Wonder Woman of the Week: Hipparchia of Maroneia

For this week's spotlight, we're going into ancient times to highlight one fo the few known women of Ancient Greek philosophy. Hipparchia was born around 350 BCE in Thrace- a far flung frontier beyond the Greek city-states. As a child, the young Hipparchia moved with her family to Athens- a city known for welcoming foreigners and which created opportunities for internationals to gain citizen status. Hipparchia's brother quickly joined a school (which was more like sitting in to listen to philosophers speak at the agora) and became a student of the young Cynic philosopher Crates of Thebes. Crates' beliefs and values quickly attracted Hipparchia as well who instantly fell in love with her teacher.

There are a lot of misattributions to Cynicism, but what the philosophy actually preaches is that pain and suffering are a common theme in everyone's lives, and- because of that- it is important to use one's wealth and talents to show kindness and respect to all. (If this sounds familiar to Biblical scholars, that's because Ancient Roman accounts of Jesus label him as a Cynic philosopher) As a result of this belief system, many Cynics took oaths of poverty as a means of using their wealth to help others or to avoid the corruption of wealth entirely. Hipparchia respected Crates' vow of poverty and married him to join his moral compass.

Hipparchia was not just the wife of a philosopher either. Although no writings of hers remain today, there are significant records of her work. In a later work by the Byzantines, one story illustrates Hipparchia's response to a sexist philosopher Theodorus the Atheist in which the man tried to lift up her chiton (the Greek version of a toga), then asked her what the value is of a woman who leaves "the loom." (4th Century BCE version of claiming a woman's place is in the kitchen). Hipparchia responded with stoic discipline by refusing the man's sexual advances and essentially told the man that she's a woman no matter where she dedicated her time.

Hipparchia was not the only woman to take up the life of a Cynic philosopher, but her name is the only one that has survived the records of history. That might be because of the immense respect other philosophers had for her. Several journalists of the time recorded her biography and teachings (even though much of these accounts are lost to history), and the infamously Cynical Diogenes himself- often considered the poster child for Cynicism- had high praise for Hipparchia. When Hipparchia's hometown in Thrace changed its name to Hipparchia to honor their most famous resident, Diogenes personally wrote a letter to the town congratulating them on the act with an impressive dedication to his fellow Cynic.

Hipparchia's devotion to temperance and virtue earned high praise in the later Christian world as well. During the 16th Century, the story of her falling in love with Crates and taking an oath of poverty to focus on understanding the lives of the poor in Athens and helping people learn more about concepts like empathy and compassion greatly inspired poets and playwrights in Renaissance Italy. Even Puritans respected Hipparchia as a stalwart symbol for dedication to self-discipline, education, and temperance. More recently, Hipparchia has become a source of inspiration for more modern women in philosophy as an example of the importance for women and girls to continue their education, to learn to see the world through the eyes of the oppressed and impoverished, and to approach living through the pain of existence with kindness, compassion, and empathy.