Agora Film Analysis

The movie Agora depicts the escalating conflict between Christians and pagans in Roman Alexandria in the late fourth century under the emperor Theodosius I. Agora’s attempt to describe the dynamic of the conflict between Christianity and pagan Neoplatonism, especially the violence employed and shifting power, falls short of the true historical complexity by simplifying and distorting the historical narrative.
Agora’s portrayal of the Christian faction known as the parabalani and their involvement with the widespread violence against dissidents, such as the pagan Neoplatonists, aligns with the historical record, although the film does not fully explain the parabalani’s relationship with Cyril, the bishop of Alexandria. Mitchell describes the parabalani as “supposedly teams of paramedics, who were organized into a virtual regiment of vigilantes,” under the direct control of Cyril to enforce his will with brutality (Mitchell 298). The movie does portray the parabalani as violent, but does not enumerate the direct control Cyril held over them, instead characterizing them as a semi-autonomous Christian mob. Like the depiction of the parabalani, the film paints Hypatia’s death as violent, but based solely on the whims of the mob, without the direct influence of Cyril. However, according to the historian Damascius, the knowledge of Hypatia’s location “so pierced [Cyril’s] heart that he launched a murderous attack in the most detestable manner” (Maas 227). The film does not include Cyril when the mob captures Hypatia, leaving the audience ignorant of his active role in the …show more content…
By omitting critical details about the Christian parabalani and the underlying causes of the violence in Alexandria, along with diminishing the importance of the power of the Church, Agora does not provide an accurate portrayal of Roman