Did Hypatia invent the Astrolabe?
With Hypatia’s work rendered to dust, it is difficult to definitively say she invented the astrolabe or other mechanical gadgets. Several sources of her history note that much of what is written about her is fiction. There are some remaining original clues, however, to Hypatia’s life, which Michael A. B. Deakin describes in The Primary Sources for the Life and Work of Hypatia of Alexandria (1995). Especially relevant are letters from Synesius to Hypatia. Six letters and a fragment survive, which have been translated to English by A. FitzGerald in The Letters of Synesius of Cyrene (London: Oxford University Press, 1926). In Fitzgerald’s translation, the letters to “To The Philosopher (Hypatia)” are Nos. 10, 15, 16, 33 (the fragment), 81, 124 and 154. In addition, Hypatia is referenced in a letter to Paeonius, where Synesius describes the astrolabe he had produced and presented to Paeonius. It is seen as an important document in the history of astronomy. (Deakin): I am therefore offering
