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.
- 622 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
Dire Remedies: A Social History of Healthcare in Classical Antiquity
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Index
HistoryTable of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Preface
- Contents
- List of Illustrations
- Abbreviations
- Maps
- 1 The Burden of Illness
- 2 Doctors and their Limitations
- 3 Vernacular Healthcare
- 4 Pain and Analgesics
- 5 Contagion in Ancient Thinking about Disease
- 6 The Mystery of Disgusting Medications
- 7 Physicians Refusing Treatment
- 8 Abortion: its Prevalence, its Acceptability
- 9 Seers and Healthcare
- 10 Seeking Health from Gods and Heroes
- 11 The Evolution and the Extinction of Asclepius
- 12 The Doctors and Religion
- 13 Amulets to Protect and Cure
- 14 Mental Disorders in their Social Context
- 15 Ancient Hospitals
- References
- Index of Proper Names
- Index of Topics
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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 1.5 million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.