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Introduction

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 September 2009

Philip J. van der Eijk
Affiliation:
University of Newcastle upon Tyne
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Summary

Few areas in classical scholarship have seen such rapid growth as the study of ancient medicine. Over the last three decades, the subject has gained broad appeal, not only among scholars and students of Greek and Roman antiquity but also in other disciplines such as the history of medicine and science, the history of philosophy and ideas, (bio-)archaeology and environmental history, and the study of the linguistic, literary, rhetorical and cultural aspects of intellectual ‘discourse’. The popularity of the subject even extends beyond the confines of academic communities, and ancient medicine has proved to be an effective tool in the promotion of the public understanding of medicine and its history.

The reasons for these changes are varied and complex, and to do justice to all would require a much fuller discussion than I can offer here. In this introductory chapter, I will concentrate on what I perceive to be the most important developments and in so doing set out the rationale of the present collection of papers. Evidently, ancient medicine possesses remarkable flexibility in attracting interest from a large variety of people approaching the field from a broad range of disciplines, directions and backgrounds, for a number of different reasons and with a wide variety of expectations. The purpose of publishing these papers in the present form is to make them more easily accessible to this growing audience.

Type
Chapter
Information
Medicine and Philosophy in Classical Antiquity
Doctors and Philosophers on Nature, Soul, Health and Disease
, pp. 1 - 42
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2005

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  • Introduction
  • Philip J. van der Eijk, University of Newcastle upon Tyne
  • Book: Medicine and Philosophy in Classical Antiquity
  • Online publication: 22 September 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511482670.003
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  • Introduction
  • Philip J. van der Eijk, University of Newcastle upon Tyne
  • Book: Medicine and Philosophy in Classical Antiquity
  • Online publication: 22 September 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511482670.003
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Introduction
  • Philip J. van der Eijk, University of Newcastle upon Tyne
  • Book: Medicine and Philosophy in Classical Antiquity
  • Online publication: 22 September 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511482670.003
Available formats
×