos' series back in the eighties.

 

Outstanding series, and memorable introduction to Hypatia. I took the time to transcribe Sagan's words. Here they be:

 

"Let me tell you about the end. It's a story about the last scientist to work in this place, a mathematician, astronomer, physicist, and head of the school of Neoplatonic philosophy in Alexandria. That's an extraordinary range of accomplishments for any individual in any age. Her name was Hypatia. She was born in this city in the year 370 A.D.

 

"This was a time when women had essentially no options. They were considered property. Nevertheless, Hypatia was able to move freely, unselfconsciously through traditional male domains. By all accounts she was a great beauty. And, although she had many suitors, she had no interest in marriage.

 

"The Alexandria of Hypatia's time, by then long under Roman rule, was a city in grave conflict. Slavery, the cancer of the ancient world, had sapped classical civilization of its vitality. The growing Christian Church was consolidating its power and attempting to eradicate pagan influence and culture. Hypatia stood at the focus -- at the epicenter -- of mighty social forces. Cyril, the Bishop of Alexandria, despised her, in part because of her close friendship with the Roman governor, but also because she was a symbol of learning and science, which were largely identified by the early Church with paganism.

 

"In great personal danger, Hypatia continued to teach and to publish until, in the year 415 A.D., on her way to work, she was set upon by a fanatical mob of Cyril's followers. They dragged her from her chariot, tore off her clothes, and flayed her flesh from her bones with abalone shells. Her remains were burned, her works obliterated, her name forgotten. Cyril was made a saint.

 

"The glory you see around me is nothing but a memory. It does not exist. The last remains of the Library were destroyed within a year of Hypatia's death. It's as if an entire civilization had undergone a sort of self-inflicted, radical brain surgery, so that most of its memories, discoveries, ideas, and passions were irrevocably wiped out.

 

"The loss was incalculable. In some cases, we know only the tantalizing titles of books that had been destroyed. In most cases, we know neither the titles nor the authors. We do know that in this Library there were a hundred and twenty-three different plays by Sophocles, of which only seven have survived to our time. One of those seven is Oedipus Rex. Similar numbers apply to the lost works of Aeschylus, Euripedes, Aristophanes. It's a little as if the only surviving works of a man named William Shakespeare were Coriolanus and A Winter's Tale, although we had heard he'd written some other things which were highly prized in his time. Plays called Hamlet, Macbeth, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Julius Caesar, King Lear, Romeo and Juliet.

 

"History is full of people who, out of fear or ignorance or the lust for power, have destroyed treasures of immeasurable value which truly belong to all of us. We must not let it happen again."

 

-- Carl Sagan on Hypatia and the end of the Library of Alexandria, from Cosmos

[M. Porcius Cato]

Thanks Nephele! It's a great episode in a wonderful series. In Cosmos, Carl Sagan communicates the grandeur of science better than anyone. Here's the snippet on Hypatia. Here's

.

[DecimusCaesar]

Carl Sagan's words are a moving tribute to the end of Classical learning. Thank you for posting Nephele, and thank you MPC for posting those great videos.

[Ursus]

I may be alone on this, but I must admit to not being a Rachel Weisz fan.

 

 

Eye candy, nothing more. I can certainly think of more intellectual actresses.

 

The movie will probably be as historically accurate as "Gladiator." Although if for every million person who sees the movie, one of them actually picks up a book on the subject, I suppose the movie will have served some higher purpose.

[DecimusCaesar]

I don't know if this has been posted before (I have a vague feeling that I have posted this video once on another thread) but here is the trailer to the film.

 

Agora Trailer

[Artimi]

I havent watched, the 300 or Gladiator and wont be watching this one.

 

I have read Hypatia of Alexandria by Maria Dzielska. It is a translation from Polish. I sometimes find translated books a little stiff. I remember thinking it was an interesting book but it has been many years ago, so I must reread it.

[Northern Neil]

I may be alone on this, but I must admit to not being a Rachel Weisz fan.

 

 

Eye candy, nothing more. I can certainly think of more intellectual actresses.

 

The movie will probably be as historically accurate as "Gladiator." Although if for every million person who sees the movie, one of them actually picks up a book on the subject, I suppose the movie will have served some higher purpose.

I found the trailor quite intriguing and moving. If it serves as a parable of the fanaticism and intolerance of monotheism - in ALL its guises - it may yet serve a higher purpose still.

[DecimusCaesar]

This film seems to have dropped off the radar. Any news? Last I heard was that it had recieved luke warm reviews at Cannes. Since then - nothing. No news of a cinema or DVD/Blu-ray release.

[Ursus]

Yeah, whatever happened to this movie...?

[DecimusCaesar]

Yeah, whatever happened to this movie...?

 

I've just checked Imdb and it has a 7.6 rating, which isn't too bad at all. Still can't find anything else about the film though, like DVD release dates etc. Come to think of it I don't think this film even has a distributor, which would probably explain a lot.

 

Can't find much else though as most of the disussion about the film revolves around Rachel Weisz's bum and atheism.

[Bryaxis Hecatee]

Here in Belgium it is supposed to get out on December 12 2009

 

CORRECTION : now announced to come out on January 6

Edited December 4, 2009 by Bryaxis Hecatee