On the origins of European gynaecology: the archaeological and literary sources to the development of gynaecology in Greece before 500 BC

Česká verzia

Authors: Tomáš Alušík
Authors place of work: Ústav dějin lékařství a cizích jazyků 1. LF UK v Praze
Published in the journal: Čas. Lék. čes. 2021; 160: 97-101
Category: History of Medicine

Summary

The aim of this study is to prove that at the beginning of the 1^st millennium BC at the latest an independent gynaecological tradition was formed within the Greek art of healing, from which the later Classical Graeco-Roman medicine drew inspiration. In this paper, the archaeological (especially the terracotta figurines and models and scenes painted on vases) and literary (the economic records and poetry excerpts) sources for the development of gynaecology from the advanced phases of the 2^nd millennium until 500 BC are presented.

The preserved sources clearly indicate that the Greek medicine reached some positive achievements already before 500 BC. Already in that period it put emphasis on the gynaecological issues. The described sources well illustrate also the development of the religious and mythological ideas related to the gynaecological, or the gynaecological-obstetrical aspect of healing, represented by Eileithyia, the goddess of childbirth, which was worshiped in the Greek world already since the Bronze Age.

The Ancient Greek medicine has got the important place in the history of the European and world medical science. In the frame of medicine of the period in question, it is possible to trace back to the beginning of the 1^st millennium BC the specific healing-gynaecological tradition, with an emphasis on the obstetrics. In this tradition, a combination of rational, empirical and religious aspects was used. The terracotta models from the 9^th–8^th centuries BC point on the widely used practice of midwifery, too. Unfortunately, it is not possible to clearly discern if the midwifes existed already before 500 BC as a specific and independent medical occupation.

Keywords:

gynaecology – obstetrics – history – Archaeology – Greece – Antiquity

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Štítky

Addictology Allergology and clinical immunology Angiology Audiology Clinical biochemistry Dermatology & STDs Paediatric gastroenterology Paediatric surgery Paediatric cardiology Paediatric neurology Paediatric ENT Paediatric psychiatry Paediatric rheumatology Diabetology Pharmacy Vascular surgery Pain management Dental Hygienist

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