Medical politics in ancient Greece
Why were the Greeks the first to put medicine on a scientific footing?
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Roy Porter
Syphilis and friendly ethnic relations
Syphilis is thought to have been brought back from America by Christopher Columbus’s fellow travelers. In Europe, it first manifested in Naples and so came to be called “the disease of Naples,” though most Italians came to call it the “French Pox.” As it made its way across Europe and then Asia, syphilis acquired a
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Curing epilepsy — peonies, the gospel, and hair of the dog
Medieval medical know-how: “John of Gaddesden (1280-1349), physician to Edward II and compiler of the encyclopaedic Rosa anglica medicinae [The English Rose of Medicine], recommended reciting the gospel over an epileptic patient while bedecking him with peony and chrysanthemum amulets or the hair of a white dog” (From Roy Porter’s excellent The Greatest Benefit to
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Syphilis and friendly ethnic relations — updated
In these days of cultural sensitivity, consider the saga of syphilis. Syphilis is thought to have been brought back from America by Christopher Columbus’s fellow travelers. In Europe, it first manifested in Naples and so came to be called “the disease of Naples,” though most Italians called it the “French Pox.” As it made its
Syphilis and friendly ethnic relations — updated Read More »