Week 10 -Alexandria copy

WEEK 10: PART 1

• Alexandrian Medicine

Significant Factors

• Rise of Macedonia

  • Philip II & Alexander the Great (4th c BCE)

  • Signified political & geographical changes

• Magna Graecia

  • Establishment of 70 Alexandrias, contributing to the spread of Greek culture

  • Influence on regions including Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Levant

• Cultural Dynamics in Macedonia

  • Referred to as “Macedonian backwater”

  • Different customs from Classical Greece (CG): practices such as polygamy and regional kingship

  • Shared religious beliefs: Olympian gods

• Cultural Exchange

  • Hybrid cultural form known as Hellenistic culture

  • Post-323 BCE: Shift following the death of Alexander, leading to successors (Diadochi), most notably Ptolemy

• Emergence of Rome

  • Developments in the western world set the stage for Roman influence

Religion & Culture

• Cultural Hybridization

  • Delos as a trading port featuring temples to various deities:

    • Sarapis & Isis (Egypt)

    • Atargatis & Hadad (Syria)

    • Astarte & Baal (Canaanite)

    • Jewish synagogue and Roman shrines

• Movement of People

  • The spread and popularity of cults, leading to the establishment of sacred sites like Asklepieion in Delos evolving into Sarapieion

  • Strong ties to ruling dynasties and state-sanctioned religions

• Similarity Between Deities

  • Example: Baal-Poseidon

• Healing Deities within Medical Culture

  • Prominent figures include Epione (Soothing) and Hygieia (Health)

Philosophy

• Key Figures

  • Aristotle's contributions influencing successors

• Scholarly Patronage

  • Kingdoms competing to support libraries and centers of learning

  • An aggressive acquisition of knowledge and literature

• Diverse Philosophical Schools

  • Examples include Dogmatists and Methodists

  • Pragmatic approaches emerge, drawing from various philosophical theories as needed

Major Philosophical/Medical Schools

• Dogmatism

  • Known as rationalists later on

  • Integration of deductive and inductive logic to explain phenomena

  • Focus on elevating medicine as a philosophical discipline beyond practical application

  • Introduction of basic humoral theory (Praxagoras’ 11 humours)

  • Investigation of humours in relation to environmental factors, seeking “hidden causes”

• Opposition from Empiricists

  • Contrast with the belief of “hidden causes” predominant in Dogmatism

Empiricism

• Foundational Figures

  • Phyrron of Elis (365-275 BCE) & Philinos of Kos (~250 BCE) as responses to Dogmatism

• Roman Adaptation

  • Empiricists become synonymous with Skeptics in Roman times

• Methodology

  • Emphasis on observation and documented experiences over seeking underlying causes

  • Focus on symptom treatment informed by broad experiences

Further Empirical Methods

• Anatomical Studies

  • Rejection of dissection and traditional anatomical study

  • Focus on treatment by analogy, differentiating between living and deceased forms

  • Key principles for effective healing: accurate observation, extensive knowledge compilation, and understanding the limits of analogies

• Influences from Epicureanism

  • Nature composed of distinct unobservable elements

Important Figures & Texts

• Theophrastus (371-287 BCE)

  • A student of Aristotle known for contributions in herbalism

  • Authored "History of Plants," influential in pharmacological texts

  • Acknowledged as the "Father of Botany"

• Diocles of Carystus (4th c BCE)

  • Renowned for long-term medical insights and theories of nature

  • Conducted systematic anatomy investigations through dissections

  • Organized medicine into three categories: symptomatology, etiology, and therapeutics

Continued Contributions

• Praxagoras of Kos (Asklepiad)

  • His works remain influential, particularly theories on humours

  • Identified 11 humours and made proposals about bodily functions and anatomy

  • Emphasized the heart's role in thought and the nature of blood and blood vessels

  • Diagnosed using pulse though believed heartbeat and pulse differ

Hellenistic Botanists

• Focus on Pharmacology

  • Notable figures include:

    • Mantias (120-100 BCE): Known for compound medicines aimed at the elite

    • Krateuas (100-60 BCE): Renowned as a “root-cutter”

    • Apollodorus (~280 BCE): Pioneered studies on poisons

Ptolemaic Egypt (323-30 BCE)

• Hellenistic Medicine

  • Major contributor to the field with varied medical practices

  • Some acceptance of human dissection in certain regions, contrasting other areas

  • Alexandria served as a key hub for healing, influencing surrounding regions

  • Medicine reflected a blend of cultural traditions, including traditional Pharaonic practices

Cosmology

• Concept of Maat

  • Underpinned the legitimacy of the Ptolemies, representing balance and order

  • Respect for various religions, following Alexander’s example

  • The Rosetta Stone as a symbol of cultural and intellectual exchange

• Peasant Access

  • Peasants posed queries to temples; elites had easier access to healing

  • Continued reverence for temples and shrines such as those dedicated to Osiris and Imhotep

Healing Deities

• Development of Rational Medicine

  • Coexistence with the relevance of deities in healing practices

  • Example of Sarapis: A fusion of Osiris, Aphrodite, and Dionysus, recognized as a healer

  • Other deities include Isis and Imhotep

Sources

• Fragmentation and Blending of Knowledge

  • Challenge in understanding due to the merging of Ptolemaic and Roman beliefs

  • Reliance on later references from scholars like Galen and Pliny

  • Archaeological finds include inscriptions and papyri detailing various medical practices

  • The Zenon Archive provides insights through personal letters and records, notable for revealing direct experiences of physicians

Additional Sources

• Expansion of Papyri

  • More references emerge regarding the medical profession and supplies

  • Other archaeological insights include libraries and sanctuary sites

  • Cultural similarities to other contemporaneous medical traditions are observed.