A Cultural History of Medicine in Antiquity

Patient, disease and physician were the three corners of the ‘medical triangle’ according to one of the texts attributed to Hippocrates, a famous ancient Greek doctor. This volume, covering a period from roughly 800 BCE to 800 CE, examines and deconstructs these three aspects of ancient medicine in the Mediterranean world. It shows that, while physicians sought to assert themselves as experts in the medical art, they had to contend with numerous other healers whose methods, remedies and tools patients often favoured. It explores the ways in which civic entities, cities, kingdoms and empires, and their officials directly and indirectly shaped medical encounters and discoveries. It examines the interaction between medicine and the environment, non-human animals and plants.

To attempt a cultural history of medicine in antiquity requires bringing together a wealth of sources: the texts attributed to Hippocrates, Galen and other medical authors are not neglected, but they are studied alongside other literary and historical works, letters on papyri, funerary inscriptions celebrating healers, surgical tools and bioarchaeological remains. While discussing the enduring cultural impact of classical Greek and Roman medicine in the West, through texts such as the Hippocratic Oath or names of diseases and types of medicines, this volume reveals the various ways in which health, disease and medical treatments were experienced diversely in the ancient world, according to gender, socio-economic class and ethnicity.