Ointment (μύρον, unguentum), was used for medical and cosmetic purposes, and in religious ceremonies and funeral rites (see dead, disposal of), in which the restorative, the aromatic, the sacrificial, and the sumptuary combined in varying degrees. Vegetable oils and animal fats served as the vehicles for herbal remedies and fragrant salves, lotions, and unguents. Exotic ingredients, such as cassia (κασία, casia), cinnamon (κιννάμωμον, cinnanmum), frankincense (λιβανωτός, thur), *myrrh (σμύρνα, myrrha) were inevitably more costly and carried greater status. Many of these were imported into the Mediterranean from Arabia and beyond, either via Egypt or through the agency of coastal cities that served as outlets for luxury goods brought across the desert from the *Red Sea. The trade is well attested for Hellenistic and Roman times, when it was largely in the hands of *Nabataean merchants (see incense; spices).
Article
Ludwig Edelstein and V. Nutton
Ophthalmology was greatly advanced by the Greeks. Twenty operations were devised; until the beginning of the 18th cent. only four were added. The treatment of more than thirty *diseases was not essentially changed until the beginning of the 17th cent. This great achievement, mostly due to the Hellenistic physicians, was closely connected with the development of human *anatomy and probably with that of mathematical *optics. Other factors may have contributed to a special interest in the subject and thereby to the amazing success: the frequency of eye diseases in the Mediterranean world, the importance of sight for every human being, the valuation of sight peculiar to the Greeks.As regards anatomy, the fabric of the eye was almost entirely unravelled. Seven membranes were distinguished, the optic nerve was accurately described. The theories of vision were less satisfactory, depending too much on the various philosophical conceptions; *Galen assumed that a sight-spirit proceeds from the brain along the nerves, envelops the object seen, and then returns to the crystalline humour, thus completing the act of vision.
Article
Wilbur R. Knorr and Alexander Jones
Optics, in the modern sense (since Johannes Kepler in the 17th cent.) conceived as the science of light, was viewed among the ancients primarily as the theory of vision. The ancient atomists (e.g. *Democritus, *Epicurus, *Lucretius; see atomism) advocated an intromissionist theory: that vision entails the reception into the eye of corpuscular emanations from the surfaces of the objects seen. Alternative conceptions were proposed by *Aristotle (De anima 2. 7) and by the Stoics. But the most widely held view was extramissionist, as perhaps already formulated by Pythagoreans (see pythagoras(1)) in the 4th cent. bce: that vision is mediated by a type of fire emanating from the eye outward to the objects seen (cf. Pl.Tim. 45b–46c). This is the view adopted by *Euclid and those in the tradition of geometric optics. The visual ray (specifically opsis, or more generally aktis, though this can also mean a solar ray) proceeds along a straight line from eye to object (cf.
Article
Robert Browning and V. Nutton
Born in Pergamum, he studied medicine at *Alexandria(1) under *Zeno(2) of Cyprus, and practised in Asia Minor. He became the personal physician of *Julian, who took him to Gaul (355). Closely involved in the proclamation of Julian as Emperor (361), Oribasius accompanied him until his death in *Mesopotamia (363). Banished for a time to foreign courts, Oribasius was soon recalled by the Emperor *Valens and continued to practise his profession until an advanced age. His principal works are a collection of excerpts from *Galen—now lost—and the Collectiones medicae (Ἰατρικαὶ συναγωγαί), a vast compilation of excerpts from earlier medical writers, from *Alcmaeon (2) of Croton (c.500 bce) to Oribasius' contemporaries Philagrius and Adamantius. Both of these works were written at the behest of Julian. Of the 70 (or 72) books of the Collectiones only 25 survive entire; but the rest can be in part reconstructed from the Synopsis ad Eustathium, and the treatise Ad Eunapium, epitomes of the Collectiones in 9 books and 4 books respectively made by Oribasius himself, and from various excerpts and summaries, some of which are still unpublished.
Article
G. J. Toomer and Serafina Cuomo
The most important of his surviving works is Συναγωγή (Collection), a compilation (probably made after his death) in eight books of eight originally separate treatises on different parts of the mathematical sciences. Book 8, an introduction to mechanics, is referred to as a distinct work by Eutocius, and exists as such in Arabic translation (in a fuller version than the Greek). Book 1 is missing, but was perhaps Pappus' commentary on *Euclid, Elements 10 (see below). Book 2, of which the first part is also missing, contains number exercises based on a lost work of *Apollonius (2) with a notation for expressing large numbers. Book 3 deals with geometrical problems, particularly the duplication of the cube and is addressed to a female mathematician, book 4 is on higher geometry and special curves, book 5 on isoperimetric problems and the regular and semi-regular polyhedra, book 6 a commentary on the collection of astronomical treatises known as the ‘Little [Domain] of Astronomy’ (Μικρὸς ἀστρονομούμενος).
Article
Stephen Hodkinson
Although animals were ubiquitous throughout the Greek countryside, animal husbandry has until recently received little systematic attention; hence current interpretations are frequently embryonic. Zooarchaeological studies of animal bone assemblages from the historical period are particularly needed.Evidence of domesticated animals goes back to the 7th millennium bce. In the early neolithic modest flocks of ovicaprines (sheep and goats), kept primarily for meat, were integrated into small-scale gardening, grazing on fallow and stubble and supplying manure. More specialized stock-keeping arose in the late neolithic and bronze age, with increased exploitation of ‘secondary products’, especially ox traction and ovicaprine textile fibres, culminating in the large-scale wool production of the Minoan and Mycenaean palaces (see minoan and mycenaean civilization). Older views of the Dark Age as one of nomadic pastoralism (often associated with the ‘Dorian invasions’; see dorians; heraclidae) are now under challenge. ‘Homeric society’ rested upon arable production, with large herds as a store for surplus wealth. The period of independent poleis (discussed further below) witnessed smaller herd sizes; Hellenistic and Roman Greece a subsequent increase.
Article
M. Stephen Spurr
Pastoralism, whether good, bad, or indifferent, provided the most lucrative returns, according to *Cato (Censorius) (Cicero, Off. 2. 89; Columella, Rust. 6 praef. 4–5; Plin.HN 8. 29–30). Thus scholars have traditionally focused on such profitable forms of stockbreeding (sometimes described as ‘ranching’) as *Varro's long-distance, large-scale *transhumance of sheep between *Apulia and the Abruzzi (Rust. 2. 2. 9)—entreprenerial pastoralism largely divorced from, or even in competition with, settled *agriculture, which exploited Rome's post-Hannibalic control of Italy (see punic wars; rome (history), § 1.4). More recently, evidence from archaeology (patterns of rural settlement, *villaExcavation, and analysis of animal bones and plant remains) and ethnography (the study of still-extant traditional forms of pastoralism), together with a close reading of the Roman *agricultural writers, has begun to round out the picture by emphasizing the more widespread, if less prominent, closer integration of pastoralism with agriculture. Subsistence *peasants, who owned a few sheep for clothing, milk, cheese, and manure (Columella, Rust.
Article
V. Nutton
As defined in medical handbooks from at least 150 ce onwards, pathology was that part of medicine specifically concerned with the causes of disease. As such it went beyond the observation and classification implicit in diagnosis to an identification of what might be invisible to the senses. From seeing, smelling, hearing, and touching the patient, and occasionally even tasting sweat or urine, the true physician could identify the cause of the illness, and work to eliminate or alleviate it. While this skill was used primarily in treatment, doctors might be called upon to testify in a lawcourt, and in Graeco-Roman Egypt medical certification in cases of wounding or suspicious death (POxy. 3926) was apparently a common procedure.The investigation of the causes of illness was difficult in a pre-technological age. Although *Herophilus is said to have invented a clock to time the pulse (recognized as a diagnostic guide by his master, *Praxagoras), and *Galen mentions urine being heated for examination, these are rare exceptions to what were otherwise impressionistic and qualitative judgements.
Article
John Scarborough
Paul of *Aegina, physician, died after 642
Article
Alexander Souter
*Proclus describes him as the discoverer of the sections of the σπεῖρα (tore or anchor-ring).
Article
John Scarborough
From earliest times, drugs formed an important part of *medicine, and *Homer has the first record of good drugs and bad drugs (poisons). Folklore incorporated many data on toxic substances, and in the legends Homer's *Circe and *Euripides' *Medea link *magic with poisons. Yet simultaneously there is another understanding of drugs and their actions: Pindar (Pyth. 3. 51–3) reflects *Asclepius' medicine as curative with drugs, surgery, and magical incantations. Drugs were contrasted to foods, but ancient thought overlapped the two, much as moderns fuse medical and culinary uses of *spices. Mycenaean Linear B tablets (see pre-alphabetic scripts (greece)) record prized spices (e.g. saffron, cumin, etc. ), and they were basic in drug lore throughout antiquity. Pharmaceuticals included animal products (*honey, beeswax, blister beetle solutions, fats, marrows, bloods, etc. ), as well as oil seeds (e.g. sesame, linseed (flax)); odours identified specific cheeses, taste determined high-quality drugstuffs, and the study of aromatics led to the widespread production of perfumes, exotic and otherwise (Theophrastus, On Odours).
Article
Heinrich von Staden
Philinus (1) of Co (fl. c. 240 BCE), an apostate pupil of *Herophilus. According to most ancient sources—A. *Cornelius Celsus (Med. prooem. 10) being the only significant exception—he was the founder of the Empiricist ‘school’ of medicine. The origins of the Empiricist school in a polemical rivalry with Herophileans become visible in his works. He rejected a conspicuous feature of the Herophilean tradition, namely the diagnostic and prognostic interpretation of pulse ‘signs', and wrote a treatise in six books in response to *Bacchius’ Hippocratic lexicon. Like many subsequent Empiricists, he also made major contributions to *pharmacology, as *Pliny (1) the Elder and *Galen confirm. Here, too, Philinus was attentive to language, introducing etymologizing explanations of the names of botanical ingredients. Some of his compound drug prescriptions were transmitted by Andro-machus the Younger and are preserved by Galen.To what extent Galen's detailed characterizations of the epistemological and methodological foundations of medical Empiricism (e.g. their famous ‘tripod’) apply to Philinus, remains uncertain in the absence of more specific evidence. Also uncertain is whether the Empiricist is identical with a Philinus who wrote in the theriac tradition. See medicine§5.
Article
G. J. Toomer
Philippus was thought by some (Diog. Laert. 3. 37) to have transcribed the Laws of his teacher *Plato (1) and to have written the Epinomis. He is probably the Philippus who composed an astronomical calendar (see
Article
J. T. Vallance
Physician and perhaps a contemporary of *Plato (1) (c.427–347 bce), provides important evidence for early medical theory outside the Hippocratic corpus (see hippocrates(2)). According to *Callimachus (3) (in Diog. Laert. 8. 86) he was a teacher of *Eudoxus (1) of Cnidus. None of his work survives intact but he is connected doctrinally by *Galen with an influential group of Sicilian doctors, and especially with *Empedocles. Galen notes that he was regarded by some as the author of the Hippocratic treatises Regimen, and Regimen in Health. Like Empedocles, he posited four *elements, fire, earth, air, and water, and the related qualities hot, dry, cold, and moist. The author of the Anonymus Londinensis papyrus preserves (20. 25) Philistion's view that disease could be the result either of an imbalance of these elements within the body, or of respiratory dysfunction leading to morbid internal air blockages, or be caused by external factors such as physical trauma. He apparently wrote extensively on *dietetics, and his treatments for a variety of disorders are quoted by a number of later authorities including *Athenaeus (3), Galen, and *Oribasius (frs.
Article
Carl Huffman
Philolaus wrote one book which was probably the first by a Pythagorean (see
Article
G. J. Toomer and Serafina Cuomo
Philon wrote a mechanical Syntaxis in nine (?) books, of which survive: book 4, βελοποιικά, on catapults (see
Article
James Warren
Philonides of Laodicea-on-Sea, in Syria, was an Epicurean philosopher of the 2nd century
Philonides of Laodicea-on-Sea, in Syria, was an Epicurean philosopher of the 2nd century
Article
William David Ross
Member of the eclectic school of medicine, c.ce 180. An excerpt from his work De Venenatis Animalibus (on poisonous animals), the basis of the thirteenth book of *Aelian, has been edited by M. Wellmann in CMG (1908). He also wrote a book on diseases of the bowels (only part extant, in a Latin trans., ed. Michaeleanu, 1910), and one Περὶ γυναικείων (on gynaecology, not extant).
Article
J. T. Vallance
Physics today involves the investigation of the nature and behaviour of matter and energy, and it is often thus distinguished from chemistry and biology. The same term, derived from the Greek word for ‘nature’, ‘physis’, is used to describe a number of ancient inquiries, including peri physeos historia (the inquiry into nature), ‘ta physika’ (natural things) and physikē [sc. epistēmē], where no such distinction is implied. These ancient expressions are to some extent context-relative and they covered a range of interests far wider than that encompassed by modern physics. ‘Theory of Nature’ might be a reasonable general characterization of ancient physics. Notably, for some ancient authorities ‘physics’ explicitly excluded mathematics and even mathematical attempts at modelling nature. For early doctors physical inquiry was equivalent to what we might now call physiology; the cognate terms in English, ‘physic’ and ‘physician’, tend to relate, on the other hand, to the practice of what is now called pathology.
Article
M. Michela Sassi
Physiognomy, the art of observing and making inferences from physical features of the body, was practised from c.1,500 bce (when it is mentioned in Mesopotamian handbooks on divination). A focus on personal character (and a reflection on the relation between physical and psychical facts) seems to be a Greek innovation. *Aristotle attempted to give an inductive basis to assertions of the interdependence of body and *soul (An. pr. 70b7); and the Historia animalium provided empirical evidence that corroborated early ideas about moral types among animals. In the first extant treatise on the subject, the Physiognomonica (a Peripatetic work of the 3rd cent. bce long attributed to Aristotle), the comparison with animal, racial, and gender types presupposes that moral perfection is embodied in the (free) male Greek citizen. This treatise is the forerunner of a tradition embracing M. Antonius *Polemon (4) in the 2nd cent. ce and Adamantius in the 4th, as well as medieval and modern writers.
