Women seemed to enjoy near equality with men in early Greek Civilization. Many women played a central role in the development of early Pythagorean philosophy. Records exist about Pythagoras deriving the greater part of his ethical doctrines from Themistoclea, the priestess of Delphi. Pythagoras' wife Theano of Crotona wrote treatises on mathematics, physics, medicine, and child psychology and wrote commentaries on marriage, sex, women and ethics. Mclemore writes that Theano's most important work was the principle of the "Golden Mean." Many women who joined as teachers and scholars in the mystery school of Pythagoras lived and worked in a communal manner and published all their writings under Pythagoras. Plato named Diotima of Mantinea as Socrates' mentor, but because of a 15th century false reference, Diotima was considered, until recently, as a fictional character! Aspasia of Miletus was a very renowned scholar at the time of Plato and taught Pericles rhetoric and matters of State. Socrates and others visited her often. Aesara of Lucania applied the normative principle of Harmonia in geometry, arithmetic, music and cosmos. Based on intuitive Natural Law Theory and pragmatic ethics she wrote "The Book on Human Nature."

Hypatia (370? -415) of Alexandria was the most eminent neo-platonic philosopher and mathematician. Her fame as a teacher traveled as far as Libya and Turkey. She was renowned before the age of thirty and taught geometry, mathematics, the works of Plato-Aristotle, neo-Platonism, astronomy and mechanics for 15 years. She is known for expanding and editing the mathematical work on conic sections (introduced by Appolonius). This concept developed the ideas of hyperbolas, parabolas and ellipses. Unfortunately Hyapatia's work was virtually ignored by Historians for 1500 years! She was a liberal Pagan while politically Christianism was getting strong in Alexandria. A Christian leader spread virulent rumors against Hypatia. In 415 AD, while returning home, a mob attacked and stripped her, dragged her through streets and killed her with pieces of broken pottery! This incident probably sent a foreboding message to society and women in particular about the deadly consequences of pursuit of learning!

Women's position started to take a steep plunge in the Middle Ages. The Holy Office of the Inquisition proudly declared in 1554 that to date they had burned thirty thousand women alive. Some estimates puts the total number of women killed for "witchcraft" between 14th and 17th centuries as high as 3 to 9 million, a virtual holocaust. Women who were persecuted in middle ages, were mostly healers, midwives, herbalists and naturopaths.

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