THE 4th century AD was a pretty tricky time to be a female intellectual in the Egyptian-Roman city of Alexandria. However, Hypatia, a gifted mathematician, astronomer and philosopher, was an exception. She was such a highly respected teacher that one of her students, Synesius, said people travelled great distances to hear her lectures on philosophy.

Yet, despite being esteemed and revered, she inadvertently found herself caught in the middle of a religious power struggle and was murdered by an angry mob.