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ANCIENT
ALEXANDRIAN AND
ROMAN MEDICINE
Jonathon Erlen, Ph.D.
• Before we discuss the Hellenistic
medical world, we need to define
what we mean by the Hellenistic
period, which is 1 of the most
intriguing, yet confusing eras in
world history.
Unfortunately we hit a major roadblock
in our examinations of the work of
these 2 great Alexandrian medical
figures because we have none of their
original writings. All we have are the
commentaries about their work by
Galen of Pergamon who lived in the
2nd century AD and other later medical
compilers.
After perhaps this one century of
scientific research freedom, outside
forces such as religions factors were
to create barriers to medical
research and education that in
some cases lasted into the 19th
century in the United States.
In Alexandria, Ptolemy Physcon, during the
2nd century B.C.E., for unspecified reasons,
decided to severely limit the academic
freedom which had existed under his
predecessors at the museon. He ordered the
execution of a number of scholars for no
apparent reason, and dispersed many more
researchers to various points throughout the
Mediterranean world.
The remaining medical scholars
formed 2 bitterly opposing factions
of medical thought, with 1
upholding the anatomical doctrines
of Herophilus, while the other
staunchly supported the precepts
of Empedocles and the 4 elements.
What emerged from the
Hellenistic and Alexandrian
medical endeavors were 4
competing schools of medical
philosophy, all of which were
transmitted, to some degree, to
ancient Rome.
Dogmatists
Empiricists
Methodists
Pneumatists
pneuma
Dogmatists
Empiricists
Methodists
Pneumatists
Long before this time;
however, ancient Romans
had developed their own,
very different pattern of
health care.
Common Roman Diseases
Malaria
Anthrax
Typhus Fever
Dogmatists
Empiricists
Methodists
Pneumatists
The first Greek doctor to
supposedly arrive in Rome
was Archagathus of Sparta in
219 B.C.E., though there
certainly were others who
preceded him.
Over the following centuries
Greek iatroi from the various
parts of the Hellenistic world
arrived in Rome in ever
increasing numbers.
At first many of these
philosophically trained iatroi
came as slaves, as Rome
solidified its military hold
over the Near East.
As Greek medical concepts
became more popular,
especially among members of
the upper class; however, we
find efforts in the Empire
period to actively attract
Greek doctors to Rome.
Roman emperors granted Greek
physicians willing to come to Rome:
high status of Roman citizenship
freedom from military service
no taxation of their incomes
It was in their practicality
and their greatness in
large-scale organization
that the Romans made
their major contributions
to medicine and public
health.
This point is well illustrated
by the massive public works
projects during the Roman
Empire, undertaken to assure
an adequate water supply
and acceptable public
sanitation.
Roman technical and hygienic public
health achievements clearly surpassed
any purely medical advances made in
this period, and this fact can at least be
partially attributed to the Roman belief
that it was far more important to
maintain one's good health than to
depend on medicine’s ability to cure
disease.
Medicine=Trade
Hippocratic Corpus