The movie Agora....

[WCGreen]

It's about the beginning of the dark ages. Not the official one, the one that started with the collapse of the Roman Empire, but the intellectual divide, the divide that proclaimed in the name of Jesus that anything not directly associated with the christian bible was pagan and therefor unworthy...

I think back to when I became aware of the library of Alexandria and all that was lost when the glorious repository for the wisdom of the age was destroyed by fire.

We were told the story, the tragic result of the fire, but were never really let in on the true motives for the destruction of so much precious knowledge.

I was raised Catholic and was educated by nuns for a while and then let out into the public education system.

Neither of these systems dwelve much on the motive for the library's destruction.

It wasn't until I started to delve into the development of the Christian Culture after I recovered from a near death illness that I learned the true motives. It was caused by factions of Christians vying for dominance in 400's that lead to the destruction of the Library at Alexandria.

Alexandria was the intellectual capital of the empire. It's international port made it the cosmopolitan center of the Mediterranean world.

It was a tolerant city that gave those with a curious mind a place to nurture and grow.

But when the differing sects of Christianity became political, sanity left the building.

Much like it is now, the competing sects were trying to out do each other and in the end, the faction that won decided that the pagan blasphemy that was contained in the Library needed to be purged so that only pure Christian thought would be available.

And we all know what happened.

Watch the movie. It's pretty brutal but it is a seminal event that seems to be glossed over.

I think when I understood that most of religions are frightened by scientific knowledge destroying the mystery that religion depends upon, I lost my desire for religion.

It's not to say I do not believe in god, and that is a personal matter, but it is to say that I do not trust the motives of religion.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. I remember when I learned about the destruction of that library.

I was so upset, thinking about all the manuscripts and books that had been lost; all the knowledge and wisdom too.

I hadn't realized why the library had been destroyed...

You would think (at least I did) that religions wouldn't need to stoop to such lengths to gain dominance. How sad is that...

Thank you for illuminating this bit of history.

Recommended.

[iemitsu]

6. i remember the library burning too!

who would have thought that there were so many of us old folk around?
its not just religions who feel the need to control the flow of information but all groups who seek power.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

8. There are lots of us old folks around!

And welcome to DU, iemitusu!

This is a cool place...

Enjoy the conversations!

:hi:

[iemitsu]

9. thank you.

i've been lurking for some time and finally developed a voice.

[Laxman]

15. This is Important

This is a really interesting concept that has dogged us throughout history. Whether its Galileo or a climate scientist. The great thing about science is that it is what it is! Your opinion or your political point of view might disagree but science is science. b/t/w I do a lot of lurking and don't post much myself. I'm just starting to feel comfortable putting some complex thoughts on DU. Keep posting.

edited to add rec.

[iemitsu]

24. it is important

and i think, thanks to the internet and groups like wikileaks and discussion broads like DU, that more and more people are beginning to realize how much the "official version" and what really happened aren't the same.

[knowbody0]

2. I attended catholic school grade 1 to 8

we were repeatedly informed that science was the worst enemy of faith.

[HowHasItComeToThis]

4. ALL RELIGION IS A CANCER, MARK MY WORDS

[Forkboy]

3. K&R

I'm aware of this part of the history, but I'd be very interested to see the movie, and will put it on my ever expanding list of films to track down. Thanks.

[Old and In the Way]

5. Thanks....I'll definitely watch this on Netflix.

I passed on this tonight, not realizing what it was about. You might want to cross-post to the streaming video forum.

[WCGreen]

10. didn't know there was such a forum...

I will put it up over there as well..

The best part is Rachel Weisz plays Hypathia, a strong woman in charge which, of course, is another reason why the Christians had it in for the Library...

It also shows the slow deterioration of toleration for the Jewish population in Alexandria

[Old and In the Way]

14. Outstanding movie!

I posted a thread in the streaming forum here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=441x924

So appropriate to understand the timeless antagonism between the forces of science and religion.

[Lorien]

22. It's about Hypatia, one of the great philosophers, educators, mathematicians

and astronomers of early history that the Christians tried to wipe from historical record. It's based on a book about her life.

[iemitsu]

7. the film sounds great.

thanks for the recommendation.

[Runework]

11. What's funny is that Christian Theologians

had no problem borrowing Neoplatonic ideas even as Neoplatonists were forbidden from teaching.

I haven't seen this movie, but supposedly Hypatia's eyes were scooped out by an enraged Christian mob.

[WCGreen]

12. I haven't watched the whole movie....

It's tax time and I do about 75-100 taxes, so I taped it and have been watching it in fits and spurts...

[alfredo]

18. The accounts of her death are varied. She might have been

skinned alive by our noble and compassionate Christian forebearers.

[marions ghost]

13. NYT Review

http://movies.nytimes.com/2010/05/28/movies/28agora.html

[ceile]

16. Sounds interesting

I'll add it to my queue.

[alfredo]

17. It showed the beginning of a patriarchal plague on the world.

[deaniac21]

19. I tried but couldn't overcome my agoraphobia.

[WCGreen]

20. You just need to watch it at the drive in sitting on the top of your hood...

that should do the trick...

[Lorien]

21. I just watched Agora as well; it's MORE than just a Library that was destroyed

it marked the beginning of Centuries worth of misogyny and oppression against women that continues today. Did you notice Rachel Weisz's character Hypatia in the film? The film was about her life. She was a philosopher, astronomer, mathematician, professor and atheist. One of the greatest minds in history, and the people treated her as such...until the Christians took over, decided that a woman who taught men anything must be a whore and a witch, and stoned her to death.

[MountainLaurel]

23. Thank you for reminding me about it

Need to see if I can get it on Netflix instant.

[Merlot]

25. Just watched it, very good movie - one thing thing that caught my attention

was the reason the christians gave for slaughtering the jews and romans: the world was coming to an end. Seems they've been using that line to incite and justify violence for quite some time.

Very sad - nothing left of Hypatias' writings.

[mmonk]

26. I haven't seen the movie but have been a fan of Hypatia.

She was murdered and it was linked to St. Cyril of Alexandria.

[L. Coyote]

27. Agora fails to show how much knowledge existed, portraying them as ignorant of cosmology

We are led to believe in this film that there wasn't much knowledge, just a library. That is warped.