Most Awesome Women : The Ladies Ancient Science

Awesome Women : 

The Ladies Ancient Science

by A. Wicked

Extraordinary Ladies deserve a bit of love, and we developed what will hopefully be a reoccurring article of Most Awesome Women. We’ve split our lists five/five, by our personal interests. This time ’round I’ve chosen to tout my persona top five Ancient Women of Science. I bet you didn’t even know they existed! Apparently women where often just as influential (although not quite as touted by mainstream historians) as men where in the field of Science, medicine, and well… everything!

Enheduanna, High Priestess of the Moon God. 

[En-hedu-ana ‘en’=High Priestess ‘hedu’=Ornament ‘Ana’=of the Sky/Heaven]

She was the Daughter of a powerful King, a man who pulled together Akkadian and Sumerian into one great nation of Babylon (modern-day Iraq.). King Sargon then saw fit to appoint his daughter to be the Priestess of the Moon God, which was one of the most powerful positions one could have. While we don’t know the specifics, we do know that the heads of the temples often directed all aspects of normal life, like an ancient almanac, telling people when to plant crops, when to gather, giving wisdom, and even resolving disputes! Enheduanna’s legacy is primarily that she is the one of the first Authors. It’s said that she wrote more than 42 poems (these are the ones that survive), subject matter running the gambit. In fact, she even seems to have been the first writer to express a poem in the first person, and put real forethought into the structuring of her writing.

The reason that Enheduanna is in the list is that it is known that Babylonian Priests/Priestesses where also the foremost authorities in the matters of Astronomy. Although we have none of her technical writings, its well known among historians and history buffs alike that we owe all of Mathematics and Astronomy to the ancient priests of Sumeria. As for her direct contributions, we can say she mapped the movements of the heavens, helped create one of the first religious calendars (which are still used to this day in some places to celebrate Passover, Easter, and other holidays), created observatories in the Temples, and holds the honor of being the first women mentioned in technical history.“The true woman who possesses exceeding wisdom,She consults [employs] a tablet of lapis lazuliShe gives advice to all lands…She measures off the heavens,She places the measuring-cords on the earth.”women-philosophers.comCenter for Digital Discourse & Culture4000 Years of Women in ScienceThe En-hedu-Ana Research Page

Miriam the Prophetess, or Mary the Jewess 

(possibly) of Alexandria.

Mary is a figure from the early days of Christianity (around the 3rd Century AD). Some say that Mary the Jewess is one and the same as Mary Magdalene herself, and yet others say she is Miriam, the sister of Moses. Since there are so many Mary figures in this primordial Christian time, no one can be 100% certain, but the one thing we can be certain of is that this time, like the time of Enheduanna, mysticism and Science are still skipping merrily down the path, hand in hand.

Also like Enheduanna, her Scientific legacy isn’t passed to us through her own words, but the words of a man called Zosimos of Panopolis. He was an alchemist and Gnostic Mystic, who’s own sister was an Alchemist of some note. It is Zosimos who brings us word of Mary. We do know that she was an Alchemist, which for those of you who do not know, is something of a mix between a Mystic, Chemist, Pharmacist, and snake oil salesman. Like most Scientists in the ancient world, she is a well versed person, inventions including the Balneum mariae (Ban Marie or double boiler without which we would not have custard), the tribikos or “still” (its likely that she used it for chemistry, but today for the most part, we know it in the use of making liquor), Hydrochloric Acid (without which steel would rust, there would be no records, water treatment plants, or even household cleaning products!) Not to mention she comes through history by inventing an Alchemical Precept called the “Axiom of Maria” which states “One becomes two, two becomes three, and out of the third comes the one as the fourth.”What could Maria mean by that? Well, to me it sounds a bit like the start of a recipe, telling us how to divide measurements. However, it is most well known for having heavily influenced Carl Jung’s Individuation theory, “One is unconscious wholeness; two is the conflict of opposites; three points to a potential resolution; the third is the transcendent function, described as a “psychic function that arises from the tension between consciousness and the unconscious and supports their union” and the one as the fourth is a transformed state of consciousness, relatively whole and at peace.” (whatever that means).VisWikiWikipediaThe Stone of thePhilosophers : Edward Kelly

Hypatia of Alexandria.

[Greek: Ὑπατία, Hypatía, pronounced /haɪˈpeɪʃə/ in English]

Now, I hate to let all the ladies from Alexandria hog up the spotlight, but next on the list is an all important figure, Hypatia of Alexandria. Hypatia was the daughter of a philosopher, teacher, and Mathematician Theon, who was also ‘the last fellow’ of the Museum of Alexandria (which should be noted was next to the Library at Alexandria). She was by all accounts a perfect Daddy’s Girl, and shortly succeeded her father in ability, thriving in matters of Intellect. Apparently at the time when you where a fellow of a Museum, you edited and rewrote ancient works to make more sense out of them, so much for copy-write! Apparently Hypatia’s major contributions come from working with her father on these edits, for the surviving texts would come to invent Math as we know it in the far-future.

Via 

She is credited with the possible invention of the astrolabe (an astronomy device), but most certainly helped her father write the treatise on its use. She is best known intellectually for her work in Mathematics, namely editing the treatise On the Conics of Apollonius, translating it into more easily understandable concepts, which is admirable considering she was dealing with hyperbolas, parabolas, and ellipses (which influenced such greats as Descartes and Newton).She also grew into a very beloved teacher, but unlike many professors she didn’t work out of any Museum, she taught classes in her private house. Smartly, she never married, and of course, later she would be much touted for her Virginal Purity (of course you must consider at this time, a Virgin could just be a nice way to say she wasn’t married. Who knows right?). Needless to say, we can assume that dudes made her grumpy, for there is a brief anecdote about her throwing menstrual rags at one particularly amorous (annoying) suitor.Unfortunately, although she lived a long life(some sources say she was 60 when she died), Hypatia lived in chaotic times. Christian and Pagan pulled at one another in the fair City of Alexandria. She was known as a peacekeeper, and many Christians admired her teachings despite the fact that she was a Pagan. Being a rock-star and a woman, she became the flame that kissed off a fire. A little political struggle between a Roman Governor and an ambitious Bishop exploded all over her one day, and in a Julius Cesar moment, the Bishop’s police force (headed by a man named Peter) took her from her carriage, dragged her up the steps of a Church, and tore her apart with tiles. You heard right… TILES. Even more unfortunate, this seemed to work well for the Bishop, for he would become Saint Cyril of Alexandria.Lets hope all our ladies of Science don’t become the fulcrum of tragedy, mmm?Women in MathematicsWho was Hypatia of AlexandriaRussel McNeil, PHDHypatia on Wikipedia

Leelavathi [or Lilavati]

Next a trip to India, and we meet a young woman by the name of Leelavathi. While I was slightly remiss to add double the Mathematician for the one article, I found the brief story of Leelavathi intriguing. ON the surface, Leelavathi is an Indian book on Mathematics, said to be the very invention of the modern art of Mathematics. It is a book that was said to have been written by a VERY smart man by the name of Bhaskaracharya, who not only solved the problem of dividing by Zero, but also created a beautiful poem-text to teach his daughter Mathematics. However, a note of doubt sounds, as often in any relationship between brilliant man and daughter, as to just who the authorship of the Leelavathi book, division by zero, and poetry came from. By all accounts, Leelavathi herself was a brilliant Mathematician, could she have written the book herself? I don’t know, but we do know that many of our heroines on this list had a knack for creating texts which where understandable to the layman, and for that reason they have lasted the ages. Who knows? My romantic would like to think Leelavathi was a beautiful flower, and a brilliant author.

“Whilst making love a necklace broke.A row of pearls mislaid.One sixth fell to the floor.One fifth upon the bed.The young woman saved one third of them.One tenth were caught by her lover.If six pearls remained upon the stringHow many pearls were there altogether?”Women in Science.org4000 Years of Women in ScienceLilavati : Wikipedia

Peseshet, MD.

In conclusion, I’m going to tell you about Peseshet. Unlike many of our ladies, who fought through a world that limited people of their Gender, Peseshet was an Egyptian Woman. For those of you who do not know, Egyptian Women, for the most part, had many of the same freedoms we have today. Women peppered every profession, where free to choose what they studied, and even respected in their fields! One of Egypt’s most favored professions was that of Doctor. Like many doctors, the Ancient Egyptians where a bit Alchemist, and a touch Shaman. However, unlike many others, Egyptian Doctors where OCD-like in their cleanliness, and extraordinarily knowledgeable of anatomy and its workings.Peseshet does not have a detailed story, however she is known to be the first woman Doctor mentioned in history, and depending on how you date it, possibly the earliest named figure in Science (a title she is the running with Enheduanna for). There is simply an inscription inside a tomb that declares Peshet was not only a woman Doctor, but that she was a Chief of Medicine of sorts, or “Overseer of Doctors”, and so we Salute her as the first woman Doctor in Ancient History! Or at least the first one -we’ve- heard of!Women In Ancient EgyptFemale Physicians in Ancient EgyptAnd there it is! The top Five Most Awesome Ancient Women of Science! We are most looking forward to Illumi’s rounding out of our Top Ten, with her article focusing on the Asian Experience & Awesome Ancient Women of Asia. Or something like that.

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