The healing hand: the role of women in Graeco-Roman medicine
This paper provides a detailed examination of the role played by women in ancient medicine. The period under discussion extends from the height of Greek civilisation (the 5th century BC) to the Roman Empire of the 4th century AD.
Causes of death among the Caesars (27 BC-AD 476)
This article investigates the causes of the deaths of the emperors who ruled the Empire from Rome over a period of 503 years.
Lead Poisoning in Ancient Rome
Lead was known to the ancients from at least the 4th millennium BC, but its use increased markedly during Roman times, to the extent that it became a health hazard. Mines and foundry furnaces caused air pollution; lead was extensively used in plumbing; domestic utensils were made of lead and pewter, and lead salts were used in cosmetics, medicines and paints.
The army of Alexander the Great and combat stress syndrome (326 BC)
The present article investigates the possibility that combat stress perhaps provides an explanation for this dramatic occurrence in which Alexander’s dream of an empire extending to the ends of the earth was shattered.
The consequences of Nero's ill-health in AD64
The purpose of this paper is to propose a new explanation as to why Nero cancelled proposed trips abroad twice in quick succession in early AD64, first a trip to Achaia, then a trip to the East.
The bare necessities? a comparative study of the material evidence for Roman medical practice in urban domestic and army spheres
The aim of this thesis is not to reproduce that research but to examine the material evidence for medicine and medical practice used in it, in particular the instruments and buildings where medicine might have been practiced and, through comparison of the data, to see what similarities and differences there were between medicine in the domestic and army spheres.
Ancient Egyptian priests 'killed by rich ritual food'
The splendid banquets offered to ancient Egyptian gods may have been delicious and bountiful but they were also a killer, blocking the arteries…
Roman healing spas in Italy : a study in design and function
A spa is defined as a bathing establishment which used thermal-mineral spring water for therapeutic purposes. Although the topics of bathing and medicine in the Roman world have received considerable attention, thermal-mineral spas have remained inadequately studied.
Tiberiana 1: Tiberian Neologisms
Capri, which will explore the interrelationship between culture and empire, between Tiberius’ intellectual passions (including astrology, gastronomy, medicine, mythology, and literature) and his role as princeps.
Shock and Awe: The Performance Dimension of Galen
The explicit purpose of Galen’s anatomical dissections was to map the world of knowledge normally hidden within the body and then, by showing how form followed function, to reveal the perfection of Nature’s design. This essay, however, does not focus on the scientific and teleological dimensions of his anatomical enterprise, but aims instead to explore its performance dimension.