Edward J. Watts's Hypatia: The Life and Legend of an Ancient Philosopher, published by Oxford University Press in 2017, is a peer reviewed scholarly biography by a historian of late antiquity that carefully separates what the ancient sources actually record about Hypatia's life from the many later legends built around her death. Its authority rests on standard university press review and Watts's direct engagement with the surviving late antique sources. It is a work of historical reconstruction working from fragmentary and sometimes contradictory ancient testimony, so it is candid, as good scholarship in this area has to be, about where the sources run out and inference begins.
Facts
Assessment
Reliability Tier1
Edward J. Watts's Hypatia: The Life and Legend of an Ancient Philosopher, published by Oxford University Press in 2017, the top tier reflecting a peer reviewed scholarly biography by a historian of late antiquity carefully separating what the ancient sources record about Hypatia's life from the many later legends built around her death. Its authority rests on standard university press review and Watts's direct engagement with the surviving late antique sources, though it works from fragmentary and sometimes contradictory ancient testimony, as good scholarship in this area has to. NotesModern scholarly biography; traces both the life and the long afterlife of the legend.
Citation
AuthorEdward J. Watts
PublisherOxford University Press
Publication Year2017
Source Typeacademic biography
Claims Backed By This Source (11 claims)
This source backs 11 claims across the atlas. As facts: 9 well-attested. As cited relationships: 1 holds. Plus 1 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.
Disposition By Topic
- Sources, 7 claims: 7 well-attested.
- Historical Figures, 4 claims: 2 well-attested, 1 holds, 1 general references.
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