Outlines of Greek and Roman Medicine

by Sir James Elliott

In later centuries his works were used as a textbook for students, not only for the information they supplied, but also because of their excellence as literature.

Parts of the foregoing synopsis of the writings of Celsus are drawn from the writings of Hermann Baas and of Berdoe.

Meges of Sidon (20 B.C.) was a famous surgeon who practised in Rome shortly before the time of Celsus. He was regarded by Celsus as the most skilful surgeon of that period, and his works, of which nothing now remains, were quoted by Celsus, and also referred to by Pliny. Meges was a follower of Themison. He is said to have invented instruments used in cutting for stone, and he wrote on tumours of the breast and dislocation of the knee. There have been several famous doctors called Eudemus. One of these was an anatomist in the third century before Christ, and a contemporary, according to Galen, of Herophilus and Erasistratus. He gave great attention to the anatomy and physiology of the nervous system. There was, however, another Eudemus, a physician of Rome, who became entangled in an intrigue with the wife of the son of the Emperor Tiberius. He aided her in an attempt to poison her husband in A.D. 23. He was put to torture, and finally executed by order of Tiberius.

Apollonius of Tyana was born four years before the Christian era, in the time of Augustus Cæsar, and is known chiefly for the parallel that has been drawn by ancient and modern writers between his supposed miracles and those of the Saviour. His doings as described by Philostratus are extraordinary and incredible, and he was put forward by the Eclectics in opposition to the unique powers claimed by Christ and believed in by His followers. Apollonius is said to have studied the philosophy of the Platonic, Sceptic, Epicurean, Peripatetic and Pythagorean schools, and to have adopted that of Pythagoras. He schooled himself in early manhood in the asceticism of that philosophy. He abstained from animal food and strong drink, wore white linen garments and sandals made of bark, and let his hair grow long. For five years he preserved a mystic silence, and during this period the truths of philosophy became known to him. He had interviews with the Magi in Asia Minor, and learned strange secrets from the Brahmans in India. In Greece he visited the temples and oracles, and exercised his powers of healing. Like Pythagoras, he travelled far and wide, disputing about philosophy wherever he went, and he gained an extraordinary reputation for magical powers. The priests of the temples gave him divine honours and sent the sick to him to be cured. He arrived in Rome just after an edict had been promulgated by Nero against magicians. He was tried before Telesinus, the consul, and Tigellinus, the base favourite of the Emperor. He was acquitted by Telesinus because of his love of philosophy, and by Tigellinus because of his fear of magic. Subsequently, at Alexandria, Apollonius, in virtue of his magic power, affirmed that he would make Vespasian emperor, and afterwards became the friend of Titus, Vespasian's son. On the accession of Domitian, Apollonius stirred up the provinces against him, and was ordered to be brought in custody to Rome, but he surrendered himself to the authorities, and was brought into the presence of the Emperor to be questioned. He began to praise Nerva, and was immediately ordered to prison and to chains. It is said that he miraculously escaped, and spent the remainder of his days in Ephesus.

The relation of Apollonius to the art of medicine is connected with his visits, on his travels, to the temples of Æsculapius, and his healing of the sick and alleged triumph over the laws of Nature. He was also credited with raising the dead, casting out devils and other miracle-working that appears to have been borrowed from the life of Christ. No doubt he was a genuine philosopher and follower of Pythagoras. His history is, on the whole, worthy of belief, except the part relating to miracles. It is noteworthy that he did not claim for himself miraculous power. Newman in his "Life of Apollonius" takes the view that the account of the miracles of Apollonius is derived from the narrative of Christ's miracles, and has been concocted by people anxious to degrade the character of the Saviour. The attempt to make him appear as a pagan Christ has been renewed in recent years.

In the realm of medical practice he succeeded by imposture probably, but also in a genuine way by means of suggestion, and no doubt he had also acquired medical knowledge from study and travelling among people who had healing powers and items of medical knowledge perhaps unknown at the present day.

Vettius (or Vectius) Valleus, was of equestrian rank but he did not confer any honour on the medical profession. He was one of the lewd companions of Messalina, the wife of the Emperor Claudius, and was put to death in A.D. 48. He was a believer in Themison's doctrines, and is said by Pliny[1] to have founded a new medical sect, but nearly all the Methodici attempted to create a new sect by adding to, or subtracting a little from, the tenets of Methodism.

Scribonius Largus (about A.D. 45) was physician to Claudius and accompanied him to Britain. He wrote several medical books, and is reputed to have used electricity for the relief of headaches.

Andromachus, the elder, was physician to Nero, and the first archiater. He was born in Crete. He was the inventor of a compound medicine called after himself, "Theriaca Andromachi." He gave directions for making it in a poem of 174 lines. This poem is quoted by Galen, who explains that Andromachus gave his instructions a poetical form to assist memory, and to prevent the likelihood of alteration.

Andromachus, the younger, was the son of the first archiater, and was, like his father, physician to Nero. He wrote a book on Pharmacy, in three volumes.