Agora (2009)
Now that I am currently listening to Peter Adamson’s podcast named ‘History of Philosophy’, this film makes a lot of sense. This podcast tells, in so many episodes without a gap, the thinking of Man from Thales all through the thinkers from Greece and present-day Turkey to the Romans and so on at a snail’s pace.
Even after all these years, we are still fighting over the same issues. On one end, a group is trying to keep their minds open and attempting to explore that there may be more than one way of doing things, that they could probably solve a problem while looking at it from another angle. And the other group counters this argument by saying that our mind is too feeble to understand the many intricacies of the universe. And we, the mortals, should not question that is already written in the scriptures.
Egypt was known for its advances in mathematics and geometry even in the Pre-Socratic era. Pythagoras is said to have travelled here to acquire knowledge. After Alexander, Ptolemy developed the fields of mathematics and astronomy.
It was 4th century CE, way after the fall of Alexander’s rule and the Empire was divided into Macedonia, the Egyptian part and the Eastern province, trouble was brewing in the cradle of Egyptian civilisation, Alexandria. Three groups (the pagans who wished Greek gods; Jewish and the Christians) here are apparently living in harmony. The affluent pagans live in comfort and do not have think of the day-to-day living, spend time learning about the world, philosophy and astronomy. Christianity appears to appeal to the slaves and the downtrodden. The Jewish are living in their world, minding their own businesses.
Hypatia is a female philosopher who teaches at an academy in a Platonic school in Alexandria. She has a slave, Davus, who helps her with her teaching. She teaches the elitist’s kids.
Mayhem kicks up as the Christians, who make up the bulk of the underprivileged part of the population rising against the pagans whom they claim are teaching things contradictory to their scriptures. Their leader, Ammonius, an instigator, attacks the Jews as well.
An eye for an eye, the whole cradle of knowledge comes crumbling down as the uninitiated destroy the library with all its papyrus scrolls. Hypatia is accused of being a witch and is strangled by her slave who had embraced Christianity. Everyone is asked to state their allegiance to the God (of the day) to stay alive.
17 centuries later, we are still arguing the same the childish things. We kill our brethren under the shield of religion which allegedly promotes love, tolerance and peace. At first look, one is drawn into a belief thinking that it is compassionate, trying to help the weak and the destitute. We cannot help but to believe that once the weak are rejuvenated, they transform to automatons under the control of their leaders with their own self-interest. Power and control of others are the common denominators in these self-interests. No religion is not immune from this accusation. From a seemingly docile Buddhist monk in the mountains of Tibet to the carer of sick in a nunnery, they all may turn ballistic once their belief of what deemed as the Divine is challenged.
Now that I am currently listening to Peter Adamson’s podcast named ‘History of Philosophy’, this film makes a lot of sense. This podcast tells, in so many episodes without a gap, the thinking of Man from Thales all through the thinkers from Greece and present-day Turkey to the Romans and so on at a snail’s pace.
Even after all these years, we are still fighting over the same issues. On one end, a group is trying to keep their minds open and attempting to explore that there may be more than one way of doing things, that they could probably solve a problem while looking at it from another angle. And the other group counters this argument by saying that our mind is too feeble to understand the many intricacies of the universe. And we, the mortals, should not question that is already written in the scriptures.
Egypt was known for its advances in mathematics and geometry even in the Pre-Socratic era. Pythagoras is said to have travelled here to acquire knowledge. After Alexander, Ptolemy developed the fields of mathematics and astronomy.
It was 4th century CE, way after the fall of Alexander’s rule and the Empire was divided into Macedonia, the Egyptian part and the Eastern province, trouble was brewing in the cradle of Egyptian civilisation, Alexandria. Three groups (the pagans who wished Greek gods; Jewish and the Christians) here are apparently living in harmony. The affluent pagans live in comfort and do not have think of the day-to-day living, spend time learning about the world, philosophy and astronomy. Christianity appears to appeal to the slaves and the downtrodden. The Jewish are living in their world, minding their own businesses.
Hypatia is a female philosopher who teaches at an academy in a Platonic school in Alexandria. She has a slave, Davus, who helps her with her teaching. She teaches the elitist’s kids.
Mayhem kicks up as the Christians, who make up the bulk of the underprivileged part of the population rising against the pagans whom they claim are teaching things contradictory to their scriptures. Their leader, Ammonius, an instigator, attacks the Jews as well.
An eye for an eye, the whole cradle of knowledge comes crumbling down as the uninitiated destroy the library with all its papyrus scrolls. Hypatia is accused of being a witch and is strangled by her slave who had embraced Christianity. Everyone is asked to state their allegiance to the God (of the day) to stay alive.
17 centuries later, we are still arguing the same the childish things. We kill our brethren under the shield of religion which allegedly promotes love, tolerance and peace. At first look, one is drawn into a belief thinking that it is compassionate, trying to help the weak and the destitute. We cannot help but to believe that once the weak are rejuvenated, they transform to automatons under the control of their leaders with their own self-interest. Power and control of others are the common denominators in these self-interests. No religion is not immune from this accusation. From a seemingly docile Buddhist monk in the mountains of Tibet to the carer of sick in a nunnery, they all may turn ballistic once their belief of what deemed as the Divine is challenged.
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