Aspasia_Pharmaceutical Historian

ARTICLE

Medicine and magic in a recipe of Aspasia,

a sixth-century CE Byzantine physician

Maria do Sameiro Barroso

Abstract

Graeco-Roman medicine bequeathed empirical observation

as the paradigm for interpreting diseases due to

natural causes. The effectiveness of those treatments has

since been investigated. However, magical aspects of

treatment largely persisted in European medicine until

the end of the eighteenth century. To understand why

it is important to know how ancient medical recipes

and procedures were used in practice. This article analyses

a recipe for difficult labour recommended by Aspasia,

a Byzantine physician from the sixth century CE.

It explores the effectiveness of the procedures used and

breaks down characteristics of the materia medica by

use of modern phytochemical studies.

Introduction

Ancient recipes, often including magic thinking, are

living pieces of medical archaeology challenging our

ways of thinking, medical knowledge, and imagination.

According to medical historian Henry Sigerist

(1891-1957), “There is no sharp dividing line between

magic and religion. Indeed, for the primitive mind,

magic, religion, and medicine are one”. 1 Aside from

primitive supernaturalistic medicines, Graeco-Roman

medicine also did not eradicate magic, especially in

therapeutics. The Italian medical historian Plinio Prioreschi

(1930-2014) noted that:

In Greece, a wide variety of magical and religious

creeds and practices can be documented from the

time of Homer to the end of Antiquity and on to

the Middle Ages. The common belief that science

and reason supplanted magic and myth has tended

to obscure the fact that Greek science and philosophy,

in reality, developed in the continuing presence

of traditional patterns of thought. 2

Among the most commonly used pharmaceutical ingredients

of herbal origin stood the group which the

Greeks called arómata, which includes aromatic resins

such as myrrh and incense, spices and perfumes and

appears to have been effective mainly in the treatment

of wounds. For people in ancient times, these were

items that would be pleasant to smell, would please the

gods and help treat diseases and wounds. On the other

hand, materials that smelled foul were associated with

poor health and decay, as stated by Theophrastus

(c.371-c.287 CE), considered the Father of Botany:

“Putridity is a general term, one may say, to anything

which is subject to decay: for anything which is decomposing

has an evil odour”. 3 The pathologist and medical

historian Guido Manjo (1922–2010) related this fascination

for ancient recipes to the use of aromatic herbs:

There is a lost fragrance about ancient drugs. A disconcerting

fragrance of incense, roses and cinnamon,

which keeps luring the mind out of medicine

into the church, the kitchen, and the beauty parlour.

Our ancestors, who liked to smear themselves with

cinnamon oil, might have marvelled at cinnamon

bread as well as we would at incense pie. Besides,

perfumes, for them, were a far broader concern with

broader implications than it is today. What was good

to breathe, eat, or drink, was also good for the gods,

for disease, and wounds. So the Greeks had the lovely

word arómata, to cover much of what we would

now break down into incense, perfumes, spices, and

drugs. Arómata were the zest of life when they said

“my myrrh, my cinnamon”, as we would say “my

darling. 4

It is tempting to identify science, empirical knowledge,

or gullible and naive inventiveness they might

contain. Furthermore, modern phytochemical studies

have made it possible to identify anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial

and healing components in many of these

commonly used plants. In this article I present a recipe

by Aspasia, a Byzantine doctor from the sixth century

CE, for difficult labour, listing and evaluating the magical

and medicinal components of the therapeutic procedures.

The works of Aëtius of Amida around 500 CE

The Byzantine Empire (also known as the Eastern Roman

Empire or Byzantium), was the continuation of

the Roman Empire in its eastern provinces, based in

Constantinople (present-day Istanbul). It existed for

around a thousand years, from the late fi fth century

until the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire

in 1453.

Aëtius of Amida (Ἀέτιος Ἀμιδηνός in Greek, Aëtius

Amidenus in Latin) was born in Amida, Mesopotamia

(present-day Diyarbakır) in the upper Tigris (presentday

Turkey) during the late fi fth or early sixth century,

and lived in the Byzantine court. He may have been a

court physician to Justinian I, Emperor of Byzantium,

who reigned from 527 to 565 CE since, in some manuscripts,

he is described as the official head of the service

PHARMACEUTICAL HISTORIAN · 2023 · Volume 53/3 65

of the emperor (komēs opsikiou or κόμης ὀψικίου in

Greek, tyhcomes obsequii in Latin).

Little is known about his life except what can be

inferred from his work. He studied at the medical

school in Alexandria, was a Christian, and according

to the physician and medical historian Justus Friedrich

Carl Hecker (1795-1850), Egyptian beliefs and Neo-

Platonic traits appear in his work. 5 Aëtius wrote an encyclopedia

of medicine, the Tetrabiblion (Βιβλία Ἰατρικά

Ἑκκαίδεκα in Greek), so called because in certain manuscripts

it is divided into four sections, comprising sixteen

books altogether. The work compiles all the medical

knowledge that preceded him up to the sixth

century CE. He compiled texts by the most eminent

authors and added his own work, revealing knowledge

of medicine, surgery, ophthalmology, gynaecology and

obstetrics, not forgetting therapeutics. The fi rst two

books are devoted to materia medica.

In the sixteenth century, the Greek version was

translated into Latin by the physician and translator

Janus Cornarius (1500-1558) in 1542. 6 In 1950, James

V. Ricci (1891-1955), an Italian-born American gynaecologist

and medical historian, rendered Cornarius’

Latin translation into English in an annotated edition.

The preface by the Italian gynaecologist Arturo Castiglioni

suggested exciting comparisons between the

practices of their time and that of the time of Aëtius.

To help understand the ancient therapies, Ricci added

an appendix on materia medica. 7

Aëtius transcribed writings by the most eminent

authors in the field. The most cited authors are Aspasia

(10 chapters) and Soranus of Ephesus, the most eminent

gynaecologist from Antiquity who lived from the late

first century to early second century CE (9 chapters).

The subjects of Aëtius’s works

The historian of medicine, W.J. Stewart Mackay (1866-

1948), stated that Aëtius did not claim that the content

of his texts was original but that his work was a compilation.

In doing so Aëtius provides valuable testimony

about the medical and surgical practices of his time. He

preserved writings by Leonides, a Greek physician and

surgeon from Alexandria who practised in Rome in the

early third century CE, and by Aspasia and Filomeno,

whose works had been lost. 8 As for gynaecology and

obstetrics, his work provides insights into the improvement

of the procedures. 9

James Ricci in another of his works, The Development

of Gynecological Surgery and Instruments, published

in 1949, highlighted Aëtius’ contribution to the

history of obstetric and gynaecological surgery and the

instruments employed. In his writings Aëtius thoroughly

discussed the management of uterine ulcerations,

abscesses, displacements, obstructions, fibrous

tumours, pelvic inflammations, haematomas and vaginal

imperforation. 10

Aëtius also dealt with breast pathology, benign and

malignant, in great detail, giving precise and correct

surgical indications. He cited numerous medical authors

and mentioned midwives. Berendes highlighted

Aëtius’ valuable experiences in which the materia medica

was addressed preferentially. 11 His most significant

source was Dioscorides, and according to Schulze, he

also made frequent references to Galen (131-c.201

CE). 12 Like other ancient authors, Aëtius followed Galen’s

pharmacological framing theory. He defined medicaments

as: “what brings about a change in our body

(just referring to those taken internally, and those also

called antidota), in contrast to food, adding something

to the body”. 13

His construct needed to be more consistent with the

foods and condiments used in cooking and medical

prescriptions. Everything we eat, inhale or absorb

through the skin and mucous membranes acts in our

body, as stated by Plinio Prioreschi: “Practically all substances

have some pharmacological activity in the sense

that they produce some biological response in contact

with biological systems”. 14

Galen divided drugs into classes representing the

elementary qualities of the warm, cold, damp and dry,

and their various grades. 15 Drugs with opposite characteristics

should be administered (cold, in case the imbalance

factor was considered hot, for example) to alleviate

symptoms by correcting the imbalance of body

humours (blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile, as

established in the Hippocratic treatise Nature of Man). 16

This theory was as limited as the theory of humours itself.

Although Galen sought to achieve the best therapy

appropriate to the patient’s condition, 17 his contribution

to pharmacy brought nothing new: “The pharmacology

itself in Galen offers nothing new in itself: we find the

same medicinal forms, the same preparations, as we do

with the Alexandrian physicians”. 18 In Graeco-Roman

times, medicines were prepared by physicians, who often

relied on druggists who adulterated the drugs, as

stated by Pliny the Elder (23-79 CE):

Nowadays, whenever they come on books of prescriptions,

wanting to make trial of the ingredients

in the prescriptions at the expense of their unhappy

patients, they rely on the fashionable druggists’

shops which spoil everything with fraudulent adulterations,

and for a long time, they have been buying

plasters, and eye-salves readymade; and thus is deteriorated

rubbish of commodities and the fraud of

the druggists’ trade put on show. 19

66 PHARMACEUTICAL HISTORIAN · 2023 · Volume 53/3

In a Byzantine manuscript from the National Library

of France, 20 a physician is depicted preparing and

administering medication to the patient (Figure 1). The

Arabs made a fundamental contribution to the development

of pharmaceutical science by creating the first

apothecary shop in Baghdad in 754 CE. 21

physician that has come down to us. Giorgio del Guerra

(1905-1979), an Italian surgeon and Greek/Italian

translator, came across the Codex in 1932. The work

appears to date from the late sixth century CE. 24 As for

archaeological evidence, seven funerary inscriptions

dating between the fourth and sixth century CE have

been discovered. 25

In the Graeco-Roman world, slave physicians were

in charge of taking care of their patrons’ families and

slaves of the household and large agricultural estates

and curing the sick slaves who worked in the lands of

the great agricultural estates. 26 In succession terms, the

sixth century CE Codex of Justinian defined their value

according to their skills: “But if, however, they possess

a skill, the appraisal of their work shall extend up to 30

solidi, whether they are male or female, with the exception

of notaries and physicians of either sex. This is because

we wish notaries to be appraised at 50 solidi, but

physicians and midwives at 60”. 27

It should be noted that physicians and midwives

were highly valued and that the Codex refers to female

doctors and midwives as different activities. In Byzantine

times, physicians of both sexes carried out their

professional activities in philanthropic institutions expanding

their medical services during the reign of Emperor

Justinian (527-565 CE), working in hospitals,

which started to emerge during the Byzantine period. 28

Figure 1. Miniature of a Byzantine manuscript. National

Library of France. (Source: Lavastine 1936: 450)

Female physicians in Byzantine times

Nothing is known about Aspasia except for the information

in the chapters transcribed by Aëtius. Literary,

archaeological, and anthropological evidence all support

the existence of female physicians in the Graeco-

Roman world, practising alongside male physicians. 22

Besides Aëtius, Theodorus Priscianus - a Byzantine

physician who lived in Constantinople during the

fourth and fifth centuries, dedicated chapter III of his

work Euporiston on women’s diseases to Victoria, praising

her as an intelligent woman, knowledgeable in the

art of medicine. Victoria may have been a midwife with

medical training (an iatromea), or a female physician. 23

A manuscript by Metrodora, a physician from the

Byzantine period, is the only work authored by a female

Aspasia’s texts on difficult labour

In Ricci’s edition, chapter XV addresses the difficulties

of childbirth as follows, under the heading “Treatment

of the Ailing Parturient, according to Aspasia”:

When the labor presents difficulties, and the places

(birth canal) remain closed, the pregnant woman is

led to the bathroom and made to sit in a warm tub.

Often she is sprinkled. And in her sittings (while in

the tub), she is subjected to massage which will induce

slipperiness (of the birth canal?). For this purpose

(use) lukewarm oil, beaten white part of eggs,

and a decoction of mallow, fenugreek and linseed.

Or the (genital parts) are rubbed with liquid wax

prepared from Cyprian oil. But the nest of a swallow

unloosened in oil, applied to the lumbar region, will

hasten delivery. Of value is the root of the large

spurge wrapped in a piece of linen cloth and worn

around the thigh. Similarly, of value are styrax, green

coriander, root of the polygonum (knotgrass), halcyon

seeds and seeds of the white cucumber. But all

these are to be taken away immediately after delivery.

And further, if the secunda (placenta) does not

follow (immediately) after delivery, it must not be

removed forcibly, but the patient must hold her


breath, close her mouth and nostrils and induce

sneezing. And if after the treatment, the secunda

(placenta) remains in situ, removal will be done in a

manner that we will teach later. 29

Aspasia addresses failures of cervical ripening, resulting

in delayed onset of labour, 30 a common situation in obstetrical

practice with a favourable outcome when not

caused by major obstetric issues. Soranus of Ephesus

dealt quite thoroughly with severe difficulties of childbirth

caused by maternal and foetal complications such

as foetal death, foetal positions not compatible with

normal birth, monstrous foetus, and placental problems

(Figure 2).

The parturient was often sprinkled with perfumed

water. Theophrastus - writing about odours - considered

that perfumes, being made out of fl owers and

spices, would have medicinal properties “in view of the

virtues of spices: for these too have these virtues”. 34 On

rose perfume - a common and affordable plant - Theophrastus

wrote: “the fragrance also supplies a stimulus

to movement. This perfume is also considered to be

good against lassitude because its heat and its lightness

make it suitable and also because it penetrates the inner

passages”. 35

Figure 2. Marble plaque showing parturition scene, Ostia,

Italy. (Source: Science Museum, London. Attribution 4.0

International (CC BY 4.0) Welcome Image Collection)

Before Aspasia, Diocles of Caristus (c.375-c.295 BCE)

wrote a book on gynaecology, and Herophilus of Calcedon

(335-280 BCE) discussed the difficulties of multipara

(between the third and fifth gestation). On maternal

problems related to the birth canal, he mentioned

uterine atony, retroversion, inflammation, abscess, cirrus

(possibly carcinoma), and cervix not dilatating,

leading to failure of labour progress. On maternal problems

of systemic origin, he pointed out obesity, fusion

(ossification of the cartilage) of the pubic symphysis and

malformations of the pelvis. 31

A warm sitting bath

Aspasias’ step consisted of sitting in a warm bath. This

procedure was the first approach to cervical ripening

described since the Hippocratic Corpus. 32 In the Hippocratic

writing Superfetation, the vapour-bath is advised

during a high-risk delivery of twins: “when there is no

progress (…) employ a vapour-bath by which the uterus

will be moistened: let the vapour-bath be fragrant”. 33

Figure 3. Malva Mallow rotundifolia L. (Source: Fuchs,

1542. Wellcome Images Collection)

An abdominal massage

As an alternative treatment, Aspasia advised abdominal

massage to increase uterine contractility. Lukewarm oil

and the beaten whites of eggs were massage ingredients

which seemingly allowed the hands to glide easily over

the skin. A massage made from a decoction of mallow,

fenugreek, and linseed was also recommended. The medicinal

plants cited here have been widely used in medicine

since Antiquity, especially in gynaecological and


obstetric contexts. Each pure egg white (without the

yolk) contains about 3.6 g of pure protein, including all

the essential amino acids and vitamins required for the

body. The presence of lysozyme, G2 and G3 globulins,

and of macroglobulin, immunoglobulin Y, and other

antimicrobial compounds in eggs might induce immunogenicity

and antimicrobial properties. 36

Malva, Mallow rotundifolia L., with round leaves,

as depicted by the eminent physician and botanist

Leonard Fuchs (1501-1566; Figure 3), 37 belongs to the

mallow family, originally from Europe and Asia. The

flowers and leaves are used for medicinal purposes. Its

mucilages content protects the mucous membranes and

has an emollient, mucolytic and laxative action. Anthocyanosides

and flavonoids provide anti-inflammatory

properties. 38

and mildly antiseptic properties. It also has an anti-acid

and lipid-lowering effect. It is usually prepared in poultices

employed in treating skin burns, abscesses and

other infl ammations. Stimulating effects of uterine

contractility have been reported. 39

Linseed (Linum usitatissimum) 40 (Figure 5), an annual

plant (family Linaceae) native to the temperate

zones of Europe and Asia, was mainly compounded by

mucilages. The mature seeds were ground to a powder

to make medicinal preparations. 41

Figure 4. Trigonella foenum-graecum. (Source: Rowan

McOnegal. Wellcome Images Collection)

Fenugreek, Trigonella foenum-graecum L. (Figure 4), is

a plant belonging to the family Fabaceae. It grows in

North Africa, the eastern Mediterranean area and

southern Europe. It has a laxative effect due to mucilages

and possesses tonic, anti-anaemic, mild hypoglycemic,

hypolipidemic, galactogenic, anti-inflammatory

Figure 5. Linseed (Linum usitatissimum). (Source:

Brandt, Gürke, Köhler et al. 1883)

Mallow, linseed, and fenugreek combine emollient,

mucosal protection, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic and

uterine contraction stimulation (in this recipe, the oxytocic

effect of Trigonella foenum-graecum and its antiseptic

properties are beneficial to prevent infections and

accelerate labour).

As an alternative, the genital parts were rubbed with

the Cyprus wax (beeswax), also an emollient, held in

great esteem in Antiquity, and which would produce a

relaxing and soothing effect when applied to the lumbar

and pubic region. Dioscorides (40-90 CE) gave instructions

on the best choice and preparation of beeswax

medicines. He considered the beeswax from Crete

or Ponto to be the best. 42 Aspasia suggested that the

swallow’s nest dissolved in oil and applied to the lumbar

region would hasten delivery.


A role for magic

At this point in the recipe Aspasia shifted to a magical

approach. For centuries, the swallow’s nest was much

appreciated in the Orient as a delicacy and to maintain

good health. The nests are built by seven species of Aerodramus

and Collocalia birds from the Indian Ocean;

they contain a large amount of saliva, one of the components

of which is sialic acid. Recent studies on the

chemical composition and therapeutic properties of

swallows’ nests were not conclusive about their therapeutical

use. 43 From the time of the Roman Empire

commodities from India and China were available from

trade routes with the Far East. 44

would prevent miscarriage and speed up delivery if

grounded and placed on the lumbar region. 46

In Aspasia’s set of ingredients, styrax could be helpful

for its fragrance. Styrax (or storax) is a resinous gum of

a tree, Styrax officinalis L. (family Styracaceae) (Figure 7).

It is a highly odoriferous balm used in perfumes and

pharmaceuticals, obtained through incisions on the

trunk of the tree. 47 According to Guido Manjo, the

Chinese held it in great esteem:

Their favorite balsam was storax, which was most

unusual for the Chinese, as it was imported. It came

first from wounds of a tree in the Greek Levant, Styrax

offi cinalis, and later from Liquidambar orientale.

The latter happens to be very rich in cinnamic acid

and balsamic acids, both of which we have already

encountered as powerful antiseptics. 48

Figure 6. Aetitis. (Source: Four eagle-stone geodes. Woodcut,

1599. (Source: Wellcome Collection. CC BY 4.0)

The way this exotic substance was employed points

to its magical use. In magic recipes to accelerate childbirth,

amulets were frequently placed on the lumbar

region. An alternative recipe provided by Aspasia contains

the following ingredients: a root of the large

spurge, Styrax, green coriander, the root of the polygonum

(knotgrass), halcyon seeds, and seeds of the white

cucumber wrapped in a linen cloth and tied to the leg

but having no direct contact with the skin. The chemical

composition of the mentioned substances is thus irrelevant;

their supposed efficacy lies in the realm of

magic.

Amulets related to fertility, pregnancy, preventing

abortion, and facilitating labour were mainly minerals

in the folk-magical tradition. Aetitis (a hollow geode of

hydrated iron oxide) (Figure 6), also known as the pregnancy

stone (lapis pregnans) or eagle stone because it

was deemed to originate from the nests of eagles; it was

employed to promote childbirth. 45

In the Damigeron-Evax Lapidary - a work from the

magical tradition dating to the second century CE -

aetitis is described as a stone from which another stone

is born as if it was pregnant. Tied to the left arm, it

Figure 7. Styrax latifolium: fl owering stem and fl oral segments.

Coloured lithograph. (Source: Wellcome Library no.

27256i. Wellcome Image Collection)

According to Dioscorides, Styrax had several therapeutic

indications, being effective against coughing,

phlegm, colds, bronchitis, aphonia, and tinnitus. When

drunk and applied to the skin, it was effective against

opilations and hardness of the uterus. When ingested

in a pill, it was said to provoke menstruation and ease

abdominal cramps. 49


Aromata were associated with mythology. The main

deity was Artemis-Ilythia, the Greek goddess of childbirth

and midwifery. 50 From the symbolic point of view

styrax, in this recipe, would have been helpful because

of its pleasant odour, and it would also provide divine

protection.

Discussing Aspasia’s procedures

Aspasia seems to have managed a favourable outcome

by using mechanical methods and herbs that accelerate

uterine contractility, achieving an expected vaginal delivery.

To detach the placenta, Aspasia recommended

sneezing, which had been considered beneficial for foetal

expulsion during problematic deliveries since the

time of Hippocrates. 51 Dioscorides described the

Sneezewort (Achillea ptarmica L.), a shrub similar to

abrotane (Artemisia abrotanum L.) (Figure 8), whose

flowers cause heavy sneezing. 52

Aspasia’s text addresses hastening an expected vaginal

delivery. In cases of foetopelvic disproportion (pelvic

dystocia) and severe causes of dystocia (difficult labour)

like “abnormal foetal presentation or position,

foetal anomaly, poor labour, placenta previa, pendulous

abdomen with uterine anteflexion, or pelvic tumour”, 54

forceps or caesarean delivery would be required. There

is no credible evidence of the use of obstetric forceps in

Antiquity. The caesarean section was carried out in

dead parturientes. 55 In the book Superfetation (in the

Hippocratic Corpus), the intrauterine foetal demise of

a twin, a severe cause of dystocia, progressed to embryotomy.

56 This procedure was also described in another

Hippocratic writing, “Excision of the Fetus”, 57 and

later, by Celsus, 58 who vastly improved the technique.

Conclusion

The sixth-century CE Byzantine physician Aspasia presented

a primary approach to cervical ripening and labour

induction consisting of taking warm baths in the

sitting position, combined with abdominal massage

with antiseptic and emollient substances like mallow,

linseed, and fenugreek (which are each known to promote

uterine contractions), or massage of the genital

area with beeswax.

Magical approaches employed included the application

of a swallow’s nest on the lumbar region, and the

use of a set of medicinal plants such as Styrax, green

coriander, the root of the polygonum (knotgrass), halcyon

seeds, and seeds of the white cucumber, all of

which are used in folk medicine. Styrax is the most appealing

of these ingredients and is indicative of the high

esteem in which aromatic substances were help in the

medicine of ancient cultures.

Evaluating the efficacy of magic is challenging; we

currently underestimate it. However, we must admit

that these techniques can work as powerful autosuggestions,

besides possibly supporting the so-called placebo

effect in pharmacology. 59

Figure 8. Artemisia abrotanum (Southernwood). (Source:

Rowan McOnegal. Wellcome Images Collection)

Soranus also recommended sneezing in for placenta retention

because it was believed to work by increasing

intra-abdominal pressure. However, he warned that the

agitation caused by sneezing could also cause haemorrhage

or other adverse reactions. 53

Acknowledgement

I thank Dr Christopher Duffin for his assistance and

appraisal of the manuscript prior to submission.

Author’s address: Maria do Sameiro Barroso, president,

Department of History of Medicine, Portuguese Medical

Association, Rua Padre Francisco Alvares, 27-5 Dt,

1500-477 Lisbon, Portugal.

Email: msameirobarroso@gmail.com.

Notes and references

1. Sigerist, H. Anfänge der Medizin. Von der primitiven und

archaischen Medizin bis zum Goldenen Zeitalter in Griechenland.

Zürich: Europa Verlag, AG., 1963: 124.


2. Prioreschi, P. A History of Medicine, Volume II Greek

Medicine. Leviston, New York: The Edwin Mellen Press, 1994:

265.

3. Theophrastus. Enquiry into Plants and Minor Works on

Odours And Weather Signs, translated by Arthur Hort, London:

William Heinemann, 1915, Vol. I: 329.

4. Manjo, G. The Healing Hand. Man and the Wound in

the Ancient World”. Harvard: Harvard University Press, 1975:

207.

5. Hecker, JFK. Geschichte der Heilkunde. Nach den

Quellen bearbeitet von Dr. Justus Friedrich Karl Hecker. Berlin:

Verlag Theodor Christian Friedrich Enslin, 1822-29; Band II:

86.

6. Aetii Medici Graeci contractae ex Veteranibus Medicinæ

Tetrabiblos, hoc est qvaterniuo, id est libri uniuersales quator, singuli

quatuor sermones complectētes, ut sint in summa quatuor sermonum

quaterniones, id est sermones XVI. Per Ianum Cornarium

Medicum Physicum Latinè conscripti, Froben, Baseleae: 1542.

7. Ricci, JV. Aetius of Amida, The Gynaecology and Obstetrics

of the VI Century, A. D. translated from the Latin Edition of

Cornuarius, 1542 and fully annotated. Philadelphia, Toronto:

The Blackiston Company, 1950: Prologue V.

8. Mackay, WJS. The History of ancient Gynaecology, London:

Balière, Tindale and Cox, 1901: 180-181.

9. Ricci, JV. The Development of Gynaecological Surgery and

Instruments, Philadelphia, Toronto (USA): The Blakiston Company,

1959: 1-12.

10. Ricci, JV. (Note 9) 1959: 49-53.

11. Berendes, J. Die Pharmazie bei den Alten Kultut«rvölkern,

Historisch-Kritische Studien, Hildesheim: Georg Olms Verlagsbuchhandlung,

Band II; 1965: 91.

12. Berendes, J. (Note 11) 1965 Band II: 91.

13. Schulze, C. Die Pharmazeutische Fachliteratur in der Antike,

Döpp, S. und Radicke, J. (hrg.) Göttingen: Verlag: Duehrkohp

und Radicke, Auflage, Edition Ruprecht, 2002: 112.

14. Prioreschi, P. A History of Medicine, Volume I Primitive

and Ancient Medicine, Leviston, New York: The Edwin Mellen

Press, 1991: 66.

15. Berendes, J. (Note 11) 1965 Band II: 61.

16. Hippocrates. Jones, W.H.S. (transl.). Cambridge: Harvard

University Press Vol. IV, 1959: 11.

17. Berendes, J. (Note 11) 1965, Band II :73.

18. Berendes, J. (Note 11) 1965, Band II: 69.

19. Pliny. Natural History, H. Rackam (transl.), Cambridge:

Harvard University Press Book XXXIV, Chapter XXV, 1956:

209.

20. Lavastine, L. Histoire Générale de la Médicine, de la

Pharmacie, de l’Art Dentaire et de l’Art Vétérinaire. Paris: Albin

Michel, 1938: 355. fi g. 1d.

21. Berendes, J. (Note 10) 1965, Band II: 120.

22. On this subject, see Parker, HT. Women Doctors in

Greece, Rome and the Byzantine Empire. In Furst, LR.

(ed.). Climbing a long Hill, Kentucky: The University Press of

Kentucky, 1997; Künzl, E. Medica. Die Ärtzin. Main am

Rhein: Nünerich – Asmus, Verlag & Media, 2013.

23. Priscianus, T. Euporiston III, Basel: H. Froben, 1532:

137.

24. Guerra, G. (ed., transl. and notes). Metrodora, Medicina

e Cosmesi ad uso delle Donne, Milano: Mimesis, 1994.

25. On this subject, see Schulze, C. & Sybille IHM, S. (ed.),

Ärtzekunst und Gottvertrauen. In Schulze, C. Christliche Ärtztinnen

in der Antike, Spudasmata Band 86, Zürich: Olms

Hildesheim.

26. Ruiz, AA. Los privilégios de los médicos en el Derecho

Romano, Ius fugit: Revista interdisciplinar de estúdios históricojurídicos.

1990-200 (8-9): 205-272.

27. Bruce W. Frier, Serena Connolly, Paul Krueger, Simon

Corcoran, Michael Hewson Crawford, John Noël Dillon, Dennis

P. Kehoe, Noel Emmanuel Lenski, Thomas A. J.

McGinn, Timothy Kearley, Charles F. Pazdernik, Benet Salway.

The Codex of Justinian: A New Annotated Translation, with Parallel

Latin and Greek Text Based on a Translation by Justice Fred

H. Blume. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Vol. II, 2016:

1651.

28. Miller, TS. The birth of the Hospital in the Byzantine Empire.

With a New Introduction by the Author, Baltimore, Maryland:

The John Hopkins University Press, Introduction, 1997:

xi.

29. Ricci, JV. (Note 9) 1950: 23-24.

30. Hayashi RH. Spontaneous and induced cervical ripening.

Natural dilation and effacement process and current cervical

ripening techniques. The Journal of Reproductive Medicine

1993 Jan;38(1 Suppl): 66-72.

31. Soranus. Gynaecology, Translation, Intr. Owsei Temkin

Baltimore, Baltimore: The John Hopkins Press, Book IV, Chapter.

I-VI, 1956: 176–184.

32. The Hippocratic Corpus comprises a series of writings

about women’s diseases from the second half of the fi fth century

BC or the fi rst half of the fourth century BC, possibly incorporating

earlier manuscripts (Totelin, L. Hippocratic Recipes. Oral

and Written Transmission of Pharmacological Knowledge in Fifthand

Fourth-Century Greece, Leiden, Boston: Brill, 2009: 2).

33. Hippocrates. Edited and translated by Paul Potter, Vol.

IX, Superfectation, Cambridge, Massachusetts, London: Harvard

University Press, 2010: 321.

34. Theophrastus. (Note 4) 1915, Vol. I: 379.

35. Theophrastus. (Note 4) 1915, Vol. I: 371.

36. Jahani, S., Ashrafi zadeh. H., Babai, K., Siahpoosh, A.,

Siapoosh, A., Cherigan, B. Effect of ointment-based egg white

on the healing of second-degree wound in burn patients: a tripleblind

randomized clinical trial study. Avicenna Journal of Phytomedicine.

2019 May-Jun; 9(3): 260-270.

37. Fuchs, L. De historia stirpivm commentarii insignes ...

adiectis eorvndem vivis plvsqvam quingentis imaginibus ... Accessit

... uocum diffi cilium & obscurarum passim in hoc opere ocurrentium

explicatio ... Basileae: In officina Isingriniana, 1542.

38. It is composed of mucilages, about 10%, in the leaves,

anthocyanosides 7% (malvosides and malvina), tannins, flavonoids,

Phenolic acids and mineral salts (Cunha, AP., Silva, AP.,

Roque, OR. Plantas e Produtos vegetais em Fitoterapia, Lisboa:

Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian (4th ediiton, revista e actualizada)

2012: 450.

39. The mature seeds are used for medicinal purposes, containing

carbohydrates (50%), galactomannans, protides (25%),

organic phosphorus components (lecithin, phytin), choline, steroidal

saponosides (6%), phytosterols (sitosterol), furastanolic

heterosides, fl avonoids (vixetine, orientin, saponatrenin), fatty

acid esters (8%) traces of coumarins, iron, manganese salts and

of an alkaloid (trigoneline, N-methyl-nicotinic acid betaine, essential

oil (0.015%) (Cunha, A.P. et al (Note 35) 2012: 327).

40. Brandt, W., Gürke, M., Köhler, FE. Pabst, G., Schellenberg,

G., Vogtherr, M. (eds.). (1883). Köhlers Medizinal-

Pfl anzen in naturgetreuen Abbildungen mit kurz erläuterndem

Texte. Gera-Unterm Haus: Verlag von Fr. Eugen Köhler.

41. Flax, L., is from the Family Linaceae. It is an annual

plant native to the temperate zones of Europe and Asia. It consists

of mucilages (galacturonic acid radicals (10%), fi xed oil (32


to 42%), in which fatty acid esters, rich in omega 6 and omega

3 (oleic, linoleic and γ-linoleic) proteins predominate (25%),

fiber (hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin), traces of cyanogenic

glycosides (linamarin) phytosterols (β-sitosterol, stigmasterol)

(Cunha, A.P. et al. 2012: 434 (Note 35).

42. Dioscórides. Plantas y remedios medicinales, Valdés,

M.G. (trad., notas), Vol. I, Madrid: Editorial Gredos, 2002: 181.

43. Chan, SW. Review of Scientifi c Research on Edible Bird´s

Nest. Hong Kong: Department of Applied Technology, The

Hong Kong Polytechnic University, 2012: 12-25.

44. McLaughlin, R. Rome and the Distant east. Trade Routes

to the Ancient Lands of Arabia, India and China. London, New

York: continuum, 2010: 7.

45. Lecouteux, C. A Lapidary of Sacred Stones Their Magical

and Medicinal Powers Based on Earliest Sources. Jon E. Graham

(Transl.). Vermont: Inner Traditions, Rochester, 2012: 39; Duffi

n, C.J. A Survey of birds and fabulous stones. Folklore, 2012:

123(2); 179-197.

46. Halleux, R. & Schamp, J. Les Lapidaires Grecs. Les

Paris: Belles Lettres, 1985: 234-235.

47. Rätsch, C. Heilpflanzen der Antike: Mythologie,

Heilkunst und Anwendung, Aarau und München: AT Verlag,

2014: 268-275.

48. Manjo, G. (Note 4) 1975: 255.

49. Dioscórides (Note 42) 2002: 65-66 (Note127).

50. Rätsch, C (Note 47) 2014: 268-275.

51. Hippocrates (Note 16) 1959: 167.

52. Dioscórides (Note 42) Libro II: 162.

53. Soranus (Note 31) 1956, Book IV: 14-15 and 196-198.

54. Benson, CR. Handbook of Obstetrics & Gynaecology. Los

Altos, California: Lange Medical Publication, 1977: 363.

55. On this subject, see Barroso, MSB., Postmortem cesarean

section and embryotomy: myth, Medicine, and gender in

Greek-roman culture, Acta Medico-Historica Adriatica, 2013:

1(1); 75-86.

56. Hippocrates (Note 33) 2010: 321-323.

57. Hippocrates (Note 33) vol. IX Excision of the Fetus,

2010: 365-373.

58. Celsus. On Medicine. ed. Henderson, J. Translated by

Spencer, W.G., London: Harvard University Press, II, 1938: 49.

59. Prioreschi, P. (Note 14) 1991: 68.


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