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{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{future film}}
{{Infobox Film {{Infobox film
| name = Agora |name = Agora
| image = |image = Agoraposter09.jpg
| caption = |caption = Teaser poster
| director = ] |director = ]
| producer = Fernando Bovaira |producer = Fernando Bovaira<br>Álvaro Augustin
| writer = ]<br>] |writer = ]<br>]
| starring = ]<br>] |starring = ]<br>]<br>]
| music = |music = ]
| cinematography = |cinematography = Xavi Giménez
| editing = |editing = Nacho Ruiz Capillas
|distributor = ]<ref name=sd>{{cite web|title=Fox picks up Spanish rights to Amenabar's Agora|website=]|first=Chris|last=Evans|date=13 July 2009|access-date=9 November 2021|url=https://www.screendaily.com/fox-picks-up-spanish-rights-to-amenabars-agora/5003515.article}}</ref> (Spain; through ]<ref name="BOM">{{cite web|title=Agora|work=]|publisher=]|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl1713014273/weekend/|accessdate=4 July 2021}}</ref><ref name=lum>{{cite web|title=Film #33537: Agora|work=]|url=http://lumiere.obs.coe.int/web/film_info/?id=33537|accessdate=4 July 2021}}</ref>)<br />] (international)<ref name=sd />
| distributor =
| released = December 18, 2009 |released = {{Film date|2009|10|9|df=y}}<!--WP:FILMRELEASE-->
| runtime = |runtime = 126 minutes
| country = ] |country = Spain
| language = ] |language = English
| budget = |budget = €50 million
|gross = $39 million
| preceded_by =
| studio = {{ubl|]|MOD Producciones|Himenóptero}}
| followed_by =
| amg_id =
| imdb_id = 1186830
}} }}
'''''Agora''''' ({{langx|es|Ágora}}) is a 2009 English-language Spanish ] film directed by ] and written by Amenábar and ]. The ] stars ] as ], a mathematician, philosopher and astronomer in late 4th-century ], who investigates the flaws of the ] ] and the ] model that challenges it. Surrounded by religious turmoil and social unrest, Hypatia struggles to save the knowledge of ] from destruction. ] co-stars as Davus, Hypatia's father's slave, and ] as Hypatia's student, and later prefect of Alexandria, ].


The story uses ] to highlight the ] at the time amidst the ] and the ]. The title of the film takes its name from the '']'', a public gathering place in ancient Greece, similar to the Roman '']''. The film was produced by Fernando Bovaira and shot on the island of ] from March to June 2008. ], co-author of ''The Rise and Fall of Alexandria'' (2007), was the historical adviser for the film.
'''''Agora''''' is an upcoming ] directed by ], written by Amenábar and ], and starring ] and ]. It is set to be released on December 18, 2009.<ref></ref>

''Agora'' was screened out of competition at the ] in May, and opened in Spain on 9 October 2009 becoming the highest-grossing film of the year for that country. Although the film had difficulty finding distribution, it was released country by country throughout late 2009 and early 2010. The film received a 53% overall approval rating from ] and seven ] in Spain, including Best Original Screenplay. It was awarded the ] at the ].


==Plot== ==Plot==
In AD 391, ] is part of the ], and Greek philosopher ] is a teacher at the ] school, where future leaders are educated. Hypatia is the daughter of ], the director of the ] of Alexandria. Hypatia, her father's ], Davus, and two of her pupils, ] and ], are immersed in the changing political and social landscape. She rejects Orestes's love as she prefers to devote herself to science. Davus assists Hypatia in her classes and is interested in science. He is also secretly in love with her.
Tells the story astrologer-philosopher ] of Alexandria (Weisz) and her relationship between her slave Davus (Minghella), who is torn between his love for his mistress and the possibility of gaining his freedom by joining the rising tide of Christianity.<ref name=agora> {{cite news|url=http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117982343.html?categoryid=1236&cs=1|author=Emiliano de Pablos, John Hopewell|title=Weisz, Minghella to star in 'Agora'|publisher=]|date=2008-03-13|accessdate=2008-10-22}}</ref>

Meanwhile, social unrest begins challenging the ] rule of the city as ] and ] come into conflict. When the Christians start verbally insulting the statues of the pagan gods, the pagans, including Orestes and Theon, ambush the Christians. However, in the ensuing battle, the pagans unexpectedly find themselves outnumbered by a large Christian mob. Theon is gravely injured, and Hypatia and the pagans take refuge in the ]. The Christian siege of the library ends when an envoy of the Roman Emperor ] declares that the pagans are pardoned, but the Christians shall be allowed to take possession of the library. Hypatia and the pagans flee while trying to save the most important ]s before the Christians overtake the library and destroy its contents. Davus chooses to join the Christian forces. He later returns with a ] and ] Hypatia, but he begins to sob and offers his sword to her. However, she removes his slave collar and tells him that he is free.

Several years later, Orestes, now converted to Christianity, is ] of Alexandria. Hypatia continues to investigate the motions of the ], and the stars. Some Christians ridicule the thinking that ] by arguing that people far from the top would fall off the Earth. When they ask Davus what his opinion is, he avoids conflict by saying that only God knows these things.

Hypatia also investigates the ] of the solar system proposed by ] by having an object dropped from the mast of a moving ship, which demonstrates that a possible motion of the Earth would not affect the motion, relative to Earth, of a falling object on Earth. However, due to ], the Christians have now forbidden Hypatia to teach at the school. The Christians and the ] come into violent conflict.

The leader of the Christians, ], views Hypatia as having too much influence over Orestes and stages a public ceremony intended to force Orestes to subjugate her. Hypatia's former pupil, Synesius, now the ] of ], comes to her rescue as a religious authority counterweight but says he cannot help her unless she accepts Christianity; she refuses. Hypatia theorizes that the Earth orbits around the Sun in an ], not a circular orbit, with the Sun at one of the ]. Cyril convinces a mob of Christians that Hypatia is a ], and they vow to kill her. Davus tries to run ahead to warn Hypatia, but she is captured. They strip Hypatia and are about to skin her alive until Davus persuades the mob otherwise, and they decide to ] her instead. When the mob goes outside to collect stones, Davus suffocates her to spare her the pain of being stoned and tells the mob that she fainted. Davus leaves as they begin to stone her.


==Cast== ==Cast==
*] as ]. Weisz was already a fan of Amenábar's work when she received the script, and was very interested in the role.<ref name="Zona">{{cite web|title="Agora" entrevista Rachel Weisz|url=https://www.youtube.com/watchv=uKHGdj_NqS4&feature=related|publisher=Zona Trailer|accessdate=4 July 2021}} See also: {{cite web|last=Fine|first=Marshall|authorlink=Marshall fine|date=1 June 2010|title=The Rachel Weisz theorem|url=http://hollywoodandfine.com/interviews/?p=742|publisher=hollywoodandfine.com|accessdate=9 June 2010|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100605154843/http://hollywoodandfine.com/interviews/?p=742|archivedate=5 June 2010|url-status=usurped}}</ref> Although she had not heard of Hypatia before, she felt that her history was still relevant to the contemporary world: "Really, nothing has changed. I mean, we have huge technological advances and medical advances, but in terms of people killing each other in the name of God, fundamentalism still abounds. And in certain cultures, women are still second-class citizens, and they're denied education."<ref>{{cite news|agency=]|date=19 May 2009|title=Hypatia, history and a never-ending story|url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/hypatia-history-and-a-never-ending-story-20090520-gdtjje.html|newspaper=]|accessdate=4 July 2021}}</ref> Weisz wanted to delve more into Hypatia's sexuality and her desires, but Amenábar disagreed. She also received science lessons to help inform her depiction of the character.<ref name="Zona"/> At the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, Weisz spoke about her style and approach: "There's no way we could know how people behave in the 4th century. I imagine they were still human beings with the same emotions as we have now. There are cultural customs, I guess, which were different. We approach the acting style to make the people flesh and blood and to make the acting incredibly naturalistic."<ref>{{cite web|title=Rachel Weisz in Cannes for Agora|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBSioB9L9dw|publisher=Films & Stars|accessdate=4 July 2021}}</ref>
*] plays ]<ref name=agora/>
*] as Davus, Hypatia's father's slave. Davus is in love with Hypatia, but it is an ], and Davus turns towards Christianity instead. When Hypatia is about to be stoned to death at the end of the film, he decides to suffocate her because he still loves her and doesn't want her to suffer any physical pain. The character of Davus was invented as "eyes for the audience" and is not based on any historical account.<ref name="HolaTV">{{cite web|date=9 October 2009|title=En primicia: Max Minghella y Oscar Isaac, estrellas de 'Ágor|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex9rss2hvBg|publisher=HolaTV.com|accessdate=4 July 2021}}</ref>
*] plays Davus, her slave<ref name=agora/>
*] as ]. Student of Hypatia, Orestes is an aristocrat, who like Davus, falls in love with her, and has a strong friendship with Hypatia.<ref name="HolaTV" /> Isaac was familiar with the history of early Christianity during the period represented in the film, but like Weisz, he had not heard of Hypatia before joining the project.<ref>{{cite web |date=8 October 2009 |title=Agora - Oscar Isaac|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ci13WRN2Sws|publisher=Estrenos de Cine|accessdate=4 July 2021}}</ref>
*]<ref name=agora/>
*Sami Samir as Saint ]
*]<ref name=agora/>
*Manuel Cauchi as ], uncle of Cyril
*]<ref name=agora/>
*] as ], a ] ]
*]<ref name=agora/>
*] as ], father of Hypatia
*]<ref name=agora/>
*] as ]
*] as Aspasius the old slave. He acts as Hypatia's ].

==Production==

===Development===
{{rquote|right|''It's a movie that challenges the audience in terms of reasoning and trying to get into the story. I kept saying the movie is about astronomy and I wanted to express concepts that we study in school—science, mathematics—that don't show how fascinating the topic is . I wanted to translate fascination with the pursuit of knowledge. I wanted to show astronomy and those who study it in the most appealing way. Those are the real heroes of the movie.''|Alejandro Amenábar<ref name="Holleran">{{cite news|last=Holleran|first=Scott|date=2010-05-30 |title=Interview: Alejandro Amenabar on Agora|url=http://www.scottholleran.com/interviews/alejandro-amenabar.htm|publisher=scottholleran.com |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716020142/http://www.scottholleran.com/interviews/alejandro-amenabar.htm|archivedate=July 16, 2011|url-status=dead|accessdate=June 4, 2010}}</ref>}}

After Amenábar completed '']'' (2004), he took a break and traveled to the island of Malta, where he used his free time to ]. Seeing the ] galaxy, Amenábar began to discuss astronomy with his friends, speculating about ] on ]. He started to research astronomy and came across '']'', by American astronomer ].<ref name="Billington">{{cite news|last=Billington|first=Alex|date=26 May 2009|title=Cannes Interview: Agora Director Alejandro Amenábar|url=https://www.firstshowing.net/2009/cannes-interview-agora-director-alejandro-amenabar/|publisher=First Showing|accessdate=4 July 2021}} See also: {{cite news|last=Saavedra|first=Mikhail|date=18 September 2009|title=Alternavox at TIFF: In Conversation with...Alejandro Amenábar|url=http://alternavox.net/boxoffice/alternavox-at-tiff-in-conversation-withalejandro-amenabar/|publisher=Alternavox.net}}</ref> Amenábar also studied historical figures such as ], ], ] and ],<ref>{{cite news|last=Goldstein|first=Patrick|date=17 May 2009|title=At Cannes: Alejandro Amenabar's provocative new historical thriller|url=https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/the_big_picture/2009/05/from-cannes-agora-alejandro-amenabars-provocative-new-historical-thriller.html|newspaper=]|accessdate=4 July 2021}}</ref> but found himself most interested in the story of ], a 4th-century Greek astronomer whose history, he felt, was still relevant in the 21st century: "We realized that this particular time in the world had a lot of connections with our contemporary reality. Then the project became really, really intriguing, because we realized that we could make a movie about the past while actually making a movie about the present."<ref>{{cite news|last=Germain|first=David|date=17 May 2009|title=Weisz, Amenabar preach enlightenment with 'Agora'|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/feedarticle/8512013|website=]|location=London|accessdate=4 July 2021}}</ref>

To prepare for the task of recreating the ancient city of Alexandria without relying on computer generated imagery, Amenábar reviewed older ] films such as '']'' (1956), '']'' (1959), and '']'' (1966).<ref name="Billington"/> A year before the start of pre-production, designer ] spent three weeks with Amenábar in Madrid to do some preliminary work on the set designs and the recreation of the ancient city of Alexandria so that previous animations could be generated.

The film was produced by Fernando Bovaira, with ] as the primary producer alongside MOD Producciones and Himenóptero and it had the participation of ].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2009/02/24/cultura/1235483908.html|website=]|date=24 February 2019|first=Raquel|last=Quílez|title=Amenábar se pone épico}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=13 March 2008|title=Agora Starts Shooting Stars|url=https://www.4rfv.co.uk/industrynews/73034/agora_starts_shooting_stars|website=4RFV.co.uk|accessdate=4 July 2021}}</ref>

===Filming===
] began on 17 March 2008, on the island of ], and was scheduled to last 15 weeks.<ref>{{cite news|last=Rolfe|first=Pamela|date=14 March 2008|title=Bovaira takes wraps off 'Agora'|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3i2db2b6662428870c4282dd731ffe4dcb|work=]|accessdate=4 July 2021}}</ref>

], Director ] and Production Designer ] during filming in Malta.]]

Production designer ] used a mixture of sets and locations instead of CGI at Amenábar's direction.<ref name="Olsen">{{cite news|last=Olsen|first=Mark|date=30 May 2010|title=Indie Focus: In 'Agora,' a faceoff between faith and science|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-may-30-la-ca-indiefocus-20100530-story.html|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|accessdate=4 July 2021}}</ref> The construction of the set employed almost 400 people, and was the largest ever designed on the island. Actor Charles Thake (Hesiquius) suffered minor facial injuries on the set when he collided with extras running during a scene.<ref>{{cite news|last=Vella|first=Matthew|date=16 April 2008|title=Charles Thake sustains minor injuries on 'Agora' set|url=http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/2008/04/16/n9.html|work=]|accessdate=4 July 2021}}</ref> Filming ended in June.<ref name="Holleran"/>

==Release==
''Agora'' premiered at the ],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/films/agora|title=Festival de Cannes: Agora|accessdate=4 July 2021|work=festival-cannes.com|date=17 May 2009 }} {{cite web|url=https://www.filmofilia.com/2009/05/18/cannes-2009-agora-world-premiere/|title=Cannes 2009: Agora World Premiere - Reviews|author=Fiona|date=18 May 2009|work=filmofilia|accessdate=4 July 2021|archive-date=24 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724083031/http://www.filmofilia.com/2009/05/18/cannes-2009-agora-world-premiere/|url-status=dead}}</ref> but the film was initially unable to find a domestic distributor due to its large budget and length.<ref>{{cite journal|last=McClintock|first=Pamela|author2=Sharon Swart|date=22 October 2009|title=Epic Bow for 'Agora'|journal=]|volume=305|issue=14|issn=0011-5509|page=8}}</ref> The film also had trouble finding a distributor in both the United States and ], although it eventually found distributors in both countries.<ref name=cna/><ref>{{cite news|last=Amabile |first=Flavia|date=10 July 2009|url=http://www.scienceonthenet.eu/files/Lastampa_ipazia.pdf|title=Il film che l'Italia non vedrà|newspaper=]|language=it|accessdate=4 July 2021}} See also: {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722065748/http://ipazia.oknotizie.virgilio.it/go.php?us=316450b1b6c80197|date=22 July 2011}}; </ref> The North America premiere was held at the ] in September 2009.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=McNary|first=Dave|date=18 November 2009|title='Agora' Finds Distrib|magazine=]|volume=305|issue=33|issn=0011-5509|page=9}}</ref> ''Agora'' opened in ] on 9 October 2009, breaking box office records for that country.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Hopewell|first=John|author2=Emilio Mayorga|date=4 October 2009|title='Agora' Reigns in Spain|magazine=]|page=5}} {{cite journal|last=Hopewell|first=John |author2=Emilio Mayorga |date=16 November 2009 |title=Spain B.O. Buoyant|journal=]|page=11}}</ref> A limited release in the United States began on 28 May 2010, opening on two screens at the Paris Theatre and the Sunshine Cinema in ]. The film opened on the ] on 4 June, playing only two screens: at The Landmark theatre in ] and at Regal's Westpark 8 in ].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://newmarketfilms.com/filmDetail.cfm?FID=40|title=Newmarket Films: Agora|publisher=]}}</ref>

===Home media===
In March 2010, ''Agora'' was released in ]-locked DVD and Blu-ray formats.<ref></ref> A Region 1-locked DVD was released October 2010.<ref></ref>

==Reception==

===Critical response===
{{rquote|right|''A visually imposing, high-minded epic that ambitiously puts one of the pivotal moments in Western history onscreen for the first time.''|Todd McCarthy, ''Variety''<ref>{{cite magazine|last=McCarthy|first=Todd|date=May 25, 2009|title=Agora|magazine=]|url=https://variety.com/2009/film/markets-festivals/agora-1200474813/|page=16}}</ref>}}

British writer and film critic ], of '']'', praised Alejandro Amenábar and his film, describing ''Agora'' as "an ambitious, cerebral and complex movie.... Unlike most toga movies, it doesn't rely on CGI spectacle, but real drama and ideas." Bradshaw also applauded Rachel Weisz's role as Hypatia, calling it "an outstanding performance".<ref>{{cite news|last=Bradshaw |first=Peter|authorlink=Peter Bradshaw|date=22 April 2010|title=Agora|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/apr/22/agora-review|website=]|location=London|accessdate=4 July 2021}}</ref>
American screenwriter and critic ] liked the film and gave it three stars out of four. He said: "I went to see ''Agora'' expecting an epic with swords, sandals and sex. I found swords and sandals, some unexpected opinions about sex, and a great deal more."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/agora-2010|title='Agora' review by Roger Ebert|work=]}}</ref>

The film holds a 53% approval rating on ], based on 93 reviews with an average score of 5.7/10. The website's critics' consensus reads, "Noble goals and a gripping performance from Rachel Weisz can't save ''Agora'' from its muddled script, uneven acting, and choppy editing."<ref name=rt/>

===Response from Christians===
Before its release, the distribution company insisted on screening the film at the ]. No objections were reported, and Vatican officials assisted in some of the religious depictions. According to Amenábar, "There's one scene in which Cyril reads from ] and tried to look for the softest version. In the English version, taken from the ] of the ]."<ref name="Holleran"/> The line is excerpted from {{bibleverse|1 Timothy|2:8-2:12|9}}.<ref></ref>

The Religious Anti-Defamation Observatory (Observatorio Antidifamación Religiosa), a ] group, claimed that the film was responsible for "promoting ] and reinforcing false clichés about the Catholic Church."<ref name=cna>{{cite news|url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/17335/civil-groups-protest-new-anti-christian-film|title=Civil groups protest new anti-Christian film|publisher=]}} See also: Retrieved 4 July 2021.</ref> Michael Ordoña of the '']'' acknowledges that the film has been criticized for "perceived slights against Christians" but that "its lack of condemnation of specific dogma makes the film's target seem to be fundamentalism in general".<ref>{{cite news|last=Ordoña|first=Michael|date=4 June 2010|title=Movie review: 'Agora' shows the true casualty of war|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-jun-04-la-et-capsules-20100604-story.html|newspaper=]|accessdate=4 July 2021}}</ref>

In contrast, the New York-based Rev. Philip Grey wrote a positive review of the film and strongly recommended it: "Christians who see themselves in the fanatic, murderous monks of the film and feel offended need to do some serious soul-searching. (...) Hypatia as depicted in the film is firmly opposed to what, in her time and at her city, is offered&mdash;or rather, imposed by brute force&mdash;under the name of 'Christianity'. Nevertheless, she seems to me far more a follower of the precepts of Christianity than are her persecutors and tormentors. (...) In particular, in watching the deeply moving final scene, her going calmly to her death amidst the jeering mob, I could not help but strongly recall Jesus Christ on his own way to Golgotha".<ref>Rev. Philip B. Grey, "Real and perceived Christianity in today's mass media and popular culture" in 'Positive Christianity Review', Summer 2010 issue, p. 26, 29.</ref>

===Box office===
''Agora'' was ] of 2009, earning over $10.3 million within four days of its release on 9 October.<ref name=rt>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/agora/|title=Agora|website=]|publisher=]|accessdate=4 July 2021}}</ref>

Based on North American theatre tracking data from ], '']'' reported that ''Agora'' "scored the highest per-theater-average of any film in the marketplace" during the ] holiday weekend from 28 May through 31 May, just after its U.S. ].<ref>{{cite news|last=Knegt|first=Peter|date=1 June 2010|title=Holiday Box Office: "Agora," "Micmacs" Post Decent Debuts; Restored "Breathless" Scores (UPDATED)|url=https://www.indiewire.com/article/2010/06/01/holiday_box_office_agora_micmacs_post_decent_debuts_restored_breathless_sco/|publisher=]|access-date=20 April 2020|archive-date=7 January 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110107094823/http://www.indiewire.com/article/2010/06/01/holiday_box_office_agora_micmacs_post_decent_debuts_restored_breathless_sco/|url-status=dead}} For hard data see: {{cite news|last=Klady|first=Leonard|date=31 May 2010|title=True Grit: The Sands of Tommy|url=http://moviecitynews.com/columnists/klady/2010/100531.html|work=The Weekend Report|publisher=Movie City News|accessdate=2 June 2010|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100811043656/http://moviecitynews.com/columnists/klady/2010/100531.html|archive-date=11 August 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> Despite this very high per-theater average, ''Agora'' was never widely released in the United States. According to ], its widest release in the United States was just 17 theaters.<ref name="BOM"/>

The film grossed over $32.3 million (€21.4 million) by 1 December 2009, and about $35 million by 1 February 2010. As of 10 January 2011, ''Agora'''s worldwide box office earnings were approximately $39 million.<ref name="BOM"/> DVD and Blu-ray sales numbers are not publicly available.

===Accolades===
''Agora'' was nominated for 13 ], winning 7.<ref name="Olsen"/> The film won the ] (US$25,000) in 2009 at the ].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hamptons.com/print.php?articleID=9133#.YOH2LzOSmUk|title=HIFF And Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Celebrate Ten Years|website=Hamptons.com|publisher=Hamptons|accessdate=4 July 2021}}{{cite web|date=26 May 2010|url=http://hamptonsfilmfest.org/special-programs/alfred-p-sloan/|title=Special Screening of Agora with Rachel Weisz|publisher=]|accessdate=16 November 2010|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101125120400/http://hamptonsfilmfest.org/special-programs/alfred-p-sloan/|archivedate=25 November 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Historical accuracy==
] (pictured) or ], not segmented armor as they are shown wearing in the film.<ref name="O'Neil">{{cite news|last=O'Neill|first=Tim.|date=20 May 2010|title=Hypatia and Agora Redux=''Armarium Magnum''|url=http://armariummagnus.blogspot.com/2010/05/hypatia-and-agora-redux.html|accessdate=4 July 2021}}</ref>]]
''The Cambridge History of Science'' has described the film as "spectacularly anachronistic", singling out the film's portrayal of Hypatia's fictional discovery the law of free fall and heliocentric orbits for criticism.<ref>David C. Lindberg, Michael H. Shank (eds.), ''The Cambridge History of Science: Volume 2, Medieval Science'', Cambridge University Press, 2013.</ref>

Antonio Mampaso, a Spanish astrophysicist and one of ''Agora'''s scientific advisors, stated in an interview that "We know that Hypatia lived in Alexandria in the IV and V centuries CE, until her death in 415. Only three primary sources mention Hypatia of Alexandria, apart from other secondary ones". He added that none of Hypatia's work has survived but it is thought, from secondary sources, that her main fields of study and work were geometry and astronomy. Mampaso dubiously claimed that Hypatia invented the ], an instrument still in use today, and that probably her father ], together with Hypatia, invented the ].<ref>{{cite web|last=Sacristán|first=Enrique|date=10 September 2009|url=https://www.agenciasinc.es/en/view/content/34412/full/1/13299|title='El mejor legado de Hipatia es su propia historia'|work=Servicio de Información y Noticias Científicas (SINC)|publisher=] (OEI)|accessdate=4 July 2021}}</ref> However, it is generally accepted that the astrolabe had already been invented a couple of centuries earlier, and that the instrument was known to the Greeks before the Christian era.<ref>'It is generally accepted that Greek astrologers, in either the 1st or 2nd centuries BCE, invented the astrolabe', Krebs, 'Groundbreaking Scientific Experiments, Inventions, and Discoveries of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance', p. 196 (2004).</ref><ref>'The invention of the astrolabe is usually attributed to Hipparchus of the second century BC. But there is no firm evidence to support this view. It is however certain that the instrument was well known to the Greeks before the beginning of the Christian era.', Sarma, 'The Archaic and the Exotic: studies in the history of Indian astronomical instruments', p. 241 (2008).</ref> Similarly, the hydrometer was invented before Hypatia, and already known in her time. In this regard, ] was recorded as using the hydrometer before Hypatia was even born. ] sent Hypatia a letter describing a hydrometer, and requesting her to have one constructed for him.<ref>"Ep. 15 is rather short, but gives interesting information: it contains a detailed description of a hydroscope which Synesius asks Hypatia to order for him in Alexandria, requesting that she herself oversee its construction.", Kari Vogt, "The Hierophant of Philosophy" - Hypatia of Alexandria, Kari Elisabeth Boerresen and Kari Vogt, Women's studies of the Christian and Islamic traditions: ancient, medieval, and Renaissance foremothers, p. 161 (1993).</ref><ref>'For the sake of completeness we must mention that fact that SYNESIOS in his letter to HYPATIA mentions a hydrometer, which according to some was already known in the fourth century AD to PRISCIANUS, that is a century before SYNESIOS and HYPATIA.', Forbes, 'A Short History of the Art of Distillation: from the beginnings up to the death of Cellier Blumenthal', p. 25 (1970).</ref><ref>'In 402, Hypatia receives a letter from the ailing Synesius giving a brief description of what he calls a hydroscope. This is a scientific instrument which was then in common use, although Hypatian is often credited with its invention.', Waithe, 'Ancient women philosophers, 600 B.C.-500 A.D.', p. 192 (1987).</ref> There is no evidence that the historical Hypatia ever studied the ] proposed by ]<ref>Edward Jay Watts, ''Hypatia: The Life and Legend of an Ancient Philosopher'', Oxford University Press (2017), 145.</ref> or that she ever found any evidence to support it.<ref name="O'Neil"/><ref name="Theodore"/>

The set used in the film is meticulously historically authentic, showing a blend of Greek, Roman, and Egyptian architectural styles that would have been fitting to the time period,<ref name="O'Neil"/> but the costumes are anachronistic.<ref name="O'Neil"/> The Roman soldiers are shown wearing generic armor and weapons resembling the type used in the first century AD,<ref name="O'Neil"/> but the film is actually set in the fifth century AD, by which time Roman troops no longer wore segmented armor<ref name="O'Neil"/> and would have instead worn ] or ].<ref>{{cite book|first=Kelly & Robert Douglas Smith|last=DeVries|title=Medieval Weapons: An Illustrated History of Their Impact|publisher=ABC-CLIO|year=2007|pages=|isbn=9781851095261}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://rubens.anu.edu.au/raid1/student_projects97/armour/scale/scale.html|title=Scale (Lorica Squamata)|publisher=]|access-date=20 June 2015}}</ref><ref>Alexander Sarantis, "Military Equipment and Weaponry: A Bibliographic Essay", ''War and Warfare in Late Antiquity: Current Perspectives'', 161.</ref>

The film contains conflicting information regarding the fate of the Library of Alexandria and Hypatia's life.<ref name="O'Neil" /> In one scene, inspired by the final episode of Carl Sagan's '']'', Christian rioters, under the decree of ], appeared to burn the "Great Library";<ref name="Theodore">{{cite book|last=Theodore|first=Jonathan|year=2016|title=The Modern Cultural Myth of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3QPWDAAAQBAJ&q=Hypatia+of+Alexandria+astrolabe+discoveries&pg=PA183|location=Manchester, England|publisher=Palgrave, Macmillan|page=183|isbn=978-1-137-56997-4}}</ref> however, no records of the historical Library of Alexandria existed anymore at the time Hypatia was born.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Bagnall|first=R. S.|date=2002|title=Alexandria: Library of Dreams|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1558311|journal=Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society|volume=146|issue=4|pages=348–362|jstor=1558311|issn=0003-049X}}</ref> The last references to anyone having held membership in the ], the larger research community associated with the Library, date to the 260s AD.<ref name="Watts">{{cite book|last=Watts|first=Edward J.|year=2008|title=City and School in Late Antique Athens and Alexandria|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MKolDQAAQBAJ&q=Hypatia|location=Berkeley and Los Angeles, California|publisher=University of California Press|pages=11–13|isbn=9780520258167}}</ref> Theon was the head of a school called the "mouseion",<ref name="Watts"/> but it was probably another school named after the Hellenistic cult of the ].<ref name="Watts"/> There is, however, one very brief mention in the film that the library where most of the action happens is the "daughter" library.<ref name="O'Neil" /><ref name="Theodore" /> Although the ] did at some point house scrolls from the Great Library,<ref name="O'Neil"/><ref name="Theodore"/> it is uncertain whether there were any scrolls at the time of its destruction in 391 AD (some sources prior to that date speak of them in the past tense).<ref name="Theodore"/><ref>{{Cite journal|last=El-Abbadi|first=M. A.|date=2008|title=Demise Of The Daughter Library|url=https://brill.com/view/book/edcoll/9789047433026/Bej.9789004165458.i-259_007.xml|journal=What Happened to the Ancient Library of Alexandria?|language=EN|pages=89–93|doi=10.1163/ej.9789004165458.i-259.35|isbn=9789047433026}}</ref> In the film, Christians rioters merely knock over all the statues and burn the scrolls, whereas in reality they completely demolished the Serapeum to the ground, leaving no part of its structure intact.<ref name="O'Neil"/><ref>Judith S. McKenzie, Sheila Gibson and A. T. Reyes, "Reconstructing the Serapeum in Alexandria from the Archaeological Evidence", ''The Journal of Roman Studies'', volume 94 (2004), 73-121.</ref> ''Agora'' also strongly implies that Hypatia was an atheist,<ref name="Theodore"/> which directly contradicts the historical fact that she was a ] follower of the teachings of ], who believed that the goal of philosophy was "a mystical union with the divine."<ref name="Theodore"/><ref>"Agora", in ''The Encyclopedia of Epic Films'', Scarecrow Press (2014), 6, notes that it is a "historical embellishment" without evidence, but upholds it as a "narrative device".</ref>

], an American Catholic bishop, philosopher, and theologian, writes in an article: "Hypatia was indeed a philosopher and she was indeed killed by a mob in 415, but practically everything else about the story that Gibbon and Sagan and Amenábar tell is false."<ref>{{cite news|last=Barron|first=Robert|authorlink=Robert Barron (priest)|date=9 May 2010|accessdate=11 February 2011|url=http://www.catholicnewworld.com/cnwonline/2010/0509/barron.aspx|title=Christians must resist dangerous silliness of 'Agora'|work=]|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708123735/http://www.catholicnewworld.com/cnwonline/2010/0509/barron.aspx|archivedate=8 July 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> Irene A. Artemi, a doctor of theology at Athens University, states: "The movie—albeit seemingly not turning against the Christian religion—is in fact portraying the Christians as fundamentalist, obscurantist, ignorant and fanatic."<ref>{{cite news|last=Artemi|first=Irene A.|date=12 February 2010|url=https://www.impantokratoros.gr/D3C02F38.en.aspx|title=The historical inaccuracies of the movie "AGORA" by Alejandro Amenabar|publisher=Orthodoxos Typos|accessdate=4 July 2021}}</ref> Similarly, atheist blogger Tim O'Neill remarks: "Over and over again, elements are added to the story that are not in the source material: the destruction of the library, the stoning of the Jews in the theatre, Cyril condemning Hypatia's teaching because she is a woman, the heliocentric 'breakthrough' and Hypatia's supposed irreligiosity."<ref name="O'Neil"/> Edward J. Watts, though recognising the emotive power of the film, is critical of the film's historical distortions, such as changing philosophical insights into scientific inventions and discoveries to cater to a modern audience, fictional gender-based threats to Hypatia and visually lumping the monks together with the Taliban, that devalue Hypatia's own life and mischaracterise later centuries.<ref>Edward Jay Watts, ''Hypatia: The Life and Legend of an Ancient Philosopher'', Oxford University Press (2017), 145-147.</ref>

==See also==
*'']'' &ndash; an 1853 novel by ]
*]
*]
*]
*]
*'']'', also about destruction of classical writings
* ]
* ]


==References== ==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite journal|last=Alter|first=Ethan|date=25 May 2010|title=Film Review: Agora|url=http://www.filmjournal.com/filmjournal/content_display/reviews/specialty-releases/e3i962c9998ff4ef12f54afb5842f192418 |journal=]|accessdate=31 May 2010|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130331005018/http://www.filmjournal.com/filmjournal/content_display/reviews/specialty-releases/e3i962c9998ff4ef12f54afb5842f192418|archivedate=31 March 2013|url-status=dead}}
*{{cite news|last=Barron|first=Robert|authorlink=Robert Barron (priest)|date=9 May 2010|url=http://www.catholicnewworld.com/cnwonline/2010/0509/barron.aspx|title=Christians must resist dangerous silliness of 'Agora'|work=]|access-date=3 June 2010|archive-date=19 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161119055212/http://www.catholicnewworld.com/cnwonline/2010/0509/barron.aspx|url-status=dead}}
*{{cite magazine|last=De Pablos|first=Emiliano|author2=John Hopewell|date=13 March 2008|title=Weisz, Minghella to star in 'Agora'|url=https://variety.com/2008/film/markets-festivals/weisz-minghella-to-star-in-agora-1117982343/|magazine=]}}
*{{cite news|last=Debono|first=Galea|date=16 May 2009|title=Malta-filmed Agora premieres at Cannes tomorrow|url=https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/malta-filmed-agora-premieres-at-cannes-tomorrow.257038|newspaper=]}}
*] '']'', 4 June 2010.
*{{cite news|last=Jacoby|first=Susan|authorlink=Susan Jacoby|date=2 June 2010|title=Reason is the star of "Agora"|url=http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/spirited_atheist/2010/06/agora_a_rare_movie_with_reason_as_its_star.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100611074725/http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/spirited_atheist/2010/06/agora_a_rare_movie_with_reason_as_its_star.html|url-status=dead|archivedate=11 June 2010|newspaper=]}}
*{{cite magazine|last=Lopez|first=John|date=28 May 2010|title=Agora: The Arthouse Does the Summer Blockbuster|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/online/oscars/2010/05/agora-the-arthouse-does-the-summer-blockbuster.html|magazine=]}}
*{{cite journal|last=Mayer|first=Sophie|date=June 2010|title=Agora |journal=]|volume=20|issue=6|publisher=]|page=60}}
*{{cite news|last=Orange|first=Michelle|date=28 May 2010|title=Agora Strains to Keep Up With Its Own Staggering Vision|url=http://www.movieline.com/2010/05/review-agora-strains-to-keep-up-with-its-own-staggering-vision.php|publisher=]|accessdate=2 June 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100601005942/http://www.movieline.com/2010/05/review-agora-strains-to-keep-up-with-its-own-staggering-vision.php|archivedate=1 June 2010|url-status=dead}}
*{{cite book|last=Pollard|first=Justin|authorlink=Justin Pollard|author2=Howard Reid|year=2007|title=The Rise and Fall of Alexandria: Birthplace of the Modern World |publisher=Penguin Group |isbn=978-0-14-311251-8|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/risefallofalexan0000poll}}
*{{cite journal|last=Richeson|first=A. W.|date=November 1940|title=Hypatia of Alexandria|jstor=3028426|journal=]|publisher=]|volume=15|issue=2|pages=74–82|doi=10.2307/3028426}}
*{{cite news|last=Rohter|first=Larry|authorlink=Larry Rohter|date=21 May 2010|title=Science vs. Zealots, 1,500 Years Ago|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/23/movies/23agora.html|newspaper=]}}
*{{cite news|last=Scott|first=A. O.|author-link=A. O. Scott|date=28 May 2010|title=Love Amid the Togas and the Intolerant|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/28/movies/28agora.html|newspaper=]}}
*{{cite magazine |last=Stevens|first=Dana|authorlink=Dana Stevens (critic)|date=28 May 2010|title=Alejandro Amenábar's Agora|url=https://slate.com/culture/2010/05/agora-engages-more-effectively-with-history-than-with-human-drama.html|magazine=]}}
*{{cite news|date=19 May 2008|title=Focus Features acquires epic 'Agora'|url=http://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/2008/05/19/Focus-Features-acquires-epic-Agora/UPI-50301211237622/|publisher=]}}
*] '']'', Summer 2013, volume 54, number 4, pages 352–369.
*{{cite news|author=A. Zaccuri|date=14 April 2010|title=Una strana Ipazia illuminista|url=http://www.avvenire.it/Cultura/ipazia+polemiche+zaccuri_201004140924433270000.htm|language=it|accessdate=10 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100418053047/http://www.avvenire.it/Cultura/ipazia+polemiche+zaccuri_201004140924433270000.htm|archivedate=18 April 2010|url-status=dead}}


==External links== ==External links==
*{{official website|http://www.agoralapelicula.com/}}
*{{imdb title|1186830|Agora}}
*{{IMDb title|1186830|Agora}}


{{Alejandro Amenábar}}
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{{Mateo Gil}}
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Latest revision as of 23:07, 21 December 2024

2009 Spanish film
Agora
Teaser poster
Directed byAlejandro Amenábar
Written byAlejandro Amenábar
Mateo Gil
Produced byFernando Bovaira
Álvaro Augustin
StarringRachel Weisz
Max Minghella
Oscar Isaac
CinematographyXavi Giménez
Edited byNacho Ruiz Capillas
Music byDario Marianelli
Production
companies
Distributed byFox International Productions (Spain; through Hispano Foxfilm S.A.E.)
Focus Features International (international)
Release date
  • 9 October 2009 (2009-10-09)
Running time126 minutes
CountrySpain
LanguageEnglish
Budget€50 million
Box office$39 million

Agora (Spanish: Ágora) is a 2009 English-language Spanish historical drama film directed by Alejandro Amenábar and written by Amenábar and Mateo Gil. The biopic stars Rachel Weisz as Hypatia, a mathematician, philosopher and astronomer in late 4th-century Roman Egypt, who investigates the flaws of the geocentric Ptolemaic system and the heliocentric model that challenges it. Surrounded by religious turmoil and social unrest, Hypatia struggles to save the knowledge of classical antiquity from destruction. Max Minghella co-stars as Davus, Hypatia's father's slave, and Oscar Isaac as Hypatia's student, and later prefect of Alexandria, Orestes.

The story uses historical fiction to highlight the relationship between religion and science at the time amidst the decline of Greco-Roman polytheism and the Christianization of Egypt, Lebanon and the Middle East. The title of the film takes its name from the agora, a public gathering place in ancient Greece, similar to the Roman forum. The film was produced by Fernando Bovaira and shot on the island of Malta from March to June 2008. Justin Pollard, co-author of The Rise and Fall of Alexandria (2007), was the historical adviser for the film.

Agora was screened out of competition at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival in May, and opened in Spain on 9 October 2009 becoming the highest-grossing film of the year for that country. Although the film had difficulty finding distribution, it was released country by country throughout late 2009 and early 2010. The film received a 53% overall approval rating from Rotten Tomatoes and seven Goya Awards in Spain, including Best Original Screenplay. It was awarded the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Feature Film Prize at the Hamptons International Film Festival.

Plot

In AD 391, Alexandria is part of the Roman Empire, and Greek philosopher Hypatia is a teacher at the Platonic school, where future leaders are educated. Hypatia is the daughter of Theon, the director of the Musaeum of Alexandria. Hypatia, her father's slave, Davus, and two of her pupils, Orestes and Synesius, are immersed in the changing political and social landscape. She rejects Orestes's love as she prefers to devote herself to science. Davus assists Hypatia in her classes and is interested in science. He is also secretly in love with her.

Meanwhile, social unrest begins challenging the Roman rule of the city as Pagans and Christians come into conflict. When the Christians start verbally insulting the statues of the pagan gods, the pagans, including Orestes and Theon, ambush the Christians. However, in the ensuing battle, the pagans unexpectedly find themselves outnumbered by a large Christian mob. Theon is gravely injured, and Hypatia and the pagans take refuge in the Library of the Serapeum. The Christian siege of the library ends when an envoy of the Roman Emperor Theodosius I declares that the pagans are pardoned, but the Christians shall be allowed to take possession of the library. Hypatia and the pagans flee while trying to save the most important scrolls before the Christians overtake the library and destroy its contents. Davus chooses to join the Christian forces. He later returns with a gladius and sexually assaults Hypatia, but he begins to sob and offers his sword to her. However, she removes his slave collar and tells him that he is free.

Several years later, Orestes, now converted to Christianity, is prefect of Alexandria. Hypatia continues to investigate the motions of the Sun, the Moon, the five known "wanderers" (planets), and the stars. Some Christians ridicule the thinking that the Earth is a sphere by arguing that people far from the top would fall off the Earth. When they ask Davus what his opinion is, he avoids conflict by saying that only God knows these things.

Hypatia also investigates the heliocentric model of the solar system proposed by Aristarchus of Samos by having an object dropped from the mast of a moving ship, which demonstrates that a possible motion of the Earth would not affect the motion, relative to Earth, of a falling object on Earth. However, due to religious objections against heliocentrism, the Christians have now forbidden Hypatia to teach at the school. The Christians and the Jews come into violent conflict.

The leader of the Christians, Cyril, views Hypatia as having too much influence over Orestes and stages a public ceremony intended to force Orestes to subjugate her. Hypatia's former pupil, Synesius, now the Bishop of Cyrene, comes to her rescue as a religious authority counterweight but says he cannot help her unless she accepts Christianity; she refuses. Hypatia theorizes that the Earth orbits around the Sun in an elliptic orbit, not a circular orbit, with the Sun at one of the foci. Cyril convinces a mob of Christians that Hypatia is a witch, and they vow to kill her. Davus tries to run ahead to warn Hypatia, but she is captured. They strip Hypatia and are about to skin her alive until Davus persuades the mob otherwise, and they decide to stone her instead. When the mob goes outside to collect stones, Davus suffocates her to spare her the pain of being stoned and tells the mob that she fainted. Davus leaves as they begin to stone her.

Cast

  • Rachel Weisz as Hypatia of Alexandria. Weisz was already a fan of Amenábar's work when she received the script, and was very interested in the role. Although she had not heard of Hypatia before, she felt that her history was still relevant to the contemporary world: "Really, nothing has changed. I mean, we have huge technological advances and medical advances, but in terms of people killing each other in the name of God, fundamentalism still abounds. And in certain cultures, women are still second-class citizens, and they're denied education." Weisz wanted to delve more into Hypatia's sexuality and her desires, but Amenábar disagreed. She also received science lessons to help inform her depiction of the character. At the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, Weisz spoke about her style and approach: "There's no way we could know how people behave in the 4th century. I imagine they were still human beings with the same emotions as we have now. There are cultural customs, I guess, which were different. We approach the acting style to make the people flesh and blood and to make the acting incredibly naturalistic."
  • Max Minghella as Davus, Hypatia's father's slave. Davus is in love with Hypatia, but it is an unrequited love, and Davus turns towards Christianity instead. When Hypatia is about to be stoned to death at the end of the film, he decides to suffocate her because he still loves her and doesn't want her to suffer any physical pain. The character of Davus was invented as "eyes for the audience" and is not based on any historical account.
  • Oscar Isaac as Orestes. Student of Hypatia, Orestes is an aristocrat, who like Davus, falls in love with her, and has a strong friendship with Hypatia. Isaac was familiar with the history of early Christianity during the period represented in the film, but like Weisz, he had not heard of Hypatia before joining the project.
  • Sami Samir as Saint Cyril of Alexandria
  • Manuel Cauchi as Theophilus of Alexandria, uncle of Cyril
  • Ashraf Barhom as Ammonius, a Parabalani monk
  • Michael Lonsdale as Theon of Alexandria, father of Hypatia
  • Rupert Evans as Synesius of Cyrene
  • Homayoun Ershadi as Aspasius the old slave. He acts as Hypatia's research assistant.

Production

Development

It's a movie that challenges the audience in terms of reasoning and trying to get into the story. I kept saying the movie is about astronomy and I wanted to express concepts that we study in school—science, mathematics—that don't show how fascinating the topic is . I wanted to translate fascination with the pursuit of knowledge. I wanted to show astronomy and those who study it in the most appealing way. Those are the real heroes of the movie.

— Alejandro Amenábar

After Amenábar completed The Sea Inside (2004), he took a break and traveled to the island of Malta, where he used his free time to explore the night sky. Seeing the Milky Way galaxy, Amenábar began to discuss astronomy with his friends, speculating about extraterrestrial life on other planets. He started to research astronomy and came across Cosmos: A Personal Voyage, by American astronomer Carl Sagan. Amenábar also studied historical figures such as Ptolemy, Copernicus, Johannes Kepler and Galileo, but found himself most interested in the story of Hypatia, a 4th-century Greek astronomer whose history, he felt, was still relevant in the 21st century: "We realized that this particular time in the world had a lot of connections with our contemporary reality. Then the project became really, really intriguing, because we realized that we could make a movie about the past while actually making a movie about the present."

To prepare for the task of recreating the ancient city of Alexandria without relying on computer generated imagery, Amenábar reviewed older sword-and-sandal films such as The Ten Commandments (1956), Ben-Hur (1959), and Pharaoh (1966). A year before the start of pre-production, designer Guy Hendrix Dyas spent three weeks with Amenábar in Madrid to do some preliminary work on the set designs and the recreation of the ancient city of Alexandria so that previous animations could be generated.

The film was produced by Fernando Bovaira, with Telecinco Cinema as the primary producer alongside MOD Producciones and Himenóptero and it had the participation of Canal+ España.

Filming

Principal photography began on 17 March 2008, on the island of Malta, and was scheduled to last 15 weeks.

Actor Oscar Isaac, Director Alejandro Amenábar and Production Designer Guy Hendrix Dyas during filming in Malta.

Production designer Guy Hendrix Dyas used a mixture of sets and locations instead of CGI at Amenábar's direction. The construction of the set employed almost 400 people, and was the largest ever designed on the island. Actor Charles Thake (Hesiquius) suffered minor facial injuries on the set when he collided with extras running during a scene. Filming ended in June.

Release

Agora premiered at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, but the film was initially unable to find a domestic distributor due to its large budget and length. The film also had trouble finding a distributor in both the United States and Italy, although it eventually found distributors in both countries. The North America premiere was held at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2009. Agora opened in Spain on 9 October 2009, breaking box office records for that country. A limited release in the United States began on 28 May 2010, opening on two screens at the Paris Theatre and the Sunshine Cinema in New York City. The film opened on the West Coast of the United States on 4 June, playing only two screens: at The Landmark theatre in Los Angeles and at Regal's Westpark 8 in Irvine.

Home media

In March 2010, Agora was released in Region 2-locked DVD and Blu-ray formats. A Region 1-locked DVD was released October 2010.

Reception

Critical response

A visually imposing, high-minded epic that ambitiously puts one of the pivotal moments in Western history onscreen for the first time.

— Todd McCarthy, Variety

British writer and film critic Peter Bradshaw, of The Guardian, praised Alejandro Amenábar and his film, describing Agora as "an ambitious, cerebral and complex movie.... Unlike most toga movies, it doesn't rely on CGI spectacle, but real drama and ideas." Bradshaw also applauded Rachel Weisz's role as Hypatia, calling it "an outstanding performance". American screenwriter and critic Roger Ebert liked the film and gave it three stars out of four. He said: "I went to see Agora expecting an epic with swords, sandals and sex. I found swords and sandals, some unexpected opinions about sex, and a great deal more."

The film holds a 53% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 93 reviews with an average score of 5.7/10. The website's critics' consensus reads, "Noble goals and a gripping performance from Rachel Weisz can't save Agora from its muddled script, uneven acting, and choppy editing."

Response from Christians

Before its release, the distribution company insisted on screening the film at the Vatican. No objections were reported, and Vatican officials assisted in some of the religious depictions. According to Amenábar, "There's one scene in which Cyril reads from St. Paul and tried to look for the softest version. In the English version, taken from the King James version of the Bible." The line is excerpted from 1 Timothy 2:8–2:12.

The Religious Anti-Defamation Observatory (Observatorio Antidifamación Religiosa), a Spanish Catholic group, claimed that the film was responsible for "promoting hatred of Christians and reinforcing false clichés about the Catholic Church." Michael Ordoña of the Los Angeles Times acknowledges that the film has been criticized for "perceived slights against Christians" but that "its lack of condemnation of specific dogma makes the film's target seem to be fundamentalism in general".

In contrast, the New York-based Rev. Philip Grey wrote a positive review of the film and strongly recommended it: "Christians who see themselves in the fanatic, murderous monks of the film and feel offended need to do some serious soul-searching. (...) Hypatia as depicted in the film is firmly opposed to what, in her time and at her city, is offered—or rather, imposed by brute force—under the name of 'Christianity'. Nevertheless, she seems to me far more a follower of the precepts of Christianity than are her persecutors and tormentors. (...) In particular, in watching the deeply moving final scene, her going calmly to her death amidst the jeering mob, I could not help but strongly recall Jesus Christ on his own way to Golgotha".

Box office

Agora was Spain's highest-grossing film of 2009, earning over $10.3 million within four days of its release on 9 October.

Based on North American theatre tracking data from Rentrak Theatrical, indieWIRE reported that Agora "scored the highest per-theater-average of any film in the marketplace" during the Memorial Day holiday weekend from 28 May through 31 May, just after its U.S. limited release. Despite this very high per-theater average, Agora was never widely released in the United States. According to Box Office Mojo, its widest release in the United States was just 17 theaters.

The film grossed over $32.3 million (€21.4 million) by 1 December 2009, and about $35 million by 1 February 2010. As of 10 January 2011, Agora's worldwide box office earnings were approximately $39 million. DVD and Blu-ray sales numbers are not publicly available.

Accolades

Agora was nominated for 13 Goya Awards, winning 7. The film won the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Feature Film Prize (US$25,000) in 2009 at the Hamptons International Film Festival.

Historical accuracy

By the fifth century AD, when the film is set, Roman soldiers wore either scale armor (pictured) or chain mail, not segmented armor as they are shown wearing in the film.

The Cambridge History of Science has described the film as "spectacularly anachronistic", singling out the film's portrayal of Hypatia's fictional discovery the law of free fall and heliocentric orbits for criticism.

Antonio Mampaso, a Spanish astrophysicist and one of Agora's scientific advisors, stated in an interview that "We know that Hypatia lived in Alexandria in the IV and V centuries CE, until her death in 415. Only three primary sources mention Hypatia of Alexandria, apart from other secondary ones". He added that none of Hypatia's work has survived but it is thought, from secondary sources, that her main fields of study and work were geometry and astronomy. Mampaso dubiously claimed that Hypatia invented the hydrometer, an instrument still in use today, and that probably her father Theon of Alexandria, together with Hypatia, invented the astrolabe. However, it is generally accepted that the astrolabe had already been invented a couple of centuries earlier, and that the instrument was known to the Greeks before the Christian era. Similarly, the hydrometer was invented before Hypatia, and already known in her time. In this regard, Pappus of Alexandria was recorded as using the hydrometer before Hypatia was even born. Synesius sent Hypatia a letter describing a hydrometer, and requesting her to have one constructed for him. There is no evidence that the historical Hypatia ever studied the heliocentric model proposed by Aristarchus of Samos or that she ever found any evidence to support it.

The set used in the film is meticulously historically authentic, showing a blend of Greek, Roman, and Egyptian architectural styles that would have been fitting to the time period, but the costumes are anachronistic. The Roman soldiers are shown wearing generic armor and weapons resembling the type used in the first century AD, but the film is actually set in the fifth century AD, by which time Roman troops no longer wore segmented armor and would have instead worn scale armor or chain mail.

The film contains conflicting information regarding the fate of the Library of Alexandria and Hypatia's life. In one scene, inspired by the final episode of Carl Sagan's Cosmos, Christian rioters, under the decree of Pope Theophilus, appeared to burn the "Great Library"; however, no records of the historical Library of Alexandria existed anymore at the time Hypatia was born. The last references to anyone having held membership in the Mouseion, the larger research community associated with the Library, date to the 260s AD. Theon was the head of a school called the "mouseion", but it was probably another school named after the Hellenistic cult of the Muses. There is, however, one very brief mention in the film that the library where most of the action happens is the "daughter" library. Although the Serapeum of Alexandria did at some point house scrolls from the Great Library, it is uncertain whether there were any scrolls at the time of its destruction in 391 AD (some sources prior to that date speak of them in the past tense). In the film, Christians rioters merely knock over all the statues and burn the scrolls, whereas in reality they completely demolished the Serapeum to the ground, leaving no part of its structure intact. Agora also strongly implies that Hypatia was an atheist, which directly contradicts the historical fact that she was a Neoplatonist follower of the teachings of Plotinus, who believed that the goal of philosophy was "a mystical union with the divine."

Robert Barron, an American Catholic bishop, philosopher, and theologian, writes in an article: "Hypatia was indeed a philosopher and she was indeed killed by a mob in 415, but practically everything else about the story that Gibbon and Sagan and Amenábar tell is false." Irene A. Artemi, a doctor of theology at Athens University, states: "The movie—albeit seemingly not turning against the Christian religion—is in fact portraying the Christians as fundamentalist, obscurantist, ignorant and fanatic." Similarly, atheist blogger Tim O'Neill remarks: "Over and over again, elements are added to the story that are not in the source material: the destruction of the library, the stoning of the Jews in the theatre, Cyril condemning Hypatia's teaching because she is a woman, the heliocentric 'breakthrough' and Hypatia's supposed irreligiosity." Edward J. Watts, though recognising the emotive power of the film, is critical of the film's historical distortions, such as changing philosophical insights into scientific inventions and discoveries to cater to a modern audience, fictional gender-based threats to Hypatia and visually lumping the monks together with the Taliban, that devalue Hypatia's own life and mischaracterise later centuries.

See also

References

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Further reading

External links

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