Roman Medicine

Medicine and Healing in the Premodern West traces the history of medicine and medical practice from Ancient Egypt through to the end of the Middle Ages. Featuring nearly one hundred primary documents and images, this book introduces readers to the words and ideas of men and women from across Europe and the Mediterranean Sea, from prominent physicians to humble healers. Each of the book’s ten chronological and thematic chapters is given a significant historical introduction, in which each primary source is described in its original context. Many of the included source texts are newly translated by the editor, some of them appearing in English for the first time.

rec. [NL] van: Celsus, De geneeskunst, ingeleid, vertaald en van noten voorzien door John Nagelkerken, Julius Roos, Theo van de Wiel (†), Jacqueline König, Damon, Eindhoven 2017; geb. 495 p.; € 39,90 [ISBN 978 94 6340 0978], in: Hermeneus 89, 2017, 140-141;

Η προκείμενη μελέτη, σχετίζεται με την ιστορία της ιατρικής στην αρχαία Ρώμη. Στην ανακοίνωση αυτή, θα εξεταστεί αρχικά η εμφάνιση των πρώτων ιατρικών κοινοτήτων της αρχαίας Ρώμης καθώς και η εξέλιξή τους. Καθώς η ανακοίνωση αυτή διχοτομείται θεματικά, ανάμεσα στην ιατρική και στην δημόσια υγεία στη Ρώμη ,σε δεύτερο στάδιο, εξετάζουμε τη δημόσια υγεία στη Ρώμη και την κοινωνική ιατρική που αναπτύχθηκε στην όψιμη φάση της δημοκρατικής της περιόδου, όπως είναι η κατασκευή μεγάλων αποχετευτικών έργων (Cloaca Maxima, δημόσια λουτρά κ.α.) και τη διάθεση της πολιτείας να βελτιώσει τις συνθήκες ζωής των Ρωμαίων πολιτών, με τη θεσμοθέτηση οργάνων, καθώς και την εισαγωγή νομοθεσίας από τα δικαιοπλαστικά της όργανα, που σχετιζόταν με την ιατρική περίθαλψη. Τέλος, ακροθιγώς θα γίνει μια αναφορά στους σημαντικότερους ιατρούς και στις νευραλγικότερες ιατρικές εφευρέσεις της Ρωμαϊκής αρχαιότητας.

This thesis examines the representation of the scented female body in the literary culture of late Republican and early Imperial Rome. Recent years have seen increasing scholarly interest in odour and olfaction in antiquity, building on anthropological and sociological research on the cultural relativism of olfactory perception and its associations and interpretations. Through its connections to sexuality, bodily fluids, and corporeal corruption, odour provides a fascinating lens through which to scrutinise the ancient female body.

To this end, this thesis draws together the fields of sensory studies, the body in antiquity, and ancient gender and sexuality, in order to facilitate the first holistic examination of the ways in which scent was used as a means to categorise and evaluate the character, behaviour, and morality of women in ancient Rome. After an analysis of ancient medical associations surrounding odour and the female body, the thesis examines the key properties and thematic concerns of perfumes, first across a range of Roman texts and then in the detailed assessment of perfumes by Pliny the Elder. It then demonstrates that female odour and perfume were deeply embedded in mythical traditions that were richly adapted by Roman poets and themselves extended to embrace female figures that populated the urban environment of Imperial Rome.

It argues that the relationship between the female body and odour was frequently employed as a means of reasserting Roman hierarchies of gender and power. However, it also argues that the odour of the female body was powerful. Odour invaded, captivated and polluted the bodies it touched, and it was also the sense that best correlates to the traditional ambiguities, dangers, and wiles with which women were associated. The sensory manipulation enabled by perfume stoked these ambiguities and anxieties, permitting women a level of control over the ancient sensorium, potentially deceiving discerning male noses and thus disrupting the very hierarchies which characterised women as socially and biologically inferior.

La questione della stima di cui godevano i medici nel mondo romano è un tema trattato in precedenza da diversi autori che hanno studiato il complesso mondo della medicina romana, mostrando come questi professionisti, in generale, non siano stati così apprezzati nel contesto romano come lo furono nel mondo greco. Questo giudizio negativo da parte dei Romani si deve mettere in relazione, in primo luogo, con l’origine greca di questi medici che, nell’interazione tra dottore greco e paziente romano, diede luogo a uno scontro tra due sistemi medici e culturali diversi; d’altra parte è fondamentale, in questa valutazione negativa, lo status umile conseguente all’origine ellenica che, in generale e soprattutto in tempi più antichi, caratterizzava i medici. In questo articolo ci proponiamo di unire allo studio di una selezione di fonti letterarie e giuridiche, che abbiamo considerato significative per il tema proposto, l’analisi di un certo numero di iscrizioni latine che possono aiutarci ad ampliare la visione di quale sia stata la considerazione riservata ai medici nel mondo romano. Dal punto di vista cronologico, i documenti analizzati si inquadrano principalmente tra la fine dell’età re¬pubblicana e il III secolo d.C., con qualche incursione anche in periodi successivi.

The gradual introduction of Greek medicine in Rome starting in the third century BCE has been considered to be a truly significant step in the history of medicine. This event allowed a new form of allopathy to spread while at the same time medical practices themselves evolved throughout the area that would come under Roman dominance. The resulting cultural interaction was possible thanks to Greek doctors who were responsible for disseminating cutting-edge medical theories and practices throughout the West.
The present study focuses on the men and women who took part in the practice of the ars medica during the Roman Republic and Empire. This is accomplished by taking a close look at the epigraphic record, which provides an unparalleled resource that allows us to get to know these medical professionals. Epigrapic documents are useful in this regard precisely because they are linked to these professionals as individuals; therefore they supply—in a direct and objective way—vital information that would otherwise be inaccessible. Accordingly, the present study examines a corpus comprised of 312 epigraphs that describe medici and other medical professionals. The texts analyzed in the following pages come from both Rome and Italy at large and have all been dated between the second century BCE and the third century CE (Appendix 1).
The book is divided into three main sections. The first part, which takes the status and identity of physicians as its main focus, examines the social circles in which doctors found themselves, the relationships that they forged both within and outside of the personal realm, and finally the person they projected in civic society. The second section analyzes the technical terminology employed throughout the inscriptions in order to look squarely at the medical profession and the types of work and clinical specialties that these individuals practiced. Finally, the third part turns to the physical spaces in which doctors, midwives, and medical assistants carried out their professional duties. On the whole, the present monograph provides a tour through the socio-professional context that characterized the medical profession throughout Roman antiquity. It does so by always placing the epigraphic records that mention the profession’s members at the center of the discussion.

Este libro tiene el objetivo principal de introducir al lector en los principales temas y debates de la historia de la medicina en la Antigüedad, prestando especial atención a las cuatro principales culturas médicas del mundo antiguo: Próximo Oriente, Egipto, Grecia y Roma. ¡Se plantea como una síntesis razonada de los principales rasgos de la medicina antigua y se abordan diferentes puntos de vista: antropología, filología, filosofía, historia, historia de la ciencia, etc., siendo el hilo conductor la forma en que las diferentes culturas antiguas han abordado y combatido la enfermedad, lo cual es un elemento central en la alteridad del mundo antiguo. Desde una perspectiva amplia y amena, esta obra presenta además las principales fuentes primarias para el estudio de la historia de la medicina, así como los más notables autores y autoras modernos que han interpretado y puesto en contexto di-chas fuentes. Aunque está dirigida especialmente a quienes se inician en esta apasionante disciplina, así como a estudiantes e investigadores, resultará una lectura provechosa para todo aquel que tenga interés en la historia antigua desde una perspectiva cultural.

I romani non consideravano la medicina una scienza, ma un insieme di pratiche di origine magica che venivano eseguite da medici per lo più di origine greca. Questi si affermarono
sempre di più a Roma, tanto da ottenere la cittadinanza sotto il governo di Cesare e di Augusto: essi erano per lo più schiavi o liberti e all’interno della società erano considerati non più abili di un qualsiasi artigiano.
Ma, oltre il medico, anche il pater familias si occupava dell’ amministrazione delle cure sanitarie: questa pratica era detta medicina domestica. Si trattava per lo più di terapie effettuate attraverso l’amministrazione di alimenti come vino, olio, cavolo o zucca per assistere la persona malata.
In questo articolo, dunque, verranno esposti gli aspetti della medicina domestica e dell’impiego degli alimenti nella cura del paziente.

This study examines the pre-modern debate surrounding a strange Islamic prophetic tradition (hadith) that commands to fully immerse a fly that has fallen into a drink, " for in one of its wings there is poison and in the other a cure ". Studying different discussions of the hadith from the 3th/9th to the 9th/15th centuries reveals the variety of ways Muslim scholars negotiated the substantial tension between the competing authorities of prophetic tradition and the Greco-Islamic scientific tradition. Finally, I propose a possible explanation for the idea of a poison and cure on flies' wings in Greco-Roman medical discussions of the Spanish fly.

The identification of the activities which were carried out by women designed as medicae and obstetrices in the Latin epigraphy is a problem that previous scholars have already pointed out. In this paper, by means of epigraphic analysis of Latin inscriptions, we aim to discuss whether both terms, medica and obstetrix, may refer to the same profession.

By David Soren and Noelle Soren
University of Arizona

Part One: The Roman Villa at Poggio Gramignano in the region of Lugnano in Teverina: D. Soren and e Roman Villa at Poggio Gramignano in the Region of Lugnano in Teverina; 1- Storia e assetto in età antica del territorio in cui ricade la villa di Poggio Gramignano by D. Monacchi; 2 - Summary of periods of construction and destruction by D. Soren; 3 - Summary of the excavations by D. Soren; 4 - Summary of Archaeological phases of each room by D. Soren; 5 - The Parts Urbana at Poggio Gramignano: summary and reconstruction by D. Soren and W. Aylward; 6 - Linear Measure and geometry in the colonnaded Oecus by W. Aylward; 7 - An interpretation of room 10 by D. Soren and G. Warren; 8 - The antefixes by D. Soren and A.M. Biagini; 9 - Conservation report by J. Williams; 10 - A note on the petrology of Mortar, stucco facing and plaster from the Walls of the roman Villa at Poggio Gramignano by D.F. Williams; Part Two. Material Culture: 1 - Black-Gloss Ware by A. Martin; 2 - Italian sigillata by A. Martin; 3 - African red-slip ware by A. Martin; 4 - Color-coated and painted ware by A. Martin; 5 - Terra sigillata chiara italiaca by D. Monacchi; 6 - Dati archeometrici sulle sigillate chiare italiche rinvenute in Umbria: analisi minero-petrografiche by G. Predieri and Sergio Sfregola; 7 - La ceramica a pareti sottili by C. Piraino; 8 - La ceramica da cucina by C. Piraino; 9 - La ceramica comune by C. Piraino; 10 - La ceramica post-medievale by C. Piraino; 11 - Amphorae by Archer Martin; 12 - Lamps by Archer Martin; 13 - Ceramic building materials by A. Martin; - 14 I bolli laterizi by D. Monacchi; - 15 Consistenza dei reperti di vetro by G. Borghetti; 16 - A note on the petrology of some ceramic building materials, pottery and stone objects by D. Williams; 17 - I mosaici e i pavimenti by D. Monacchi; 18 - Appendice: caratterizzazione mineralogico-petrografica di materiali lapidei in opera nel pavimento by G. Poli and B. Moroni; 19 - Gli affreschi by B. Maurina; 20 - Additional small finds by A. Martin; - 21 - I materiali ceramici in Lugnano in Teverina: analisi archeometriche by G. Predieri and S. Sfrecola; Part Three. The Infant Cemetery: 1 - Introduction to Part Three by D. Soren; 2 - Famine, Pestilence and Brigandage in Italy in the Fifth Century A.D. by F.E. Romer; 3 - The Infant Cemetery at Poggio Gramignano: Description and Analysis by D. Soren, T. Fenton, W. Birkby; 4 - Appendix to Chapter 3: Tool Marks on Infant-bearing Amphorae by J. Williams; 5 - Animal Bone Remains by M. McKinnon; 6 - Charred Floral Remains from the Villa at Poggio Gramignano by K. Adams; 7 - Analysis of the Bronze Basins by M. Fenn; 8 - A Bone Doll from the Infant Cemetery at Poggio Gramignano by L. Shumka; 9 - Hecate and the Infant Cemetery at Poggio Gramignano by D. Soren; 10 - Malaria: medicine and magic in the Roman World by L. D. Lane; Bibliography by Chapter; Part Four - Figures and Plates.

While in modern healthcare the education and training, hence the identification (medical diploma, medical license) of physicians is regulated by the state, during the classical antiquity medicine was considered to be a craft (techne / ars), therefore practice of medicine was seen as private matter and consequently was not regulated. So, if no identification is provided by the state, how could laymen decide that the person in front of them was a doctor or not? The aim of my paper is to investigate, how Greeks and Romans identified physicians, how they distinguished physicians from other healers and laymen. Examining literary and legal texts I will argue that the community has decided who was (and who was not) a doctor, consequently, the decision was based rather on the success rate and moral virtues of the person, than on his knowledge of medicine.

The aim of this study is to analyse a relief from Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa portraying the healing triad Aesculapius – Hygeia – Telesphorus together with another small god, so far interpreted as Eros – Thanatos and to demonstrate that the latter is in fact Hypnos. After describing the piece the study will bring forth all the similar evidence found in Dacia as well as all the analogies found in the Roman Empire, trying to find a pattern in their iconographical scheme and their spatial layout. Furthermore other indirect evidence can be selected from ancient literary sources and epigraphy that attest either a collective dedication for the aforementioned gods, either
suggest the presence of Hypnos or Oneiros in asklepieia, especially in the Eastern part of the Roman Empire. Ultimately the study attempts to clarify whether the relief from Ulpia can be considered a metaphor for incubatio and the implications of this, trying to respond to the question whether or not this ritual was practiced in the asklepieion of Ulpia, taking in consideration all the archaeological data that can be correlated with this, both architectural (fountains, sacrificial altars) and artefactual (the great quantity of lamps, votive inscriptions, perhaps even the surgical instruments).

A literatura médica em Roma primeiramente se sustenta sobre trabalhos científicos gregos, pois que a língua latina, imprópria a matérias especulativas, não conseguiria exprimir a grandiosidade e precisão do assunto. A medicina romana, portanto, assimila a cultura médica grega. Os médicos romanos se dedicam, pois, a uma higiene pública, sistematizando com prudência os conhecimentos práticos e concretos de outras culturas. Plínio, o velho escreve uma obra intitulada História Natural, composta de trinta e sete livros, e nos interessam sobremaneira aqueles dedicados à medicina, sua história e propagação pelos povos antigos, até sua chegada e acolhida em Roma, no século I d.C.

La figura delle donne che nella società romana si sono occupate di medicina sono tre: medicae, obstetrices e iatromae. Esse sono state variamente analizzate e studiate dalla critica moderna: se nei primi lavori si tendeva ad "unificare" queste figure professionali, oggi si è intuito come esse siano svincolate l'una dall'altra. Certo dei dubbi restano su dove finisse la reciproca sfera di lavori, ma si è capito che l'esistenza di tre termini diversi per indicare queste figure professionali deve necessariamente sottintendere una loro ben precisa distinzione.
La presenza di donne impegnate in pratiche mediche, oltre che dalle attestazioni epigrafiche è comprovata anche dalle fonti letterarie, le quali però riflettono il consolidato stereotipo del mondo antico per cui i medici capaci sono uomini e se il medico è una donna, merita credibilità solamente se si comporta da uomo. È probabile che, nonostante la loro preparazione, le medicae si occupassero principalmente di patologie legate all'organismo femminile e la distinzione dei termini possa quindi semplicemente indicare il grado di preparazione di queste figure. Queste figure, come dimostrano un paio di epigrafi, possedevano anche un'istruzione teorica all'arte medica, non solamente pratica, come forse ebbero, invece, le obstetrices.
La figura professionale della obstetrix è rappresentata esclusivamente da donne, giocando quindi sulla complicità femminile e sul bisogno di sottrarsi, per questi frangenti più delicati, al rapporto gerarchico uomo – donna, onnipresente nella vita quotidiana. Si occupavano principalmente di disturbi ginecologici o di tutte le patologie legate all'apparato genitale femminili, che dovevano essere frequenti, anche in considerazione del fatto che la procreazione e la maternità spesso non erano atti consapevoli o desiderati, bensì un'imperiosa e pressante necessità, dettata dall'esigenza di assicurare una discendenza familiare.

Baykan, D.; “Gladyatör Hekimi Galenos ve Allianoi”, II. Uluslararası Bergama Sempozyumu Bergama’nın Üstün Evrensel Değerleri Antik Çağ’da Sağlık ve Bergamalı Galenos ve Kültürlerin Aktarım Aracı Parşömen (9-10 Mayıs 2013), İzmir, 2019, 32-51.(ISBN: 978-975-975-40-9-9)(Çevrimiçi:
http://www.bergama.bel.tr/company/page/3056/BrgmSem2013-web.pdf)

Cet article s'appuie sur une expérience pratique, sur nos connaissances actuelles de la physiologie de la lactation et des besoins nutritionnels du nourrisson, sur des considérations anatomiques, pratiques et affectives, et sur la relecture de données archéologiques, ostéologiques, chimiques et anthropologiques. Premièrement, il défend l'hypothèse selon laquelle une catégorie de petits récipients romains en terre cuite considérés comme des tire-lait sont en fait des biberons. Deuxièmement, une étude de la fonctionnalité de ces récipients met au jour trois fonctions potentielles, qui correspondraient respectivement à une utilisation par des enfants de moins de 6 mois, de plus de 6 mois, et par des adultes. Enfin, des hypothèses concernant le contexte funéraire dans lequel la majorité de ces récipients sont trouvés sont proposées.

Kratek prispevek je posvečen teoretskemu in zgodovinskemu ozadju zdravilskega sistema, ki je temeljil na pojmovanju telesa kot stičišča štirih telesnih tekočin (kri, sluz, rumeni žolč, črni žolč). Ta teorija se je pojavila v stari Grčiji in so jo pogosto uporabljali še v zgodnjem novem veku vse do 19. stoletja.

This doctoral dissertation is on the evaluation of metal materials recovered from
archaeological excavations carried out in the Village of Gökçeseki (Philadelphia), within the district Ermenek which is part of the Karaman province.
It is observed that the metal works found in Gökçeseki (Philadelphia) consist of 348 pieces nd that they were produced in small numbers from gold, silver and lead but more from bronze.
The findings were first grouped according to their intended use. According to the groupings made by considering the functions of the works, 206 of them consist of Cosmetic / Medical instruments, 29 of them cutting / drilling tools, 82 of them jewelery, belts and clothing accessories, 7 of them lock parts and keys, 4 of them mirror and mirror frames and finally, 12 of them that were not included in these groups were also evaluated. Of the finds in Gökçeseki, 270 are made of bronze, 51 are iron, 7 are silver, 4 are lead, 3 are gold, and 3 are stone artifacts associated with these finds. It is very important to understand, identify and date the metal finds. The works evaluated in this PhD thesis were found, arranged in a planned order in a pit. The closure of the pit must be linked to Shapur's campaign (AD 260), which caused a major destruction in the region in the middle of the 3rd century AD. In this context, the terminus ante quem for the dating of the works studied is the 1st century AD and the terminus post quem is the late 3th century AD at the latest.

Keywords: Isauria Gökçeseki, metal finds, ancient medical / cosmetic instruments, military equipment.

Advisor: Prof. Dr. Serra DURUGÖNÜL, Department of Archeology, Mersin University, Mersin.

In 1904 an excavation in Ephesus brought to light a series of inscriptions recording the results of medical contests that took place at the city over the two days of the Great Asclepieia during the 2nd century CE. Because of the fragmentary character of the inscriptions and the lack of literary sources, origin, proceedings and purpose of these competitions were vigorously debated among both doctors and classical scholars, however, the context of these unique contests was neglected. The aim of this paper is to offer a new frame of interpretation for the medical contests by setting the epigraphic evidence in a broader context. On the basis of other Ephesian inscriptions and references in the oeuvre of Galen, it will be argued that the participants belonged to a close, intellectual circle with connections to the emperors and the elite. Thus the competition should not to be viewed as a common practice for choosing civic physicians, but as public medical lectures or presentations (epideixis), which were very popular at the time. The Great Asclepieia of Ephesus provided an excellent opportunity for this elite body of physicians to demonstrate their medical proficiency and competence to the community, and to show their talent to wealthier patients.

Discussion paper Hygieia at:  ‘Historicisation’ A summer course for PhD students arranged by the Nordic network for medical history (NordForsk) about "framing health".. The University of Bergen, 24-26 August, 2011.

Updated and corrected version: 28 juni 2021

Studies on inscriptions of physicians found in Pannonia concentrated
mainly on the social status of physicians, regarding their legal and perhaps financial status. There is, however, another perspective regarding healers, that of the health care system of the Empire, which consisted of civic, military and private physicians, assistants of doctors, pharmacists and other healers, e.g. priests or magicians. My aim in this paper is to examine the Pannonian health care system and the role of physicians in this system by re-examining the inscriptions of physicians from the province. I will compare the local health care with the imperial, reflecting on the absence of civic physicians and the large number of physicians in the army of Pannonia.

ABSTRACT: Although the medical services of the Roman army have long attracted scholarly interest, all previous studies terminate in the mid/late third century, partly owing to conventional periodizations of Roman military history, but primarily in response to a drastic diminution in the epigraphic and archaeological record. This chapter assembles the evidence relating to health and medicine in the late Roman army (AD 250-600) and identifies interpretive challenges posed by different categories of literary and documentary source material. Where possible, analysis extends beyond medical personnel, facilities and procedures to examine broader medico-historical perspectives, including vulnerability to disease, cultural attitudes to soldiers’ health, especially combat wounds, and arrangements for invalided servicemen. Contrary to traditional notions of ‘decline and fall’, the evidence points to substantial continuity in institutional approaches to safeguarding soldiers’ health and treating those who became sick, injured or wounded, despite changes in the nature and expectations of military service in Late Antiquity.

FULL TEXT: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781119248514.ch14

The outlines of the changes of the term archiatros and his Latin equivalent archiater are clear: initially the word denoted a court physician but in the 2nd Century CE, a new meaning appeared, that of a public physician. Only in late antiquity can one identify archiatros as an honorary title, one denoting a famous, skilled doctor. The inscription of C. Proculeius Themison from Alexandria (7 CE) does not fit into this scheme. In this paper, I argue that the title of Themison should be viewed as an honorary one, indicating that the honorary usage of archiatros began sooner, as previously thought. The inscription from Themison also affords an opportunity to re-examine the term archiatros, and to investigate, whether the use of the term in a flattering manner can be traced in Greek and Latin inscriptions.

Il presente lavoro analizza le uniche due attestazioni epigrafiche note sulla figura del medicus auricularius nel mondo romano.
Questi documenti forniscono limitate informazioni inerenti lo status sociale, la condizione economica e l’origine geografica (ricavabile dal dato onomastico) dei due medici. L’indagine comparativa con altre epigrafi riferibili a medici, provenienti da Roma e dal territorio della Regio I, e l’analisi di opere letterarie e papiracee coeve forniscono, tuttavia, la possibilità di ricavare ulteriori dati che concorrono ad un corretto inquadramento dell’identità sociale di questi due "professionisti".

Starting from Aulus Cornelius Celsus’ definition of medicine as a conjectural art (ars coniecturalis), this paper analyses other testimonies taken from ancient medical and philosophical sources, in order to clarify the analogies between medicine and rhetoric as well as the shared methological criteria.