Hippocrates On Ancient Medicine

This volume presents an up-to-date Greek text of the Hippocratic treatise On Ancient Medicine along with a new English translation, a detailed commentary focusing on questions of medical and scientific method, and an introduction that places the work in its intellectual context.

On the art of medicine, or de Arte, embodies as perhaps no other ancient text the full flower of the sophistic movement of the fifth century BCE. It is a rhetorical epideixis in which forensic oratory, philosophy, and medicine are woven into an ambitious display of sophistic polymathy. Unlike much previous scholarship, however, this book does not dismiss de Arte as “merely” rhetorical. Its analysis of the author’s philosophical and medical views reveals that he strove to promote a consistent and rationally grounded system capable of responding to theoretical and practical criticisms levied by those who would deny that there was such a thing as medicine or technē at all.

The third edition of this magisterial account of medicine in the Greek and Roman worlds, written by the foremost expert on the subject, has been updated to incorporate the many new discoveries made in the field over the past decade. This revised volume includes discussions of several new or forgotten works by Galen and his contemporaries, as well as of new archaeological material. RNA analysis has expanded our understanding of disease in the ancient world; the book explores the consequences of this for sufferers, for example in creating disability. Nutton also expands upon the treatment of pre-Galenic medicine in Greece and Rome. In addition, subtitles and a chronology will make for easier student consultation, and the bibliography is substantially revised and updated, providing avenues for future student research. This third edition of Ancient Medicine will remain the definitive textbook on the subject for students of medicine in the classical world, and the history of medicine and science more broadly, with much to interest scholars in the field as well.

The Hippocratic Corpus comprises some sixty medical works of varying length, style and content. Collectively, this is the largest surviving body of early Greek prose. As such, it is an invaluable resource for scholars and students not only of ancient medicine but also of Greek life in general. Hippocrates lived in the age of Socrates and most of the treatises seem to originate in the classical period. There is, however, no consensus on Hippocratic attribution. The ‘Hippocratic’ Corpus examines the works individually under the broad headings: content - each work is summarised for the reader comment - the substance and style of each work is discussed context is provided not just in relation to the corpus as a whole but also to the work’s wider relevance. Whereas the scholar or student approaching, say, Euripides or Herodotus has a wealth of books available to provide introduction and orientation, no such study has existed for the Hippocratic Corpus. As The ‘Hippocratic’ Corpus has a substantial introduction, and as each work is summarised for the reader, it facilitates use and exploration of an important body of evidence by all interested in Greek medicine and society. Elizabeth Craik is Honorary Professor at University of St Andrews and Visiting Professor at University of Newcastle, UK.

This volume makes available in English translation a selection of Jacques Jouanna's papers on Greek and Roman medicine, ranging from the early beginnings of Greek medicine to late antiquity.

"The Hippocratic Collection (Corpus Hippocraticum) consists of between sixty and seventy medical writings in the Ionic Greek dialect dating for the most part from a hundred year period around 400 BC. The works included in volume 1 are Ancient Medicine, Airs Waters Places, Epidemics I, Epidemics III, Oath, Precepts, and Nutriment. These works greatly in their form and content. Ancient Medicine and Airs Waters Places are essays formulated in elegant expository prose, in which their authors treat central questions of medical method. Epidemics I and III are primary witnesses to Hippocratic observation and experience. The Hippocratic Oath is, or pretends to be, a historical document, although its lack of historical context often leaves its interpreter at a loss. Unquestionably, however, its identification of many of the perennial ethical problems attached to medical practice, and its high moral ideal justify the reverence it has received for two millennia. Precepts is interesting for its author's thoughts on medical ethics, etiquette, and professionalism, in spite of the fact that the text often lacks logical coherence, and its language on several occasions defies comprehension. Nutriment, which is also often difficult to understand-although in this case the mystery may be partly the result of an intentional imitation of the language of the early Greek philosopher Heraclitus of Ephesus-contains many speculative explanations how the three basic forms of nutriment (food, drink, and breath) interact with the body"--

This work is a sampling of the Hippocratic Corpus, a collection of ancient Greek medical works. At the beginning, and interspersed throughout, there are discussions on the philosophy of being a physician. There is a large section about how to treat limb fractures, and the section called The Nature of Man describes the physiological theories of the time. The book ends with a discussion of embryology and a brief anatomical description of the heart.