Historical contraception: birth control before "the pill"
Among the various forms of contraception described emerge three clear categories of contraception: techniques, herbo-pharmacology, and devices.
Death in ancient times
‘Many a physician has slain a king!’ the emperor Hadrian shouted aloud as he lay on his deathbed.
To Prevent, Treat and Cure Love in Ancient Egypt
Having sex initiated a set of actions: cleaning, shaving, perfuming, moisturizing, and, in some cases as today, substances to prevent or avoid ill-effects.
Mithradates' Antidote: A Pharmcological Ghost
By attempting to develop an antidote to protect himself against the threat of poisons, Mithradates VI Eupator, King of Pontus (120-63 B.C.), originated a tradition that would last more than twenty centuries: the tradition of the Mithridatic antidote or Mithridatium. I
The genetic composition of the inhabitants of Greece
Every Greek, wheever he may be, is interested in discovering his roots and this not in order to feel more Greek, of this he is certain, but to be able to refute not only historically but also scientifically antihellenic opi- nions of some people and others who have designs on our Greek heritage.
This in itself is not surprising, but Grossschmidt
Plagues in Classical Literature
It is the aim of this study is to examine the role and function of descriptions of plagues (loimos in Greek and pestis in Latin) in the works of five major classical writers. An attempt will be made to determine the possible influences, impacts and motives of each author in presenting his particular theme of plague.
The Medical Use of Cannabis Among the Greeks and Romans
This paper is intended to update our knowledge of the medical use of canna- bis in the Classical world, a topic on which the only serious discussion is Brun- ner 1973
Birth prevention before the era of modern contraception
It is generally agreed that the Gynaecology of Soranus is the most rational medical treatise on birth control in the classical literature.
The Old and the Restless: The Egyptians and the Scythians in Herodotus' Histories
On a historiographical level, if we look at all the ethnographic material in the Histories, it appears that Herodotus wishes the reader to view the world and its peoples in a sort of grid. Scythia and Egyptians are the extremes (in several ways) and other central cultures like the Greeks and Persians fall into place between them.