The aim of this short note is to highlight a possible, hitherto unnoticed, telestich in Verg. Aen. 8.246–9, which presents the Greek word SĒMA (‘portent’, ‘wonder’, ‘prodigy’, ‘tomb’). To justify this identification, I will argue for its... more
The aim of this short note is to highlight a possible, hitherto unnoticed, telestich in Verg. Aen. 8.246–9, which presents the Greek word SĒMA (‘portent’, ‘wonder’, ‘prodigy’, ‘tomb’). To justify this identification, I will argue for its significance from its context in the poem (the battle between Hercules and Cacus), pointing out the insistence on the imagery of light and revelation, and the use of the phrase mirabile dictu, which appears in the same episode of the Aeneid, in the Latin poetic tradition.
This article aims to explore how Hosidius Geta integrates lines of Vergil’s Eclogues and Georgics into his tragedy Medea, written in the form of a cento. I will try to show that Geta arranged the bucolic and georgic material in such a way... more
This article aims to explore how Hosidius Geta integrates lines of Vergil’s Eclogues and Georgics into his tragedy Medea, written in the form of a cento. I will try to show that Geta arranged the bucolic and georgic material in such a way that it works in a tragic text without generic dissonance. Departing from textual analysis of ll. 131-138 and 250-259 of the cento, I have sought to build on textual evidence to pinpoint how Geta used certain excerpts from the Eclogues and the Georgics and to explore the generic enrichment embedded in the reuse of these poems.
The aim of this note is to highlight an acrostic regarding leprosy (lepra) in Quintus Serenus’ Liber medicinalis (vv. 48-52), arguing that it is no accident but intentional. To this end, I show its relevance in context and take as... more
The aim of this note is to highlight an acrostic regarding leprosy (lepra) in Quintus Serenus’ Liber medicinalis (vv. 48-52), arguing that it is no accident but intentional. To this end, I show its relevance in context and take as examples the structure and contents of the poem, namely its reference to the case of Sulla’s disease.
This article aims to offer a fresh analysis of two passages in the extensive necromancy episode in Lucan's Bellum Ciuile: the ritual to reanimate the dead soldier's corpse (6.667–73), and the surgical procedure Erichtho then proceeds to... more
This article aims to offer a fresh analysis of two passages in the extensive necromancy episode in Lucan's Bellum Ciuile: the ritual to reanimate the dead soldier's corpse (6.667–73), and the surgical procedure Erichtho then proceeds to undertake (6.750–7), resembling the practice of a vivisection. The study will focus mostly on the strong connection of magic to medical traditions in antiquity, with a commentary on, and analysis of, these verses through the lenses of medical vocabulary, themes and motifs. It ultimately concludes that Lucan was familiar with the language and characteristics of the medical tradition, enriched his report with them, and was playing with his audience's knowledge of the same.
De uniuersa mulierum medicina, by the Portuguese physician Rodrigo de Castro, is a complex gynaecological treatise that comprises sources concerning various medical aspects, both ancient and contemporary to the author, and also... more
De uniuersa mulierum medicina, by the Portuguese physician Rodrigo de Castro, is a complex gynaecological treatise that comprises sources concerning various medical aspects, both ancient and contemporary to the author, and also non-technical sources, namely poets from classical antiquity. This being the first article on the presence of Virgil in Castro, the main goal is to see where Virgil's Georgics 4 and Aeneid 6 are used in the De uniuersa mulierum medicina and explore how passages from the Virgilian oeuvre were used by the Portuguese physician.
In this article, I examine the nature of Dido’s magic ritual in Aeneid 4, reading it as a magic ritual aimed at inducing forgetfulness. I argue that in burning his belongings, Dido intends to forget Aeneas and not to destroy him; for this... more
In this article, I examine the nature of Dido’s magic ritual in Aeneid 4, reading it as a magic ritual aimed at inducing forgetfulness. I argue that in burning his belongings, Dido intends to forget Aeneas and not to destroy him; for this purpose, I study this episode in the light of non-literary sources and of the poetic tradition concerning love magic and the obliteration of memory.
João Curvo Semedo (1635-1719) is the author of, among other works, the Tratado da Peste (1680), a treatise concerning the origins and causes of the plague, and its prevention and treatment. This article aims to present this opus, which... more
João Curvo Semedo (1635-1719) is the author of, among other works, the Tratado da Peste (1680), a treatise concerning the origins and causes of the plague, and its prevention and treatment. This article aims to present this opus, which has long been neglected, to understand how it follows the tradition of the genre of 'plague literature', and to highlight its value and originality. This analysis draws upon other plague treatises, especially those written by Portuguese physicians.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Gender Studies, Classics, Women's Studies, History of Science, Ancient Medicine, and 9 moreMedicine, History of Medicine and the Body, Gynecology and Obstetrics, Historia De Las Mujeres, Ancient Greek Medicine, Hipocratic and Galenic Medicine, History of Ancient Medicine, Soranus of Ephesus, and medicina antigua
Rodrigo de Castro (1546-1627), português de origem sefardita, alcançou notoriedade como médico em Lisboa, cidade que decidiu abandonar nos últimos anos do século XVI provavelmente devido ao clima de crescente intolerância religiosa.... more
Rodrigo de Castro (1546-1627), português de origem sefardita, alcançou notoriedade
como médico em Lisboa, cidade que decidiu abandonar nos últimos
anos do século XVI provavelmente devido ao clima de crescente intolerância religiosa.
Chegado a Hamburgo, cidade atacada pela peste em 1596, logo publicou,
em latim, um pequeno tratado para explicar a natureza e as causas da peste,
sugerir medidas profilácticas e de organização sanitária, e resumir os procedimentos
terapêuticos e as receitas de medicamentos que considerava mais
eficazes no combate à doença. Além de ser testemunho da melhor informação
científica disponível à época, da prática médica do momento, e da actualização
operada sobre as obras médicas clássicas gregas, latinas e árabes, o tratado
constitui um instrumento de apoio à decisão destinado a salvaguardar os agentes
políticos e os órgãos de governo da cidade de Hamburgo do desgaste provocado
por uma situação de escrutínio público severo, ao mesmo tempo que serve de
alavanca de prestígio e valorização do corpo médico. A actualidade e o valor das
suas propostas são evidentes: elas abarcam a criação de um quadro de pessoal
para monitorização e acompanhamento da situação, a instalação de unidades
de saúde dedicadas, a elaboração de registos fiáveis sobre o número de mortos
e infectados, a imposição de normas de distanciamento social e até o controle
de formas de interacção entre pessoas a ponto de sugerir a eliminação de gestos
banais de cumprimento. O esquecimento a que este tratado é votado hoje
contrasta com o prestígio que granjeou ao seu autor após a publicação e impede
a formação de uma imagem completa da cultura científica dos séculos XVI e
XVII. Este volume pretende devolver a Castro o mérito que lhe foi reconhecido
na sua época e incentivar o estudo da contribuição dos autores portugueses para
a literatura de peste, significativa, mas ainda mal conhecida.
como médico em Lisboa, cidade que decidiu abandonar nos últimos
anos do século XVI provavelmente devido ao clima de crescente intolerância religiosa.
Chegado a Hamburgo, cidade atacada pela peste em 1596, logo publicou,
em latim, um pequeno tratado para explicar a natureza e as causas da peste,
sugerir medidas profilácticas e de organização sanitária, e resumir os procedimentos
terapêuticos e as receitas de medicamentos que considerava mais
eficazes no combate à doença. Além de ser testemunho da melhor informação
científica disponível à época, da prática médica do momento, e da actualização
operada sobre as obras médicas clássicas gregas, latinas e árabes, o tratado
constitui um instrumento de apoio à decisão destinado a salvaguardar os agentes
políticos e os órgãos de governo da cidade de Hamburgo do desgaste provocado
por uma situação de escrutínio público severo, ao mesmo tempo que serve de
alavanca de prestígio e valorização do corpo médico. A actualidade e o valor das
suas propostas são evidentes: elas abarcam a criação de um quadro de pessoal
para monitorização e acompanhamento da situação, a instalação de unidades
de saúde dedicadas, a elaboração de registos fiáveis sobre o número de mortos
e infectados, a imposição de normas de distanciamento social e até o controle
de formas de interacção entre pessoas a ponto de sugerir a eliminação de gestos
banais de cumprimento. O esquecimento a que este tratado é votado hoje
contrasta com o prestígio que granjeou ao seu autor após a publicação e impede
a formação de uma imagem completa da cultura científica dos séculos XVI e
XVII. Este volume pretende devolver a Castro o mérito que lhe foi reconhecido
na sua época e incentivar o estudo da contribuição dos autores portugueses para
a literatura de peste, significativa, mas ainda mal conhecida.
Research Interests:
Portuguese translation of Lucan's Pharsalia (books 6 and 7).
Please note this article is published with Brepols Publishers as a Gold Open Access article under a Creative Commons CC 4.0: BY-NC license. The article is also freely available on the website of Brepols Publishers:... more
Please note this article is published with Brepols Publishers as a Gold Open Access article under a Creative Commons CC 4.0: BY-NC license.
The article is also freely available on the website of Brepols Publishers: https://doi.org/10.1484/J.EUPHR.5.132025 under this same license.
The article is also freely available on the website of Brepols Publishers: https://doi.org/10.1484/J.EUPHR.5.132025 under this same license.
Please note this article is published with Brepols Publishers as a Gold Open Access article under a Creative Commons CC 4.0: BY-NC license. The article is also freely available on the website of Brepols Publishers:... more
Please note this article is published with Brepols Publishers as a Gold Open Access article under a Creative Commons CC 4.0: BY-NC license.
The article is also freely available on the website of Brepols Publishers: https://doi.org/10.1484/J.EUPHR.5.132025 under this same license.
The article is also freely available on the website of Brepols Publishers: https://doi.org/10.1484/J.EUPHR.5.132025 under this same license.
Please note this article is published with Brepols Publishers as a Gold Open Access article under a Creative Commons CC 4.0: BY-NC license. The article is also freely available on the website of Brepols Publishers:... more
Please note this article is published with Brepols Publishers as a Gold Open Access article under a Creative Commons CC 4.0: BY-NC license.
The article is also freely available on the website of Brepols Publishers: https://www.brepolsonline.net/doi/abs/10.1484/J.EUPHR.5.128816 under this same license.
The article is also freely available on the website of Brepols Publishers: https://www.brepolsonline.net/doi/abs/10.1484/J.EUPHR.5.128816 under this same license.
Please note this article is published with Brepols Publishers as a Gold Open Access article under a Creative Commons CC 4.0: BY-NC license. The article is also freely available on the website of Brepols Publishers:... more
Please note this article is published with Brepols Publishers as a Gold Open Access article under a Creative Commons CC 4.0: BY-NC license.
The article is also freely available on the website of Brepols Publishers: https://www.brepolsonline.net/doi/abs/10.1484/J.EUPHR.5.128816 under this same license.
The article is also freely available on the website of Brepols Publishers: https://www.brepolsonline.net/doi/abs/10.1484/J.EUPHR.5.128816 under this same license.
In 2023 the world will celebrate the bimillenary of the birth of Pliny the Elder, who is a widely known author but not studied as much as he deserves. Despite the general interest shown in Pliny and his Natural History, there is still... more
In 2023 the world will celebrate the bimillenary of the birth of Pliny the Elder, who is a widely known author but not studied as much as he deserves. Despite the general interest shown in Pliny and his Natural History, there is still much to explore in his work. Examples of important titles of Plinian scholarship include the monograph of Beagon (1992) and her commentary on Book 7 of the Natural History (2005); Doody's monograph on the reception of Pliny's Natural History (2010); the edited volume of Gibson and Morello (2011); and the edited volume of Traina and Vial-Logeay (2022). In order to foster further investigation of Pliny and explore themes and issues that have not yet been fully investigated, the Centre for Classical Studies of the School of Arts and Humanities of the University of Lisbon, in collaboration with the Sapienza Università di Roma, is organising two international conferences on the theme 'Pliny the Elder: Medicine, Magic, and Religion' to be held during the autumn of 2023.
The Project “Gynecia: Rodericus a Castro Lusitanus and the ancient medical tradition about gynaecology and embryology” organizes, on June 27th to 28th 2022, at the School of Arts and Humanities, University of Lisbon, the III International... more
The Project “Gynecia: Rodericus a Castro Lusitanus and the ancient medical tradition about gynaecology and embryology” organizes, on June 27th to 28th 2022, at the School of Arts and Humanities, University of Lisbon, the III International Gynecia Conference, dedicated to the theme “Gynaecology and embryology in Ancient, Medieval and Early-Modern Texts”. The primary aim of the conference is to address all the possible facets and complexities of this theme, within the context of Western Medicine. Scholars working in an area related to the theme of the project and interested in participating in the Conference are invited to send a proposal. Proposals on Ancient, Medieval and Early Modern Medicine and Philosophy are welcome.
Research Interests: Medical Sciences, Gynaecology, History of Medicine, Medieval Studies, Embryology, and 15 moreGalen, Ancient Medicine, Hippocratic Corpus, Translation of Medical Texts, Medicine, Hippocrates, History of Medicine in Medieval and Early Modern Europe, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, The History of Ancient and Medieval Pharmacy/materia Medica, Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Early modern medicine, Medical Literature, History of Ancient Medicine, History of Contraception and Abortion, and Classical Studies
"Pliny the Elder on Medicine"
International Conference held in Lisbon, 19-20 October 2023
International Conference held in Lisbon, 19-20 October 2023