1. Greek and Roman Medicine
Laurence M.V. Totelin
Cardiff University

2. Lecture Outline The Hippocratic Oath: an unusual document
Healers in the market place
Secular and religious medicine
Note: Greek and ‘Roman’ medicine

3. Hippocrates and the Hippocratic Oath
Very little information about Hippocrates – some information in the works of Plato and Aristotle
Hippocratic Corpus:
Collection of more or less 60 texts
Written by various authors
Written in a variety of styles
Deal with various medical topics
Grouped under the name of Hippocrates of Cos
Most texts written end fifth century BCE or fourth century BCE
Asclepius arrives at Cos, Cos, C2-C3 CE

4. The Oath Context of the Oath is obscure
Not all physicians at the time of Hippocrates agreed with the principles of the Oath
Structure: invocation of the gods – covenant – duties – rewards and punishments
The limits of technē
Papyrus fragment of the Oath,
3rd century CE

5. The physician, iatros/medicus
No official training
Importance of finding a good teacher
Itinerant physicians
A few famous physicians
Erasistratus and Herophilus (third century BCE)
Galen (second-third century CE)
Oribasius (fourth century CE)
Aetius (sixth century CE)
Dietetic medicine
Erasistratus discovers Antiochus is in love
with his stepmother Stratonice by examining
his pulse. Engraving after P. de Cortona 1772

6. Galen 434 titles, of which 350 at least at really by Galen
A life between Pergamum and Rome
An imperial career
434 titles, of which 350 at least at really by Galen
Extremely varied in topics
Writings for beginners and for more advanced learners
The best physician is a philosopher
The four humours
Asclepeion of Pergamum

7. The female physician and midwife
Midwives are conspicuously absent from the Hippocratic Corpus
Socrates’ mother; Phanostrate
Story of Agnodice and Herophilus
Soranus’ perfect midwife
References to female healers in Martial and Juvenal
Galen’s competition against the midwives
Midwives and female healers: epigraphic evidence
Tombstone of a medica from Metz,
C1 CE (?), CIL

8. Stele of Phanostrate (Athens, fourth century BCE)
Phanostrate, midwife (maia) and physician (iatros), lies here at rest. She caused pain to none, and her death was lamented by all.

9. Scribonia Tombstone of Scribonia (1st century AD) Ostia tomb 100

10. The surgeon Most surgery performed by physician
But some physicians specialised as surgeons
Specialised surgeons existed (specialising in eye-diseases; in cutting for the stone)
Need for a steady and fast hand
Charlatans
A cylindrical case, Pompeii,
first century CE (Majno)

11. Surgical instruments found at Pompeii, now kept at the Naples
National Archaeological Museum

12. Extracting weapons Fresco from Pompei representing
Iapex extracting an arrow from the
thigh of Aeneas

13. Setting bones and reducing fractures
Apollonius, Nicetas Codex

14. The pharmacologist
The root-cutters (rhizotomoi), e.g.Cratevas the root-cutter
The drug-sellers (pharmakopolai)
Patients preparing their own remedies
Pharmakon
= drug (remedy)
= drug (poison)
= potion, philtre, charm
Herbal, 2nd century CE
Fragment of an illustrated herbal,
consisting of a treatise on the
medical properties of plants.
P.Tebt.0679

15. The Johnson papyrus (c. 400 CE)
Phlomos
Symphyton

16. The ‘Vienna
Dioscorides’,
offered to Anicia
Juliana in 512 CE

17. Religion and healing in the ancient world
Misleading to talk about ‘healing gods’ as a distinct category
The spread of the cult of Asclepius
Incubation and forms of religious healing
A unique witness: Aelius Aristides
Epidaurus – sanctuary of Asclepius

18. ‘Secular’ and ‘religious’ healing: conflict or overlap
The Hippocratic Oath and the gods
Areas of overlap
Dedications by physicians at temples of Asclepius
Physicians = Asclepiadai
Votive relief from the Asclepion at Athens

19. Conclusions
Medicine in the ancient world: a ‘market place’ (Vivian Nutton)
No official medical qualifications – the importance of apprenticeship
Overlap and collaboration between ‘secular’ and ‘religious’ healers