Old Recipes, New Practice? The Latin Adaptations of the Hippocratic Gynaecological Treatises

There were two main gynaecological traditions in the early Middle Ages: the Soranic and Hippocratic traditions. This article focuses on the latter tradition, which was based on the translations into Latin of the Greek treatises Diseases of Women I and II. These translations, referred to here as Latin Diseases of Women and On the Diverse Afflictions of Women, contain a wealth of recipes, which are examined in detail. I ask whether recipes that had been first written down in the fifth century BC could still form the basis of gynaecological practice in the Middle Ages, and whether the act of translation transformed medical practice

Identifying the connection between Roman Conceptions of ‘Pure Air’ and Physical and Mental Health in Pompeian Gardens (c. 150 BC-AD 79): A Multi-Sensory Approach to Ancient Medicine

Different genres of Roman literature commented on the relationship between the condition of the environment and physical and mental health. They often refer to clear, pure, or good air as a beneficial aspect of the environment. Yet, unlike fetid air, they provide few descriptions of what constituted healthy air quality. Moreover, aside from pointing out the association between the environment and bodily condition, the writers also did not explain precisely how the link between the two was made. This paper utilizes a comparative study of ancient literature and the archaeological remains of Roman gardens in Pompeii: archaeobotanical samples, fresco paintings, location, and surviving features. Three questions are addressed in this study: First, how did the Romans identify and define pure? Second, how did air connect to the body? Third, what were the qualities of pure air and how did they benefit the body? Not only was inhalation a means of linking air to the body, but the two were also related through sensory perception. I argue that sight, sound, and olfaction were used to identify the qualities of pure air. Through the sensory process of identification, the beneficial properties of pure air were, in accordance with ancient perceptions of sensory function, taken into the body and affected health. Thus, sensory perception acted as the bridge between the environment and health