ABSTRACT
It is impossible to understand the history of modern western science or the position of women within it without some knowledge of previous developments. Philosophical and scientific ideas from the ancient Greeks had enormous influence, although neither consistently nor always in the same form. Such ideas themselves had partly evolved from earlier thinkers and civilisations. Many were lost to Europe in the turbulent times emerging with the fall of the Roman Empire, but some reappeared at various times, adapted and developed by others, especially the Arabs. Their subsequent history in Christian Europe was always closely tied to religious and philosophical as well as social developments. To understand the seeds of future interrelationships of scientific thought (natural philosophy), gender and education, a brief overview will follow, charting some of the most influential ideas through some of the women who taught them.
