Most women scientists in early antiquity either grew up in families of scientists, or lived in social environments conducive to intellectual development. Though it has been extremely difficult for scholars such as Caroline Herzenberg to accumulate material on their lives and work, there are records of the existence of small numbers of women scientists throughout early antiquity up until about 500 B.C. According to Herzenberg, the numbers of women scientists rose after 600 B.C., reflecting the rise in Greek science and culture, and dropped off again in 200 B.C. with the subsequent decline of Greece.

During the Hellenic period, the Pythagoreans and the Platonists are noted for providing a favorable social context in which women were allowed to pursue scientific activities. Various notable women scientists worked and studied in the school of Pythagoras, an academy which emphasized the study of mathematics, philosophy, end natural science. Mathematics was of particular importance to them, for it was believed that numerical relationships were at the core of natural phenomena. In addition, Pythagoreans also studied astronomy, acoustics, music, and medicine. Apparently, women scientists active in the school shared basically equal responsibilities with the men. Theano, who studied under Pythagoras, her husband, later became a prominent teacher who concentrated on physics, medicine, and child psychology. Upon the death of her husband, she assumed leadership of the Pythagorean school and encouraged the spread of Pythagorean philosophy by both women and men.

Arete of Cyrene, another prominent woman scientist of early antiquity, also arose from a family of scientists. Her father, who founded the Cyreniac school of philosophy, was one of Socrates' pupils who lived in North Africa around 400 B.C. She too assumed leadership of her father's academy upon his death. Historical records indicate that she taught science and philosophy for thirty-three years, and wrote over forty books. "She was so highly esteemed that they had inscribed on her tomb an epitaph which declared that she was the splendor of Greece and possessed the beauty of Helen, the virtue of Thirma, the soul of Socrates, and the tongue of Homer."

Numerous women were also active in Plato's Academy during the Hellenic age. Plato's school was extremely receptive to women, and its founder "attempted to give women a more equal position of responsibility; his writings indicate that he thought women should receive an education which should include subjects such as mathematics and astronomy." Although they were forbidden by law to attend public meetings, women such as Diotima, Perictione, and Aspasia were very active in Plato's Academy in Athens. Aspasia of Miletus was exceptionally bright; she was even one of Socrates' teachers. She was also an early pioneer for women's rights and struggled to persuade Pericles, the ruler of Athens, that all women should be free to pursue intellectual activities.

Some women who did just that did not receive the recognition they deserved. Such was the case for Pythias of Assos, Aristotle's wife. Though she assisted her husband in compiling an encyclopedia on botany, physiology and biology, and wrote books on generation and histology, Pythias was never given credibility for her work, and Aristotle wrote her off as an assistant.

Following the peak of intellectual activity during the Hellenic period, when centers of learning were most favorable to the involvement of women, there was a decrease in the number of women involved in science.

A century or so before the birth of Christ, however, there was a resurgence of women in science, as alchemists. Mary the Jewess (also known as Maria of Alexandria), probably the most famous of these, was particularly interested in instruments vital to chemical experiments. She invented several types of apparatus for distillation and sublimation, and popularized the use of the still, thereby revolutionizing alchemy. She is also noted for inventing the "water bath," which still retains her name in French-speaking countries as the "Bain Marie." Another alchemist at this time was Cleopatra, whose discoveries actually paved the way toward quantitative work in Chemistry.

Hypatia was perhaps one of the last exceptional women scientists of early civilization. She grew up around 370 A.D., in Alexandria, Egypt, a cosmopolitan cen-ter of learning where scholars from the Roman Empire gathered to exchange ideas. Her father Theon, a professor of mathemat-ics and astronomy at the University, made sure she received a formal education. In the end, she exceeded her father's great accomplishments, for she wrote numerous treatises and made remarkable contribu-tions to the fields of mathematics, philoso-phy, physics, and astronomy. She has been accredited with the "development of instrumentation and devices for astronomy and navigation, including a piano-sphere and an astrolabe." She was recognized as the head of the Neoplatonist school of phil-osophy in Alexandria. She refused to marry, despite several offers, claiming that she was married to the truth. Unfortunately, since Alexandria was an officially Ch-ristian part of the Roman Empire, she was in an extremely dangerous position as a highly visible pagan intellectual. Soon after he came into power, Hypatia was tortured to death.

Following Hypatia's death, there was a great decline in scientific activity and a subsequent decrease in the number of women involved in the sciences. However, following the rise of European science from the dark ages, the number of women scientists inflated. Trotula Platearius, a prominent specialist in gynecology and obstetrics in Italy at this time, is an example. An acclaimed professor, she also authored On the Suffering of Women, a book which examined gynecological disorders from a woman's perspective.

Hildegard of Bingen was an abbess of the twelfth century who spent most of her life in seclusion in Benedictine convents. In addition to religious work, she also made contributions to the sciences, following the pattern of other women of her day, including Herrade of Landsberg (founder and chief physician of a hospital) and Heloise, who joined the church in order to pursue an academic, intellectual life. An incredibly gifted woman, Hildegard authored books on such diverse topics as botany, zoology, folk medicine, psychology, and natural history. Her work was so significant that it actually foreshadowed such later discoveries as the circulation of the blood.

Women scientists in the 1300's often concentrated on the medical sciences, and most were associated with universities. Dorotea Bucca, for example, taught medicine and moral philosophy for over forty years at the University of Bologna

Interestingly enough, though there was great resurgence in intellectual activity during the Renaissance, the number of women in science dropped markedly. As Herzenberg suggests, there were a number of reasons for such a decline. The Bubonic Plague, which wiped out over a third of the population, was certainly a factor. The closing of the convents had a great effect on women studying and practicing science, for their greatest source of intellectual support had vanished. Finally, the persecution of witches dealt a tremendous blow. Women were reluctant to pursue their academic interests for fear of being accused of witchcraft (as were many physicians and alchemists of the day), and of the fatal consequences that accompanied such condemnation. Martine de Bertereau du Chatlet, a prominent mineralogist in France, was one of those accused of witchcraft and was executed in 1642.

Within fifty years of her death, the paranoia of witchcraft had largely subsided, and the horrific persecution of women tapered off. Yet the barriers for a woman in sciences were still formidable. It was still widely held that the best education for a woman was none at all. Nevertheless, after the remarkable drop in the seventeenth century, the number of women scientists increased again in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, working to assert their equality in the sciences just as their sisters of antiquity had done.

The quotations in this article come from Caroline Herzenberg's Women Scientists from Antiquity to the Present: An Index. West Cornwall, CT.: Locust Hill Press, 1986.

Anne Cadigan '90 is from Danbury,CT. She is a religion major at Wesleyan.