Galen - Herbal history notes
SLIDE 1: Galen’s background
Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus was born in 129 AD in Pergamon, which is now in modern day Turkey. His father was a wealthy architect who had invested much in the education of his only son so that he might follow the conventional path of philosophy or politics. However, following a dream in which he was spoken to by the God Asclepius, he instructed his son to study medicine. Little was he to know that he would come to be known as one of the greatest physicians in antiquity and his legacy would extend into the next millennia.
In times of antiquity, the word of the gods was believed to be revealed through a person’s dreams. Asclepius was the god of medicine in Ancient Greek mythology and healing spas and temples were built in his name. Pergamon had its own
…show more content…
Disease was a result of either the compaction or flux, dispersal of atoms. They too rejected the study of medical tradition and also anatomy
Dogmatists – they held traditional theories of causation and deductive reasoning. Some of Galen’s main tutors were Dogmatists and his methodology shows much of their influence though the man himself did not align himself to them.
Galen was keen to always remain outside of these categories though he was not slow in criticising and challenging such beliefs – often shaming his contemporaries and adversaries with his incredible knowledge of the body and anatomy. His methods also differed – his intimate observation of the patient, drawn from his own studies as well as his readings, led to his prognosis and whilst he was a devotee of Asclepius, he did not believe in magical practice. He saw no contradiction in the prophetic role of the gods within dreams. He sought to understand the reason behind disease, based on humoral theory that he further developed. The grounding for all this was however the work of those that had preceded