Medicine and society in Ptolemaic Egypt / by Philippa Lang.

• Author: Lang, Philippa, 1974-
• Year of Publication: 2012
• Language: English
• Series: Studies in Ancient Medicine 41.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (332 pages)
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.

Current questions on whether Hellenistic Egypt should be understood in terms of colonialism and imperialism, multicultural separatism, or integration and syncretism have never been closely studied in the context of healing. Yet illness affects and is affected by nutrition, disease and reproduction within larger questions of demography, agriculture and environment. It is crucial to every socio-economic group, all ages, and both sexes; perceptions and responses to illness are ubiquitous in all kinds of evidence, both Greek and Egyptian and from archaeology to literature. Examing all forms of healing within the specific socioeconomic and environmental constraints of the Ptolemies’ Egypt, this book explores how linguistic, cultural and ethnic affiliations and interactions were expressed in the medical domain.

Table of Contents

Front Matter -- Greeks and Egyptians -- Medicine and the Gods -- Theoretical Perspectives -- Responses to Illness -- Identifying Medical Practitioners -- Medicine in Alexandria -- Bibliography -- Indexes.