Classics 2902 Exam Questions with Correct
Answers
BCE (before the Common Era)
4th c. BCE: 399-300 BCE.
Counting backwards.
CE (Common Era)
2nd c CE: 100-199 CE.
Counting upwards.
Problems we face when studying ancient medicine:
Only a fraction is extant.
Need to draw from a variety of passages.
Means we need to make a lot of educated guesses.
Complication: structure of Greek society affected by literacy roles.
Many things were not written down, and were only passed down through word of mouth.
Passage of time.
Enemy of written works.
Many medical things have been destroyed over time, and have not survived the passage of
time.
Experimental medicine & oral traditions.
Many ancient doctors learn by watching others
Biases of scribes → copying and recopying.
Particular interests of others.
What could be afforded financially (certain tools, and what could be preserved).
,Highly specialized work is often lost.
General public had no interest.
Types of Sources:
WRITTEN TEXTS:
Treatises
Letters
Inscriptions
Poetry
Papyri
ART:
Vase paintings
Statues, reliefs, etc.
PHYSICAL EVIDENCE:
Artifacts & tools
Archaeological sites and buildings.
Human remains.
FACTORS INFLUENCING THE TRANSMISSION OF SOURCES:
Natural disasters, fires and warfare.
Monasteries picking what is transcribed, empirical work is lost.
Latin medical texts from before 350 AD lost
Exception → Pliny's Natural History & Celsus' on Medicine; amateur writers.
These are not medical writers.
Dates from the 1st century AD.
Greek East: scarcity of medical and science books copied from 650 AD.
,Book roll to codex.
Were not accessible.
850 AD: changes in Greek handwriting made earlier manuscripts less accessible.
More abbreviations used.
Made it cheaper to reproduce, but people could not understand the text.
SAVING GRACE OF MEDICAL WORKS:
Galenism: Galen's view on authenticity of Hippocrates & valuable treatises.
Said what was worth studying.
People took his word as gospel.
He had a chokehold on medicine for about 15 centuries.
Printing press.
Greek medical texts
1499 (Venice): Greek medical works (Aldine Dioscorides and works of Galen) printed.
Books printed from 1499-1540 survived.
Book role → codex → printed texts.
We did not lose anything once it was printed.
Papyri finds & new translations of previously lost manuscripts
Syriac, Hebrew, arabic.
Opening of libraries in the middle east which contain translations of previously lost
manuscripts of ancient medicine.
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR US?
Generalizations.
Have to take everything with a grain of salt.
Use of other sources to supplement the picture: legal, historical, poetic, plays, inscriptions,
, papyri and material remains.
View the patient & societal context of medicine.
Look at nonmedical sources to supplement our understanding.
Allows us to look at things from a more local POV.
Texts assume a level of knowledge.
Expect readers to know certain things about medicine → omit things that they think will be
obvious.
PROBLEMS:
Isolationist view
Many studies on ancient medicine treat each area in isolation, rather than showing how a
given area represents a wider ancient medical culture.
Cultural view of Hippocrates as "founder / father of medicine" centres histories of the
discipline around him.
Many medical texts are based on Hippocrates based on the culture at the time.
This ignores everything before Hippocrates.
Ignore the rich history of medical practices.
Ignore Near Eastern & Mediterranean practices & interplay between medicine and theology.
Ignores the relationship between medicine and theological context.
Modern scholars lacking skill set: linguistic, historical, archaeological.
Limited interest.
Many researchers have limited interest in studying ancient medicine.
Rational medicine vs Magic, superstition, and religion.
Medicine was practiced in religious sanctuaries and private homes.
A NOTE ON LANGUAGE:
Answers
BCE (before the Common Era)
4th c. BCE: 399-300 BCE.
Counting backwards.
CE (Common Era)
2nd c CE: 100-199 CE.
Counting upwards.
Problems we face when studying ancient medicine:
Only a fraction is extant.
Need to draw from a variety of passages.
Means we need to make a lot of educated guesses.
Complication: structure of Greek society affected by literacy roles.
Many things were not written down, and were only passed down through word of mouth.
Passage of time.
Enemy of written works.
Many medical things have been destroyed over time, and have not survived the passage of
time.
Experimental medicine & oral traditions.
Many ancient doctors learn by watching others
Biases of scribes → copying and recopying.
Particular interests of others.
What could be afforded financially (certain tools, and what could be preserved).
,Highly specialized work is often lost.
General public had no interest.
Types of Sources:
WRITTEN TEXTS:
Treatises
Letters
Inscriptions
Poetry
Papyri
ART:
Vase paintings
Statues, reliefs, etc.
PHYSICAL EVIDENCE:
Artifacts & tools
Archaeological sites and buildings.
Human remains.
FACTORS INFLUENCING THE TRANSMISSION OF SOURCES:
Natural disasters, fires and warfare.
Monasteries picking what is transcribed, empirical work is lost.
Latin medical texts from before 350 AD lost
Exception → Pliny's Natural History & Celsus' on Medicine; amateur writers.
These are not medical writers.
Dates from the 1st century AD.
Greek East: scarcity of medical and science books copied from 650 AD.
,Book roll to codex.
Were not accessible.
850 AD: changes in Greek handwriting made earlier manuscripts less accessible.
More abbreviations used.
Made it cheaper to reproduce, but people could not understand the text.
SAVING GRACE OF MEDICAL WORKS:
Galenism: Galen's view on authenticity of Hippocrates & valuable treatises.
Said what was worth studying.
People took his word as gospel.
He had a chokehold on medicine for about 15 centuries.
Printing press.
Greek medical texts
1499 (Venice): Greek medical works (Aldine Dioscorides and works of Galen) printed.
Books printed from 1499-1540 survived.
Book role → codex → printed texts.
We did not lose anything once it was printed.
Papyri finds & new translations of previously lost manuscripts
Syriac, Hebrew, arabic.
Opening of libraries in the middle east which contain translations of previously lost
manuscripts of ancient medicine.
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR US?
Generalizations.
Have to take everything with a grain of salt.
Use of other sources to supplement the picture: legal, historical, poetic, plays, inscriptions,
, papyri and material remains.
View the patient & societal context of medicine.
Look at nonmedical sources to supplement our understanding.
Allows us to look at things from a more local POV.
Texts assume a level of knowledge.
Expect readers to know certain things about medicine → omit things that they think will be
obvious.
PROBLEMS:
Isolationist view
Many studies on ancient medicine treat each area in isolation, rather than showing how a
given area represents a wider ancient medical culture.
Cultural view of Hippocrates as "founder / father of medicine" centres histories of the
discipline around him.
Many medical texts are based on Hippocrates based on the culture at the time.
This ignores everything before Hippocrates.
Ignore the rich history of medical practices.
Ignore Near Eastern & Mediterranean practices & interplay between medicine and theology.
Ignores the relationship between medicine and theological context.
Modern scholars lacking skill set: linguistic, historical, archaeological.
Limited interest.
Many researchers have limited interest in studying ancient medicine.
Rational medicine vs Magic, superstition, and religion.
Medicine was practiced in religious sanctuaries and private homes.
A NOTE ON LANGUAGE:
