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book: Dire Remedies: A Social History of Healthcare in Classical Antiquity
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Dire Remedies: A Social History of Healthcare in Classical Antiquity

Language: English
Published/Copyright: 2024
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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.

Author / Editor information

William Harris, Columbia University, New York, USA.

Topics

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    Frontmatter

    I
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    Preface

    VII
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    Contents

    IX
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    List of Illustrations

    XIII
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    Abbreviations

    XV
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    Maps

    XIX
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    1 The Burden of Illness

    1
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    2 Doctors and their Limitations

    17
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    3 Vernacular Healthcare

    90
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    4 Pain and Analgesics

    164
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    5 Contagion in Ancient Thinking about Disease

    200
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    6 The Mystery of Disgusting Medications

    217
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    7 Physicians Refusing Treatment

    242
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    8 Abortion: its Prevalence, its Acceptability

    261
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    9 Seers and Healthcare

    281
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    10 Seeking Health from Gods and Heroes

    298
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    11 The Evolution and the Extinction of Asclepius

    347
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    12 The Doctors and Religion

    372
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    13 Amulets to Protect and Cure

    396
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    14 Mental Disorders in their Social Context

    431
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    15 Ancient Hospitals

    501
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    16 Conclusions

    517
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    References

    527
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    Index of Proper Names

    583
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    Index of Topics

    595
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Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
October 7, 2024
eBook ISBN:
9783111507996
Hardcover published on:
October 7, 2024
Hardcover ISBN:
9783111454399
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
Front matter:
20
Main content:
602
Coloured Illustrations:
8
Maps:
2
Tables:
1
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111507996
eBook ISBN: 9783111507996
Hardcover ISBN: 9783111454399
Keywords for this book
Asclepius; popular medicine; ancient healthcare; Greek doctors
Audience(s) for this book
Historians of medicine, medical anthropologists, classical archaeologists, classicists, historians of religion
Safety & product resources
Manufacturer information:
Walter de Gruyter GmbH
Genthiner Straße 13
10785 Berlin
productsafety@degruyterbrill.com
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