Dire Remedies: A Social History of Healthcare in Classical Antiquity
eBook - ePub

Dire Remedies: A Social History of Healthcare in Classical Antiquity

  1. 622 pages
  2. English
  3. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

Dire Remedies: A Social History of Healthcare in Classical Antiquity

About this book

Dire Remedies: a Social History of Healthcare in Classical Antiquity is the first wide-ranging social history of ancient healthcare. Greek medicine is at the origin of modern medicine, but it was very often ineffective. What did people actually do when faced with pain and illness? Starting with a review of ancient health conditions and a survey of what doctors had to offer, W.V. Harris describes the multifarious practices and diverse kinds of people to whom Greeks and Romans turned for help. Topics include the possible development of analgesics, ancient ideas about contagion, the history of the god Asclepius and more generally the role of religion and magic, opinions about abortion, ancient responses to mental illness, and the invention of the hospital. Taking into account the fill range of textual sources and archaeological material, this book attempts to provide an unprecedentedly realistic – and readable – depiction of the Greek and Roman responses to ill health.

Frequently asked questions

Yes, you can cancel anytime from the Subscription tab in your account settings on the Perlego website. Your subscription will stay active until the end of your current billing period. Learn how to cancel your subscription.
No, books cannot be downloaded as external files, such as PDFs, for use outside of Perlego. However, you can download books within the Perlego app for offline reading on mobile or tablet. Learn more here.
Perlego offers two plans: Essential and Complete
  • Essential is ideal for learners and professionals who enjoy exploring a wide range of subjects. Access the Essential Library with 800,000+ trusted titles and best-sellers across business, personal growth, and the humanities. Includes unlimited reading time and Standard Read Aloud voice.
  • Complete: Perfect for advanced learners and researchers needing full, unrestricted access. Unlock 1.4M+ books across hundreds of subjects, including academic and specialized titles. The Complete Plan also includes advanced features like Premium Read Aloud and Research Assistant.
Both plans are available with monthly, semester, or annual billing cycles.
We are an online textbook subscription service, where you can get access to an entire online library for less than the price of a single book per month. With over 1 million books across 1000+ topics, we’ve got you covered! Learn more here.
Look out for the read-aloud symbol on your next book to see if you can listen to it. The read-aloud tool reads text aloud for you, highlighting the text as it is being read. You can pause it, speed it up and slow it down. Learn more here.
Yes! You can use the Perlego app on both iOS or Android devices to read anytime, anywhere — even offline. Perfect for commutes or when you’re on the go.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Yes, you can access Dire Remedies: A Social History of Healthcare in Classical Antiquity by William V. Harris in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in History & Ancient & Classical Literary Criticism. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Information

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Preface
  6. Contents
  7. List of Illustrations
  8. Abbreviations
  9. Maps
  10. 1 The Burden of Illness
  11. 2 Doctors and their Limitations
  12. 3 Vernacular Healthcare
  13. 4 Pain and Analgesics
  14. 5 Contagion in Ancient Thinking about Disease
  15. 6 The Mystery of Disgusting Medications
  16. 7 Physicians Refusing Treatment
  17. 8 Abortion: its Prevalence, its Acceptability
  18. 9 Seers and Healthcare
  19. 10 Seeking Health from Gods and Heroes
  20. 11 The Evolution and the Extinction of Asclepius
  21. 12 The Doctors and Religion
  22. 13 Amulets to Protect and Cure
  23. 14 Mental Disorders in their Social Context
  24. 15 Ancient Hospitals
  25. References
  26. Index of Proper Names
  27. Index of Topics