This course will introduce students to the full spectrum of Greco-Roman medical practices, from the healing rituals of the cult of Asclepius to the rational medicine of Hippocrates and Galen. Special attention will be given to the social dimension of ancient medicine, including medical ethics, the social status of doctors and their patients, and the role of women, both as patients, whose anatomical differences from men were thought to necessitate an entirely separate branch of medicine (i.e. gynecology), and as midwives, an important but often overlooked group of medical practitioners. After tracing the development of ancient medicine from the earliest evidence for Greek concepts of health and disease through to the flourishing of Greek medicine at the height of the Roman Empire, this course will conclude by examining the continuing influence of Greco-Roman medicine throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hoursPrerequisite(s): 3 credit units HIST at
This course will introduce students to the full spectrum of Greco-Roman medical practices, from the healing rituals of the cult of Asclepius to the rational medicine of Hippocrates and Galen. Special attention will be given to the social dimension of ancient medicine, including medical ethics, the social status of doctors and their patients, and the role of women, both as patients, whose anatomical differences from men were thought to necessitate an entirely separate branch of medicine (i.e. gynecology), and as midwives, an important but often overlooked group of medical practitioners. After tracing the development of ancient medicine from the earliest evidence for Greek concepts of health and disease through to the flourishing of Greek medicine at the height of the Roman Empire, this course will conclude by examining the continuing influence of Greco-Roman medicine throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hoursPrerequisite(s): 3 credit units HIST at
