From Aristotle to Galen, that is, for the space of five centuries, the anatomy of the dental system, so far as may be deduced from the writings preserved to us, made no sensible progress. But in respect to this, one must take into consideration some historical facts of capital importance. The school of medicine of Alexandria, which arose about three centuries before Christ, numbered among its most brilliant luminaries the celebrated doctors Herophilus and Erasistratus, who were the initiators of the dissection of human corpses,[100] thus giving a great impulse to anatomical research. It is, therefore, hardly admissible that these two great anatomists, who studied with profound attention even the most complicated internal organs, should have neglected the anatomy of the teeth. Unfortunately, however, not all the results of their researches have come down to us; nor is this to be wondered at, especially if we reflect on the large number of precious works entirely lost by the destruction of the celebrated library of Alexandria, A.D. 642.
When we come to speak of Archigenes, we shall see how he, in certain cases, advised trepanning the teeth. This would lead to the belief that in his times, viz., toward the end of the first century after Christ, the existence of the central cavity of the tooth was not ignored, and that, therefore, the structure of these organs had already been the object of study.
As to diseases of the teeth and their treatment, there is no doubt that Herophilus and Erasistratus must have occupied themselves with these subjects; and the same may be asserted of Heraclides of Tarentum, a celebrated doctor who lived in the third century before the Christian era. Indeed, we read in Cœlius Aurelianus,[101] that the record had come down through the works of Herophilus and Heraclides of Tarentum, of persons having died by the extraction of a tooth.[102] The same writer also alludes to a passage of Erasistratus, relating to the odontagogon already mentioned, which was exhibited in the temple of Apollo, and to the practical signification to be attributed to the fact of this instrument being of lead and not of hard metal. Now, if Herophilus, Heraclides of Tarentum, and Erasistratus all spoke of the serious peril to which the extraction of a tooth may give rise, and therefore recommended not having recourse to it too lightly, it is evident that they had given serious attention to this operation and consequently also to the morbid conditions that may render it necessary.
CHAPTER VI.
DENTAL ART AMONG THE ETRUSCANS.
Much earlier than the foundation of Rome (B.C. 753) there flourished in that part of Middle Italy today called Tuscany the highly civilized people known by the name of Etruscans or Toschi. Their political organization had the form of a confederation of twelve principal cities,[103] the federal capital being Tarquinii. The Etruscan people were industrious, intelligent, and artistic in the highest degree, possessing special skill in the decorative arts, splendid monuments, some of which still remain to us; they were fond of luxury in all its manifestations, and took great care of their persons; at the same time, however, they were a laborious and courageous race, not only most active and enterprising in agriculture, in art and commerce, but also brave warriors and hardy navigators.
In their long sea voyages the Etruscans frequently visited Egypt and Phœnicia, trading especially in the more flourishing cities, which were at that time Memphis in Egypt, and Tyre and Sidon in Phœnicia. On the other hand, the Phœnicians, who were also active merchants and navigators, not only visited Etruria and other regions of Italy very frequently, but also established numerous colonies in many islands of the Mediterranean, and especially in those nearer to Italy.
This continual intercourse between Etruscans, on the one side, and Egyptians and Phœnicians, on the other, accounts for the great influence exercised by the Egyptian and Phœnician civilization upon the later developed Etruscan culture—an influence manifesting itself very distinctly in the works of art of the latter, which often have an altogether Oriental character, and not seldom represent scenes drawn from the domestic life of the Egyptians and Phœnicians.[104]