Physician Authority, Patient Agency, and the Divine in Ancient Greek Medicine

This article reassesses the consensus concerning the relation between Hippocratic-inspired medical practice and temple healing in Greek antiquity. This consensus holds that Hippocratic medicine and the temple cures effected in Asklēpieia were not perceived as oppositional or contradictory therapeuti...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inTAPA (Society for Classical Studies) Vol. 153; no. 1; pp. 175 - 211
Main Author Scott, Calloway
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press 01.03.2023
Subjects
Antiquity
Collaboration
Culture
Greek civilization
History of medicine
Illnesses
Medical anthropology
Patients
Physicians
Religion
Religious cults
Science
Subjectivity
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Summary:This article reassesses the consensus concerning the relation between Hippocratic-inspired medical practice and temple healing in Greek antiquity. This consensus holds that Hippocratic medicine and the temple cures effected in Asklēpieia were not perceived as oppositional or contradictory therapeutic outlets but instead as complementary "sectors of care." After reviewing the status quaestionis and challenging some of the conclusions drawn from the evidence available, this article suggests a fresh approach which emphasizes the negotiation of subjectivity and agency in the constellation of patient, physician, and institution as a primary comparative heuristic. I demonstrate the appeal of this approach by interpreting some of the only "patient-centered" narratives left to us from antiquity: the iamata from Epidauros and the Hieroi Logoi of Aelius Aristides.
ISSN:2575-7180
2575-7199
2575-7199
DOI:10.1353/apa.2023.a901020