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Background Premodern medical texts are an invaluable source for scholars from humanities and sciences. However, they are usually not accessible as few scientists with an interest in premodern materia medica are also qualified philologists. Therefore, a balance has to be struck to translate these texts while preserving information on how reliable we believe a given translation to be. In this paper, we conduct a case study on the vernacular version of Ioannes archiatrus. Methods The present study forms part of the output of a multidisciplinary Wellcome Trust Collaborative Award combining humanities and sciences. We deployed a multi-layer tagging system to systematise pharmaceutical terminology and to translate these terms while providing confidence factors for individual words. In a second step, we used AntConc, a freeware concordance software, to analyse our primary source and visualise patterns in the text. Results Our methodology created a readable text that made it possible for the reader to check confidence factors. It also allows our translation and tagging to be recycled for further research. Conclusions Our methods provide a tool that allows to balance the need to translate and the necessary caution about translated plant and mineral names. Our approach is transferable and it can be modified to suit the needs of other primary sources.

Belonging to Mandragora genus and to the Solanaceae family, mandrake (Mandragora officinarum L.) is a plant native to the Mediterranean area. According to modern science, due to the presence of alkaloids such as atropine, scopolamine, belladonnine and hyoscyamine in its root and leaves, it is classified as a poisonous plant. It was a remedy used in both Hippocratic/Galenic and domestic medicine and, according to the Greek and Latin written sources from ancient and early mediaeval times it was quite popular. Most information about its applications was provided by the authors of medical writings, who, from the time of Hippocrates through Galen to the late ancient/early Byzantine treatises of Aetius of Amida and Paul of Aegina, described the properties and uses of mandrake in the treatment of specific diseases. Testimonies left by the physicians can be supplemented by the data provided by ancient non-medical authors (e.g. Theophrastus, Celsus, and Pliny the Elder) whose interests also concerned in the art of healing and natural history. The analysis of the written material shows that the population of Mediterranean area was – in general – aware of strong properties of mandrake and its dangerous influence on the human body. The plant was often described as poisonous. In the same time it (namely its leaves, roots, juice, peel, fruits) was present in the medical (or connected with medicine) treatises as a drug. It was recommended in various treatments of many health problems of different kinds. Among them were ophthalmological, gynaecological, dermatological, psychiatric, etc. On the other hand, short testimonies from Pliny’s and Galen’s works inform in more or less direct way, about the possibility of overuse of mandrake in medical therapies, what can be harmful for health. The character of the fragments about mandrake varies. Part of descriptions is detailed, giving quite precise information about a quantity of a drug, or processing the plant. However many of them is very general, often giving no additional information except the fact of the use of the plant.

The article discusses an unusual prescription for a sitz bath (ἐγκάθισμα) derived from Galen’s treatise De compositione medicamentorum per genera. The term ἐγκάθισμα is not used in any other known fragment of the writings of the famous Pergamonian. The prescription given in discussed passage differs from most of the known prescriptions for sitz baths preserved in other medical authors of antiquity, because it consists mainly of metals and their minerals.

Background Premodern medical texts are an invaluable source for scholars from humanities and sciences. However, they are usually not accessible as few scientists with an interest in premodern materia medica are also qualified philologists. Therefore, a balance has to be struck to translate these texts while preserving information on how reliable we believe a given translation to be. In this paper, we conduct a case study on the vernacular version of Ioannes archiatrus. Methods The present study forms part of the output of a multidisciplinary Wellcome Trust Collaborative Award combining humanities and sciences. We deployed a multi-layer tagging system to systematise pharmaceutical terminology and to translate these terms while providing confidence factors for individual words. In a second step, we used AntConc, a freeware concordance software, to analyse our primary source and visualise patterns in the text. Results Our methodology created a readable text that made it possible for the reader to check confidence factors. It also allows our translation and tagging to be recycled for further research. Conclusions Our methods provide a tool that allows to balance the need to translate and the necessary caution about translated plant and mineral names. Our approach is transferable and it can be modified to suit the needs of other primary sources.

Through a comparative analysis, we study the contents that the Byzantine scholar, Michael Psellos (11th c.), extracted from the Epitome of Medicine, written by the medical author Paul of Aegina (7th c.). This compendium was his main source when composing his Medical Poem, a didactic work intended to whet the appetite for medicine among his learned friends. Our aim is to investigate why Psellos made a partial and disproportionate use of this source, since he mainly uses the first three books of the seven that make up the work of Paul of Aegina. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aconite (Aconitum napellus) was one of the most notorious, poisonous plants in the ancient world. Its dangerous, lethal power – present in leaves, roots, stem, and tuber – was well known to the Greeks and the Romans from the earliest times. Evidence of this phenomenon is not only present in archaeological findings, but also in many writings – biographies, poems, legal codes, etc. However, the most precise and detailed accounts come from treatises written by botanists, physicians and encyclopaedists, like Theophrastus, Nicander, Pliny the Elder, Dioscorides, or Galen, and by early Byzantine authors, Oribasius, Aetius of Amida, and Paul of Aegina. In their testimonies, one can find descriptions of aconite, its influence on the human body (and animals), and remedies for affected people. In contrast, there are few passages from these sources that inform the readers about the healing properties of aconite. According to these fragments, carefully administered, aconite could be helpful in some therapies, but its use was extremely hazardous, as even a small part of the plant could kill a man.

The manuscript aims to clarify the origins of Western rhinosurgery through the ancient texts of the greatest physicians of the past, up to the Byzantine Era, focusing on the "exchange of knowledge" between peoples. This excursus is carried out by quoting the texts of the greatest doctors of the past, such as Hippocrates, Galen and Celsus and by analysing the works of Byzantine authors such as Oribasius, Aetius, Antillus, which, more than others, represent the moment of fusion and interpenetration of Ancient Medical knowledge, paving the way for the Medieval Scholae Medicae in the West. The aim, therefore, is to fill that sort of "great gap" (from the foundation of Constantinople in the 4th century AD to the early Arab culture in the 11th century AD) due to the fact that figures such as Branca, Vianeo and, finally, Tagliacozzi, are considered direct actors of a recovery of the "ancient knowledge" of classic authors. This literature tends to less evaluate, instead, that important and huge cultural exchange -literally osmotic- in medical and surgical knowledge between peoples and civilizations, that find a trait d'union in the application of medical knowledge and surgical practical techniques matured in the Byzantine, Arab and Early Medieval period. In final analysis, through the History of Rhinosurgery, this paper aims to highlight how Western medical knowledge is made up of the ensemble of cultures which are apparently distant and different from each other, which merge themselves in a truly universal and transcultural knowledge: the Medical knowledge. Level of Evidence V: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ancient and medieval pharmacological and medical texts contain a substantial amount of plant and mineral names. In some cases, the identification is straightforward. But for the majority of the data, we are unable to identify these ingredients with high certainty. In this paper, we discuss a selection of plant and mineral names both from a humanities and sciences point of view. In one case, the scientists were even able to examine a plant in situ. The conclusion of our paper is that a close collaboration between sciences and humanities is essential to avoid mistakes in the identification of materia medica. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Premodern medicine used a variety of mineral substances for therapeutic purposes. The present article deals with pitch-asphalt, and, in particular, a precious kind of it called mūmiyā' originating in Persia. It was first described in detail in the Arabic pharmacological tradition, and its fame spread throughout the medieval Mediterranean, including Byzantium. By editing and examining for the first time a previously unexplored medieval Greek text on mūmiyā' , this study offers new insights into the medicinal uses of this substance. It also significantly increases our understanding of the intense cross-cultural transfer of medical knowledge from the Islamicate world to Byzantium by showing that this was not merely based on the translation of a few Arabic medical works into Greek, but was a multifaceted phenomenon involving a complex nexus of sources that require further investigation.

Aconite (Aconitum napellus) was one of the most notorious, poisonous plants in the ancient world. Its dangerous, lethal power - present in leaves, roots, stem, and tuber - was well known to the Greeks and the Romans from the earliest times. Evidence of this phenomenon is not only present in archaeological findings, but also in many writings - biographies, poems, legal codes, etc. However, the most precise and detailed accounts come from treatises written by botanists, physicians and encyclopaedists, like Theophrastus, Nicander, Pliny the Elder, Dioscorides, or Galen, and by early Byzantine authors, Oribasius, Aetius of Amida, and Paul of Aegina. In their testimonies, one can find descriptions of aconite, its influence on the human body (and animals), and remedies for affected people. In contrast, there are few passages from these sources that inform the readers about the healing properties of aconite. According to these fragments, carefully administered, aconite could be helpful in some therapies, but its use was extremely hazardous, as even a small part of the plant could kill a man. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study has resulted from a close reading of prescriptions for therapeutic wines inserted in book V of De materia medica by Pedanius Dioscorides, the eminent expert in materia medica of the 1st century A.D. The authors emphasise the role of wine varieties and selected flavourings (and especially of myrrh) in order to determine the social status of those to whom the formulas were addressed. This perspective gives the researchers ample opportunity for elaborating not only on the significance of wine in medical procedures but also for underscoring the importance of a number of aromatics in pharmacopoeia of antiquity and Byzantium. The analysis of seven selected formulas turns out to provide a fairly in-depth insight into Mediterranean society over a prolonged period of time, and leads the authors to draw the following conclusions. First, they suggest that medical doctors were social-inequality-conscious and that Dioscorides and his followers felt the obligation to treat both the poor and the rich. Second, they prove physicians’ expertise in materia medica, exemplifying how they were capable of adjusting market value of components used in their prescriptions to financial capacities of the patients. Third, the researchers circumstantiate the place of medical knowledge in ancient, and later on in Byzantine society. Last but not least, they demonstrate that medical treatises are an important source of knowledge, and therefore should be more often made use of by historians dealing with economic and social history of antiquity and Byzantium.

Background: Premodern medical texts are an invaluable source for scholars from humanities and sciences. However, they are usually not accessible as few scientists with an interest in premodern materia medica are also qualified philologists. Therefore, a balance has to be struck to translate these texts while preserving information on how reliable we believe a given translation to be. In this paper, we conduct a case study on the vernacular version of Ioannes archiatrus., Methods: The present study forms part of the output of a multidisciplinary Wellcome Trust Collaborative Award combining humanities and sciences. We deployed a multi-layer tagging system to systematise pharmaceutical terminology and to translate these terms while providing confidence factors for individual words. In a second step, we used AntConc, a freeware concordance software, to analyse our primary source and visualise patterns in the text., Results: Our methodology created a readable text that made it possible for the reader to check confidence factors. It also allows our translation and tagging to be recycled for further research., Conclusions: Our methods provide a tool that allows to balance the need to translate and the necessary caution about translated plant and mineral names. Our approach is transferable and it can be modified to suit the needs of other primary sources., Competing Interests: No competing interests were disclosed., (Copyright: © 2024 Zipser B et al.)

During the reign of Emperor Justinian, Byzantium experienced the first of the three major recorded plague epidemics to affect mankind. In the spring of 542 AD the plague, or Justinian's plague, as it was later named, struck the capital of the Byzantine state, ten months after its initial appearance in Pelusium, in Egypt. A series of extreme weather events that had preceded the plague in the Mediterranean region were considered to be the predisposing factor by the populace. Its transmission through Palestine to the territories of the Byzantine Empire was mainly due to the movement of troops and commercial activities. The epidemic in Byzantium (present day Istanbul) lasted four months and its severity was at its worst for about three months. Mortality was particularly high, and perinatal mortality was high, and it is estimated that half of the population of the capital died, with the emperor himself contracting the disease. Although the initial symptomatology was common and mild in all cases, further development differed in different people, causing confusion in the medical community. No specific prophylactic or therapeutic measures against the disease are recorded. The consequences of the epidemic were painful for the state, not only because of the sudden fall in population, but also because of the famine and subsequent starvation, the decline in agricultural production, the abandonment of land and the use of mercenaries to repopulate the army. The disease was not eradicated by the state, but continued to be present, although not in epidemic form until the year 746. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In ancient Greek literature the adjective toxic (Greek: τoξικόν) derives from the noun τόξo, that is the arc. This noun according to the Liddell – Scott – Jones lexicon had several meanings. Apart from the meaning that someone is able to use a bow or the military department of the archers, the medical context of the term is that a substance has the characteristic of a poison. This concept of the term survived until today with little differentiation.

Leguminous plants were a crucially important element in the Mediterranean diet, and, as such, these plants were second only to cereals. It is also important to note that according to medical writings preserved from antiquity and the early Byzantine period they were considered to be an accessible source of substances which could be applied in therapeutics. One of the most commonly mentioned legumes was the chickpea. The source material demonstrates that the medicinal properties of the chickpea and its therapeutic use were discussed by Greek physicians as early as in the fourth century BC. It seems that the plant was a readily accessible medicament and thus used in therapy also by those who could not afford costly medicines. The authors argue, however, that the medical theory concerning its role in therapeutics evolved into a fully developed form only in the first century AD (thanks to Dioscorides) and was not modified by Galen. The doctrine of these two physicians became part of the medical encyclopaedias of the early Byzantine period. The presented material also illustrates the fact that a significant number of medicinal Recipes which involved using the chickpea were formulated between the second century BC and the second century AD. Byzantine physicians avidly used these formulas in their practice, but failed to develop them in a significantly innovative way. The surviving medical writings make it possible to conclude that the chickpea was believed to be a highly effective medicine and as such worthy of cultivation, which only testifies to the general popularity of the plant. Medical writings may serve as a proof that the chickpea remained a key element in the Mediterranean diet throughout the period from the fourth century BC to the seventh century AD. The analysed material demonstrates the use of the same basic varieties of the erebinthos throughout the period, even though some local variants were also identified. The consistency of the data also suggests that the scale and methods of cultivation of this plant remained unchanged. The culinary uses of the chickpea must also have been the same throughout the period, given that the writers discussed similar uses of the plant as a foodstuff.

Contraception was a common practice of birth control in Byzantine society. It was a method that was used by both women and men. The reasons for contraceptive use, ranged from prostitution to the family poverty, preservation of the body’s beauty, hatred towards the spouse, and even preservation of the family in the case of an extramarital relationship. Doctors of that era report a variety of prescriptions, substances and methods used to achieve contraception, highlighting the risks and the inadequacy of some of the methods. The substances used were either derived from plans, such as strychnine, cynarobic and pancreatic root, or animals, such as the skin or the uterus of the calf, frog’s brain and lion fat, and various chemicals such as sulphuric, hydrochloride or nitric acid. The most common forms of contraceptive formulations were pills, syrups, ointments and vaginal pessaries. Apart from these physical methods, a variety of amulets and magical prayers were used. The contraceptive method used by men involved spreading various formulations that were considered spermicidal over the penis before intercourse. The majority of doctors of this period stressed the importance of contraception rather than abortion; therefore reporting a multitude of methods and prescriptions to prevent conception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study has resulted from a close reading of prescriptions for therapeutic wines inserted in book V of De materia medica by Pedanius Dioscorides, the eminent expert in materia medica of the 1st century A.D. The authors emphasise the role of wine varieties and selected flavourings (and especially of myrrh) in order to determine the social status of those to whom the formulas were addressed. This perspective gives the researchers ample opportunity for elaborating not only on the significance of wine in medical procedures but also for underscoring the importance of a number of aromatics in pharmacopoeia of antiquity and Byzantium. The analysis of seven selected formulas turns out to provide a fairly in-depth insight into Mediterranean society over a prolonged period of time, and leads the authors to draw the following conclusions. First, they suggest that medical doctors were social-inequality-conscious and that Dioscorides and his followers felt the obligation to treat both the poor and the rich. Second, they prove physicians’ expertise in materia medica, exemplifying how they were capable of adjusting market value of components used in their prescriptions to financial capacities of the patients. Third, the researchers circumstantiate the place of medical knowledge in ancient, and later on in Byzantine society. Last but not least, they demonstrate that medical treatises are an important source of knowledge, and therefore should be more often made use of by historians dealing with economic and social history of antiquity and Byzantium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aeginalı Paul MS.625–690 , Aegina adasında doğmuş ve tıp eğitimini İskenderiye’de almıştır. Hayatı ile ilgili fazla bilgi bulunmayan Paul’un çok fazla seyahat yaptığı bilinmektedir. Yetenekli bir cerrah olan Paul, Bizans doktorlarının en ünlülerinden biri olarak kabul edilmektedir. Zamanının tıp ansiklopedisi olan ve yedi kitaptan oluşan Epitom’u yazmıştır. Kitabının orijinal adı “Epitomes iatrikes biblio hepta” Latince adıyla “Epitomae medicae libri septem” ’dır. Aeginalı Paul, Yunan ve Roma tıbbının korunmasında önemli bir rol oynamıştır. Özellikle cerrahi işlemlerle ilgili olan altıncı kitabının cerrahi tarihi için ayrı bir önemi vardır. Cerrahi ile ilgili olan altıncı kitabında litotomi, herniotomi, parasentez, meme amputasyonu ve trakeostomi gibi cerrahi işlemlerin orijinal anlatımları bulunmaktadır. Paul kitabında, göz ameliyatları, diş çekimi, tonsillektomi ameliyatı, burundan polip alınması gibi diğer bazı cerrahi işlemleri de açıklamıştır. Epitom’un yedinci kitabında sadece ilaçlardan söz edilmektedir. Kitap 600 adet bitki ve 80 adet botanik ol- mayan karışımlardan oluşan bir alfabetik katalogu içermekte ayrıca bu ilaçların farmakolojik özellikleri anlatılmaktadır. A e g i n a l ı Paul, Hipokrat’ın ayak izlerini takip etmiş, görüşlerinde Galen’in yazılarını temel almıştır. Sadece kendi dönemini değil sonraki za- manları da etkilemiştir. Bir tıp ansiklopedisi olan kitabı Epitom ile batı ve doğu tıbbı arasında bir iletişim kurmuş, bilgisini ve pek çok cerrahi deneyimini günümüze kadar taşımıştır

Eunuchs formed a populous social class in the Byzantine Empire, especially at the Imperial court, and castration was a procedure which was commonly carried out, although supposedly forbidden within Byzantine domains. The close contact that Eunuchs living in the Great Palace had with the Emperor made them powerful and politically influential. They were responsible for the education of the Emperor’s successors, and were servants in the Imperial court in the positions known as parakoimomenos, protovestiarios and thesaurofylakas. They were admired for their exceptional abilities and had the opportunity of reaching the highest levels in the hierarchy and the military, and they could even become officers or patriarchs. Women of the Byzantine aristocracy had eunuchs as their doctors. Castration was a recognised penalty which was commonly used as a method of punishment for slaves and prisoners of war. It was also used on members of aristocratic families in which it eliminated any possible heirs who might have posed a threat to the throne, since castration made this an impossibility. Surgical castration by either removing or damaging the testicles is described by Paul of Aegina with clarity. He also emphasises his opposition to such procedures and reports how difficult it was for the doctors to disagree with the politicians about performing such operations. Writers of that period also describe the differentiation of eunuchs from the rest of the male population. The eunuchs were characterized by changes in their sexual desire, due to the lack of testosterone following the removal of the testicles, along with alterations in their body type, the colour of their skin and the growth of hair, weight gain and a unique vocal range that made them singing sensations at the imperial court and major churches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leguminous plants were a crucially important element in the Mediterranean diet, and, as such, these plants were second only to cereals. It is also important to note that according to medical writings preserved from antiquity and the early Byzantine period they were considered to be an accessible source of substances which could be applied in therapeutics. One of the most commonly mentioned legumes was the chickpea. The source material demonstrates that the medicinal properties of the chickpea and its therapeutic use were discussed by Greek physicians as early as in the fourth century BC. It seems that the plant was a readily accessible medicament and thus used in therapy also by those who could not afford costly medicines. The authors argue, however, that the medical theory concerning its role in therapeutics evolved into a fully developed form only in the first century AD (thanks to Dioscorides) and was not modified by Galen. The doctrine of these two physicians became part of the medical encyclopaedias of the early Byzantine period. The presented material also illustrates the fact that a significant number of medicinal Recipes which involved using the chickpea were formulated between the second century BC and the second century AD. Byzantine physicians avidly used these formulas in their practice, but failed to develop them in a significantly innovative way. The surviving medical writings make it possible to conclude that the chickpea was believed to be a highly effective medicine and as such worthy of cultivation, which only testifies to the general popularity of the plant. Medical writings may serve as a proof that the chickpea remained a key element in the Mediterranean diet throughout the period from the fourth century BC to the seventh century AD. The analysed material demonstrates the use of the same basic varieties of the erébinthos throughout the period, even though some local variants were also identified. The consistency of the data also suggests that the scale and methods of cultivation of this plant remained unchanged. The culinary uses of the chickpea must also have been the same throughout the period, given that the writers discussed similar uses of the plant as a foodstuff. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fallen Byzantine Emperor Romanos IV Diogenes was cruelly blinded on the 29th June 1072. This was a penalty to punish him and was designed to deter him from any possible ambition of retaking the throne. Any mutilation would disqualify an individual from taking the throne since an Emperor had to be unblemished. The penalty of blinding was recognized as capital punishment, similar to the various punishments by death. Subject to the Emperor's mercy, the death penalty could be replaced by blinding, which resulted in complete loss of vision and was considered to be a lifelong punishment. Blinding was a recognized penalty for political rivals and for the crime of "high treason" (kathosiosis). All people who were not cleared of conspiracy or who contested the power of the Emperor had to be punished. Blinding was accomplished by gouging out the eyes, often using a hot poker or by pouring a boiling substance, such as vinegar, on them. Despite receiving assurances of his personal safety, Diogenes was blinded on the order of the new Emperor in Kotyaion (Kioutahya) by a Jew, who, due to inexperience, needed three attempts to perform the task, using a sharp metal object. Without medical assistance, the wound became infected and Diogenes soon developed periocular tissue sepsis with head and facial edema and worms falling out of his ocular injuries. Five weeks later he died on Prote Island in the Sea of Marmara, on the 4th August 1072. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the Byzantine Empire one of the best known methods of health care used as ancillary treatment for various illnesses was bathing. This form of treatment was adopted from ancient Greek medicine and applied in exactly the same ways in Byzantine medical practice. The reasons for the approval by the Byzantines of these methods were, firstly, the general acceptance of traditional ancient Greek medicine and, secondly, the fact that the renowned physician- writers of that period reproduced almost everything that their predecessors had suggested for the treatment of various diseases. Bathing as means of therapy was therefore used widely and applied to everyone in need in the Byzantine Empire, in spite of the extreme views of some erimites and clerics against the practice. According to the supporters of bathing, the skin as a route of expulsion of waste matter from the human body was essential for balanced bodily function. The most widely accepted way to succeed in this was induction of perspiration by bathing or steam baths. The Byzantine physician-writers report that the therapeutic use of the spa was predefined according to the methods of use and frequency. They also list the indications and contra-indications of bathing for every known disease of that period. For this reason therapeutic baths were an integral part of the facilities of every hospital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Julian (331-363 AD), the Roman emperor also known as Julian the Apostate because of his desire to revive traditional Roman religious practices at the cost of Christianity, was mortally wounded in battle against the Persians and died on 26 June 363 AD. According to contemporary sources, the emperor sustained a wound in a skirmish with Persian cavalry from a spear that pierced the lower lobe of his liver, the peritoneum and the intestines, and feces were found in his wound. Julian was carried in an unconscious state on his shield to his tent by his guards, where he was treated by his personal physician Orivasius. Some chroniclers report that the emperor died on the third day after being wounded, but most record that he died during the night following his injury. The wound was not immediately fatal, but Julian regained consciousness and took part in a philosophical discussion about the immortality of the soul, during which a hemorrhage occurred and the emperor died. Christian historians consider his death to be due to divine power in terms of divine justice. They refer to visions and visitations by prophets, and even confer supernatural dimensions on natural events in order to emphasize the instance of divine intervention to punish Julian the Apostate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strabismus was a known eye misalignment since the Hippocratic era (ca 5th century BC). Hippocrates and his followers were the first to introduce the hypothesis of a hereditary condition. Many ancient Greek physicians like Galen (ca 2nd AD) provided several definitions, while Paul of Aegina (625-690 AD) was the scholar who introduced a method to treat it. Paul used a full face mask and an oil lamb to guide the eyeballs toward the desired direction. It seems that this approach endured for centuries to come. During 11th century AD in Constantinople, the Byzantine scholar and politician Michael Constantine Psellus (ca 1020-1105 AD) composed a series of philosophical, religious, political and scientific treatises. Among his work stands a medical iambic didactic poem of 1732 lines, in which he had mentioned strabismus. Although he was not an oculist, he had managed to define strabismus. His definition was noted as such, “Strabismus is caused by a spasm of the bodies which move (the eye balls) and the oblique tendency of the muscles”. Psellus was aware of the knowledge of the past and recorded what was still valid at that era, presenting a memorable definition. As his reference was completely neglected from the medical bibliography, our study aims to add him in the scientific chain of those who understood this disorder. This study aims to compose Psellus biography, present ancient Greek and Byzantine ophthalmology’s opinion concerning strabismus and note Psellus’ definition. The TLG and MedLine/PubMed databases were searched and the terms “strabismus” and “Psellus” were used as key words. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Byzantine Empress Eudoxia's seventh birthing was fatal due to the complications that occurred following intrauterine fetal death. The rapid deterioration of her clinical condition and the lack of immediate medical intervention led to her death. This article describes the course of her clinical condition as written by the chroniclers and historians of that period. The birth complications started after the fetus had died, with uterine bleeding, peritonitis, ileus, delirium and sepsis, and death followed. There are serious doubts about the medical care, which, according to the sources, was not instituted immediately to treat the complications. Possibly the rapid deterioration of her condition did not give much time to the doctors to treat and alleviate the pregnant Empress. The progress of her labour and the clinical course have been documented by several chroniclers, but only one of them gives a detailed account of her clinical condition. According to the sources examined, the doctors did have the knowledge to treat such difficult situations under the conditions of that period. Despite that knowledge, her doctors failed to give the Empress Eudoxia the assistance she needed, which resulted in her death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paul of Aegina (625-690 AD) was born on the island of Aegina and trained medicine at Alexandria. Not much is known about his life, but he traveled a lot visiting many places. Paul was a very skillful surgeon and accepted as one of the most renown of Byzantine physicians. He wrote medical encyclopedia, the best of his time called "Epitome of Medicine"which consisted of seven books. The original name of his book is "Epitomes iatrikes biblio hepta"(Latin: "Epitomae medicae libri septem"). He played an important role as a preserver of Greek and Roman medicine. The most important portion of Paul's work for the history of medicine is contained in his sixth book on surgery. His book provided original descriptions of procedures including lithotomy, herniotomy, paracentesis, amputation of breast and tracheostomy. Paul explained some other surgical procedures such as eye surgery, extracting teeth, removing tonsils, removing polyps from the nose. The seventh book of Epitome is devoted only to drugs. The book included 600 plants and 80 non botanical ingredients into an alphabetical catalogue and described their pharmacological properties. Paul of Aegina in particular followed the foot marks of Hippocrates and his ideas were based on the writings of Galen, and influenced not only his own but also the subsequent ages. He communicated between western and eastern medicine with his book Epitoma as a medical encyclopedia and transferred his knowledge with a lot of surgical experience to the subsequent ages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethnopharmacological relevance: This paper focuses on the plants quoted in the recipes of the first chapter entitled “About the Antidotes” belonging to the first and largest section “Element Alpha” of Nikolaos Myrepsos׳ Dynameron, a medieval medical manuscript. Nikolaos Myrepsos was a Byzantine physician at the court of John III Doukas Vatatzes at Nicaea (13th century). He wrote in Greek a rich collection of 2667 recipes, the richest number known in late Byzantine era, conventionally known as Dynameron and divided into 24 sections, the “Elements”. The only existing translation of this work is in Latin, released in 1549 in Basel by Leonhart Fuchs. Since no other translation has ever been made in any language, this work still remains poorly known. Materials and Methods: Our primary source material was the codex written in 1339 and kept in the National Library of France (in Paris) under the number grec. 2243. For comparison, all the other codices, which contain the entire manuscript, have also been studied, namely the codices EBE 1478 (National Library of Greece, Athens), grec. 2237 and grec. 2238 (both in Paris), Lavra Ε 192 (Mont Athos, Monastery of Megisti Lavra), Barocci 171 (Oxford) and Revilla 83 (Escorial). Results: The exhaustive study of the “About the Antidotes” led us to the interpretation of 293 plant names among which we recognized 39 medicinal plants listed by the European Medicines Agency, (Herbal Medicines, www.ema.eu); the therapeutic indications of some of them provided by Myrepsos were similar or related to their current ones, as given in their monographs. The plants belong to various families of which the most frequent are: Apiaceae 10.6%; Lamiaceae 9.2%; Asteraceae 8.9%; Fabaceae 6.8% and Rosaceae 5.1%. The most frequently mentioned plants even under several different names are the following: Apium graveolens L., Crocus sativus L., Nardostachys jatamansi (D. Don) DC., Zingiber officinale Roscoe, Rosa centifolia L., Syzygium aromaticum (L.) Merr. & L.M. Perry, Papaver somniferum L., Costus sp., Petroselinum crispum (Mill.) Fuss, Anethum graveolens L., Foeniculum vulgare Mill., Daucus carota L. Conclusions: This research led us to the conclusion that the content of “About the Antidotes” is a valuable source for the study of recipes based mainly on medicinal plants, most of them inherited from classic ancient Greek and Hellenistic periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Miraculous medicine was widespread over the Byzantine Empire, and not only the people of low social classes but also the aristocracy up to the imperial court used to seek treatment with such methods. Doctors from the Orthodox Church (Anargyroi) were the major representatives of this kind of medicine and the cure usually came after healing prophetic dreams. This paper presents the miraculous treatment that Emperor Justinian I received when he suffered variously from plague, gout, venereal disease and urinary lithiasis. According to records, Emperor Justinian I suffered from serious illnesses and benefited from divine grace on at least four different occasions. In all cases the cure was miraculous. On the first occasion he experienced fatal plague, during the plague period 541-542, but managed to recover through the miraculous cures of Saint Kosmas and Saint Damian. On the second occasion, when he was diagnosed with arthritis, Saint Irene helped his healing, then when he was suffering from venereal diseases Saint Samson's wonders saved him and, finally, the Virgin Mary relieved him of kidney stones. Until the 12th century, individuals from all social classes used to seek miraculous cures. The instances of miraculous treatment of Emperor Justinian I are typical examples of divine intervention in the treatment of diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The acceptance of exercise as a form of rehabilitation and promotion and preservation of health was complete in the Byzantine practice of medicine. This study was made to investigate to what extent exercise was employed as an adjunct to recovery and how it was used to promote and maintain health in the Byzantine era. Exercises designed to maintain and promote health are found in Byzantine literature from the high schools. Rubbing, kneading and massage were referred to as physiotherapy exercises, and a variety of physical exercises were recommended in the range of gymnastic drills, with each one bearing indications and contraindications. The gymnastic maneuvers included among rehabilitation and health promotion activities were: The walk (walking), the road (running), the hammock (cot), horse riding, the krikilasia (hoop), the nixis (swimming), wrestling, shadow boxing (fist moves unopposed), the afalmos (jumping on the spot), the exalmos (running jump), the exercise ball, the exercise korikas (pugilistic bag), altiriovolia (lifting dumbbells), and armed combat (exercise with full military kit). Exercise as a means of promoting health is often mentioned in the context of military training, and exercise in the modern sense was practiced only in the army. Because of the association of sport with the ancient-pagan spirit, the Byzantine Empire managed only through contradictions that ran contrary to Orthodox tradition and religion to accept exercise as a means of promotion and restoration of health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study summarises the original medical information contained in the treatise On the Nature of Man by the Byzantine scholar Nemesius, Bishop of Emesa (4th century), written in ancient Greek. Nemesius' work had a strong impact on later Byzantine scholarship, as witnessed by a number of treatises on human body that followed under a similar or identical title. This review introduces and summarises some of the basic views of Nemesius and compares them with those of Galen, one of the major contributors to medical knowledge of antiquity, in order to see how Galen's theories on anatomy and physiology influenced Nemesius. We conclude that the medical information in the work of Nemesius reflects the high level of Byzantine medicine of the time, as well as deep influences from ancient Greek intelligentsia and Galen in particular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the history of Byzantine medicine, and the idea of the diagnostics of fluids as medical practice, relating to the concept of the diagnosis and medical treatment of imbalances in the bodily humors, during the period between the 4th and 12th centuries. Topics discussed include background on the history and historiography of Byzantine, with reference to the history and philosophy of medicine; the influence of Christianity on medicine during this period, and the philosophy of Hippocratic medicine.

The authors attempt to solve the enigma about the possible aphasia of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaeologus (1391–1425) in the 3-year period between his first and his second and fatal stroke. The texts of historians and chroniclers reveal that Manuel remained semi-paralyzed at bed and his motor disability alienated him from the state affairs and condemned him to isolation from all embassies and contact with others, except his family. Only the funeral oration of the Bishop Bessarion raises the suspicion of a speechless emperor. All testimonies referring to this infirmity are examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gout is a medical condition with typical recurrent attacks of acute inflammatory arthritis. The severity of this illness has been recognised from antiquity, and several ancient physician studied it intensively. This paper presents the pathogenesis of the disease, approaches to therapy and preventive measures based on a number of original medical scripts from Hippocrates to the end of the Byzantine era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the books related to medicine in the library of the Byzantine clergyman Photios who lived in the 800's CE. Among other topics addressed are the nature of the inventory of Photios' books and the date and circumstances of its publication, the specific books related to medicine listed with descriptions of each, and meaning of the original Greek.

The article discusses and reviews the Greek language texts of the medical literature regarding lycanthropy, which is a term used to describe the transformation of a human being into a wolf and the demonstration of animal-like behavior, during Byzantine times from the year 330 A.D. to the year 1453. During the Byzantine era, six medical authors explained lycanthropy as a type of melancholic depression and was later considered part of witchcraft in the Renaissance, according to the article. The association of lycanthropy with mental aberration and neurobehavioral disorders was considered the main contribution of the Byzantine era medical texts by the authors Oribasius, Aetius, Paul of Aegina, Paul of Nicaea, Michael Psellus and Joannes Actuarius.