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The Invention of Medicine

From Homer to Hippocrates
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( 170 ratings, 33 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Invention of Medicine by Robin Lane Fox explores the origins of Western medicine by examining ancient Greek medical texts and practices. The author delves into the lives and works of early physicians, focusing on the transformative steps they made in shifting from mystical beliefs to empirical and systematic approaches. Set in the rich historical context of classical Greece, the book provides insights into how these early advances laid the foundation for modern medical practices.
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you are fascinated by ancient history and the origins of medical practices. It offers a compelling exploration of how early medicine was developed and the intellectual journey that shaped health care in the ancient world.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

A striking reappraisal of the beginnings of medicine, by one of the world's leading ancient historians.

Medicine is one of the great fields of achievement of the Ancient Greeks. Hippocrates is celebrated worldwide as the father of medicine, and the Hippocratic Oath is admired throughout the medical profession as a founding statement of ethics and ideals. In the fifth century BC, Greeks even wrote of medicine as a newly discovered craft they had invented.

Robin Lane Fox's remarkable book, The Invention of Medicine, puts their invention of medicine in a wider context, from the epic poems of Homer to the first doctors known to have been active in the Greek world. He examines what we do and do not know about Hippocrates and his Oath, and the many writings that survive under his name.

He then focuses on seven core texts which give the case histories of named individuals, showing that books 1 and 3 belong far earlier than previously recognised. Their re-dating has important consequences for the medical awareness of the great Greek dramatists and the historians Herodotus and Thucydides. Robin Lane Fox pieces together the doctor's thinking from his terse observations and relates it in a new way to the history of Greek prose and ideas.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

The Invention of Medicine by Robin Lane Fox is praised for offering a vivid exploration of ancient Greek medicine, bringing to life the historical context of the fifth century BC. Critics highlight the author's engaging narrative style, which combines wit and scholarly insight, making complex historical details accessible to a wide audience. The book is noted for its groundbreaking analysis, suggesting that some medical observations traditionally attributed to Hippocrates may have influenced the likes of Thucydides, presenting a fresh, compelling revision of the origins of Greek medicine.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780141983967

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 07 July 2022

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Penguin Books Ltd

Audience: General / adult, Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 24.0mm

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 326g

Pages: 432

About the Author

Robin Lane Fox is Emeritus Fellow of New College, Oxford, and taught Ancient History at Oxford University from 1977 to 2014. He is the author of Pagans and Christians (1986), The Unauthorized Version (1992) and many books on classical history, all of which have been widely translated, including Alexander the Great (1973), The Classical World (2005), Travelling Heroes (2008) and Augustine- Conversions to Confessions (2015), which won the Wolfson Prize for History. He has been the gardening correspondent of the Financial Times since 1970.

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