EM

Ancient Egyptian Medicine

Primitive Medicine and Early Amputation

  • Term “Primitive” medicine is derogatory and problematic as a label for ancient practices

  • Earliest known successful amputation: eastern Borneo (Southeast Asia), about 31{,}000 years ago

    • Source note: reference to Science article on ancient amputation

  • Critical caveat: discussions about ancient medicine are entangled with colonial legacies and a Western-centric focus (cf. Hippocrates)

Nile River Geography and Political Divisions

  • Nile River location: central to Egyptian life and medicine

  • Geographic divisions (longitudinal): Western Desert, Nile Valley, Eastern Desert

  • Distinct political/territorial regions: Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt

Religion & Culture: Core Principles

  • Maat: “order, justice, balance”

  • Heka: “access to power”

  • Creation myths: a god creates himself before the cosmos within a balanced world (maat)

  • Gods (especially Re) choose kings to maintain balance

  • Constant struggle between chaos and order depicted as Horus vs. Seth

Time, Diagnosis, and Health in Egyptian Thought

  • Time is not linear but cyclical; this is reflected in diagnostic and therapeutic concepts

  • Maat governs relationships across natural and supernatural realms

  • Health and disease are manifestations of one’s relationship with human and divine communities

  • Absence of maat/balance corresponds to illness

Maat, Heka, and Magic

  • The body is governed by maat; disruption leads to disease

  • Gods of heka, sia (creative thought), and hu (command) together form the cosmos

  • Magic comprises: physical rite + oral rite + charging a substance to elicit heka

  • Healing power through heka can be delegated to priests and healers

Healing Deities: Sekhmet

  • Sekhmet is destructive and can cause plagues, yet can be harnessed for healing

  • Priests of Sekhmet are depicted as healers; called “messengers of Sekhmet”

  • Rituals focus on appeasing Sekhmet to prevent or cure illness

  • Illness is communicative; the healer’s role includes facilitating communication between the natural and supernatural worlds

Healing Deities: Maat (as Health Principle)

  • Maat embodies balance, order, justice; protective against chaos

  • Opening of the Mouth ceremony: rebirth into the afterlife; linked to health and cosmic balance

  • The goddess Maat serves as a protector guaranteeing an orderly afterlife

  • Conceptually, Maat is equated with health

Isis: Role, Childbirth, and Healing

  • Isis: Regal power; sister of Osiris and mother of Horus

  • Protector and healer: reassembled Osiris and conceived Horus; invoked during childbirth

  • Her cult lasted into the 6th century CE

  • Link to childbirth and protective magic in healing practices

Thoth: Writing, Knowledge, and Healing

  • Thoth: scribal god and god of knowledge; domains include writing, mathematics, medicine, astronomy

  • In myth, teaches Isis to revive Osiris and heals Horus from a scorpion sting

  • Balances the violence of illness with the peace of health

Honorable Mentions in Healing

  • Taweret: protective influence for pregnant and nursing women

  • Bes: protector during childbirth, childhood, and sleep

Textual Sources: Medical Papyri Overview

  • About 11 papyri classified as medical texts with incantations and therapies

  • Kahun: earliest known papyrus; focus on obstetrics and gynecology, plus other health problems

  • Ramesseum: gynecology, gastroenterology, pediatrics, ophthalmology

  • Ebers: gynecology, intestinal worms, skin ailments, dentistry, diseases of the anus and heart; includes divine-only remedies; ophthalmology; therapies include incantations and somatic (minor surgery)

Additional Papyri and Cross-References

  • Edwin Smith: trauma-focused (cases from head to mid-torso); other side includes incantations for various conditions

  • Berlin/Brugsch: breast issues, contraception, fertility tests; parallels with Ebers, Hearst, Kahum, Carlsberg

  • Hearst: digestion, dentistry, orthopaedics, animal bites

  • London: gynecology and other ailments

More Papyri and Structural Organization

  • Chester-Beatty: epilepsy, impotence, headaches, scorpion stings

  • Carlsberg VIII: one side gynecology; other eye ailments (copied from Ebers)

  • Brooklyn Snake: bites from snakes, scorpions, spiders

  • London-Leiden (2nd–3rd c. CE): mostly magic with some medicine

  • Papyri originally divided into: scientific/rational somatic vs. magic

  • Document format: title, examination, diagnosis, verdict, therapeutics; often includes alternative treatment options

Archaeology and Physical Evidence

  • Tomb reliefs depict scenes from daily life related to health and healing

  • No medical tools recovered yet from archaeological contexts as of this transcript

Restoring Health: Concept of Disease and Healing

  • Disease = disruption to maat

  • Patient must be obedient and maintain proper relationships to partake in healing rituals

  • Obedience involves submitting to healing and accessing heka through physical rites

  • The gods' judgment or consideration influences healing processes

Healers and Professional Roles

  • Swnw: doctor/physician; possibly attached to government or religious institutions; may perform house visits; conveys divine message

  • Wab: purity priest; communicates with the gods; diagnoses and prognoses after symptom assessment; emphasizes obedience

  • Sau: magician/exorcist; somatic treatments; often associated with Serket; centers on communication with unseen forces

  • Knowledge of opponent used in healing incantations (e.g., eye incantations; historical practice of recognizing the disease agent)

  • Threats as rhetorical or magical tools in healing contexts (example incantation about a hidden ghost within the flesh)

Practical Examples: Ebers Papyrus Remedies

  • Headache remedy: Skull of a catfish boiled in oil; head anointed with the oil for 4 days

  • Incantation to Isis for protection and relief from evil spells (excerpted from the Ebers Papyrus)

The Evacuation Remedy (Ebers Papyrus)

  • Ingredients: Honey; Sasa seeds; Wormwood; Elderberry; Berries of the uan tree; Kernel of the ut’ait fruit; Caraway; aaam-seeds; xam-seeds; Sea-salt

  • Preparation: Form into a suppository and insert rectally

  • Purpose: regulate evacuation

Ancient Antibiotics and Microbial Practices

  • Fleming’s discovery of penicillin in 1928

  • Bacteria and fungi produce their own antibiotics

  • Bone analysis shows presence of tetracyclines in ancient Egyptian remains

  • Approximately 95 ext{%} of Egyptian bones show traces of tetracyclines, indicating regular exposure

  • Possible source of antibiotic residues: beer consumption; barley contains Streptomyces

  • Historical use: antibiotics used to treat infections (e.g., UTIs, small wounds)

  • Scholarly sources: Belk (2018) The Secrets of Ancient Beer; Armelagos (2000) Take two beers and call me in 1600 years

Study Prompts (Pop-Quiz)

  • What is medical pluralism?

  • What are the similarities between Egyptian and Mesopotamian medical culture?

Chapter 2 – Greek and Roman Medicine: A Chronological Overview

Early Greek Medicine (before 5th century BCE)

  • Healing tied to religion and magic (temples, rituals, divine intervention).

  • Homeric epics mention healers like Machaon and Podalirius (linked to Asclepius).

  • Remedies included herbs, incantations, and surgery (e.g., wound care in war).

Classical Period (5th–4th century BCE)

  • Hippocratic medicine emerged.

    • Emphasis on natural causes of disease instead of divine punishment.

    • Development of humoral theory (balance of blood, phlegm, yellow bile, black bile).

    • Focus on observation, prognosis, and regimen (diet, exercise, lifestyle).

  • Growth of medical professionalism and itinerant physicians.

Hellenistic Period (3rd–1st century BCE)

  • Centers like Alexandria advanced medicine with dissections and anatomical studies.

  • Herophilus and Erasistratus contributed to understanding nerves, blood vessels, and organs.

  • Increased use of pharmacology and medical specialization.

Roman Republic & Early Empire (1st century BCE–2nd century CE)

  • Medicine absorbed from Greece → Roman medicine heavily Greek-influenced.

  • Celsus (encyclopedist) recorded surgical and therapeutic methods.

  • Galen of Pergamum became dominant:

    • Synthesized Hippocratic and Hellenistic traditions.

    • Emphasized anatomy (via animal dissection), physiology, and systematization.

    • His theories shaped Western medicine for over a millennium.

Late Antiquity (3rd–6th century CE)

  • Continued reliance on Galenic medicine, but more eclectic practices.

  • Christianity influenced healing: charity hospitals, healing saints, emphasis on spiritual care.

  • Medical compendia (e.g., Oribasius, Aëtius, Paul of Aegina) summarized older knowledge.

Chapter 3 – Living Conditions in the Ancient Mediterranean

Environment & Urban Living

  • Urban areas were crowded and unsanitary.

  • Lack of modern sanitation → reliance on chamber pots, public latrines, cesspits.

  • Sewage disposal often inadequate → disease spread.

Housing & Infrastructure

  • Roman insulae (apartment blocks) were cramped, fire-prone, poorly ventilated.

  • Elite homes had better hygiene (latrines, baths, running water).

  • Aqueducts and public fountains supplied water, but contamination was common.

Food & Nutrition

  • Diet depended on social class:

    • Poor: mainly cereals, legumes, bread, porridge.

    • Wealthy: more meat, fish, wine, and imported goods.

  • Malnutrition and food insecurity widespread, especially for lower classes and enslaved.

Work & Warfare

  • Many exposed to harsh labor (agriculture, mining, construction).

  • Soldiers vulnerable to wounds, infections, epidemics during campaigns.

Disease & Mortality

  • High infant and child mortality.

  • Frequent epidemics: malaria, dysentery, typhoid, plague.

  • Life expectancy was low (often 20s–30s average), though some lived much longer.

  • Poor living conditions contributed to chronic illness and high mortality.

✅ Summary of pages 29–43:

  • Traces the development of medicine from magical-religious healing to Hippocratic rationalism, Hellenistic scientific advances, Galenic dominance, and Christian-era hospitals.

  • Describes everyday health challenges: poor sanitation, malnutrition, infectious disease, and environmental stresses that shaped medical practice.