Hypatia

Hypatia was a woman with rare accomplishments for her time. She was a mathematician and a teacher of philosophy at Alexandria, where Cyril was bishop. She was a neo-Platonist, in other words a pagan, and in the eyes of people like Cyril influenced by the devil. Her popularity and accomplishments made her more of a target of hatred, and in 415, reportedly, a Christian mob pulled her from her chariot, and with sharpened abalone shells they stripped her flesh from her bones and threw her body into a fire. For more on Hypatia, see N.S. Gill, About.com.