Ancient Medicine (Sciences of Antiquity)

Praise for the first edition (2004):

'A worthy enterprise ... The result is a masterful evaluation of health and disease ... Galen would have been pleased.' – W.F Bynum, The Times Higher Education Supplement

'[A] near-masterpiece, Ancient Medicine is a huge quarry, fit for mining and exploitation by those who have the proper equipment.' – BMCR

'This is an impressive piece of research.  It will . . . serve both as introduction and as comprehensive guide for generations of scholars interested in the development of medical ideas from early Greece to late antiquity . . . This book is an essential tool for anyone interested in the history of Western medicine.' - Biblical Theology Bulletin

The first edition of Ancient Medicine was the most complete examination of the medicine of the ancient world for a hundred years. The new edition includes the key discoveries made since the first edition, especially from important texts discovered in recent finds of papyri and manuscripts, making it the most comprehensive and up-to-date survey available.

Vivian Nutton pays particular attention to the life and work of doctors in communities, links between medicine and magic, and examines the different approaches to medicine across the ancient world. The new edition includes more on Rufus and Galen as well as augmented information on Babylonia, Hellenistic medicine and Late Antiquity.

With recently discovered texts made accessible for the first time, and providing new evidence, this broad exploration challenges currently held perspectives, and proves an invaluable resource for students of both classics and the history of medicine.