"Agora" Film: Ballad of the First Women Philosopher

"Synesius, you do not question what you believe. I have to question" (Hypatia, Agora, 2009)

History is like a spiral: it is always repeated but always forward. Agora, Alejandro Amenabar recent work ('The Others' and 'Sea Inside') proves it: the phenomenon of violence in the name of religion, authoritarian and totalitarian that apply, and ultimately the destruction of science and humanity.

The story focuses on Hypatia (played brilliantly by Rachel Weisz, who was conceived by the director since the development of the scenario), the first woman philosopher in history who taught philosophy, mathematics, and astronomy in Alexandria, Egypt now under the Roman empire. She has a tremendous passion for philosophy, science, and equal rights. All-male student and later, some have important positions.

Then there came the "owner of the truth": the Christians who began to move to spread the dogma. In the name of God, they attack other beliefs, the pagan and Jewish, with blindly. For them, everyone should accept their version of truth, and there is no other possibility.

So, open-minded, tolerant, and coexist closed already. No more the spirit of mutual deserved and respect for other beliefs. And for those who already surf the internet, will know that Hypatia will end tragically.

In the matter of "the owner of the truth" who impose their own truth, we can easily replace the “Christian” with any other ideology, whatever it is: Islam, Judaism, Zionism, Communism, Fascism. All of the totalitarian and authoritarian, and all ideologies that puberty, from the far left, far right, even the most middle! We can also change the context with the present, or at any age.

Any distinctions between the characters so sharply. Hypatia was so in love with science; the Christians burning books “infidels”, something we also see in 'Dances with Wolves' or 'Destiny' (an Egyptian movie about Ibnu Rusyd). And of course, the fact that she is a woman in the soul era who believed that women were only half of men, it is very difficult for him.

During the nearly 130 minutes, Amenabar is able to make-believe world of Egypt in their 4th century BC with a pretty convincing. Of course, the film is embellished by a triangle love story, between Hypatia with the nobility of his student (Orestes) and slave (Davus). And let us return to those days, and accept whatever naivete very modern at the time, such as the belief that the earth was the center of the galaxy.