Philotas of Amphissa ( el, Φιλώτας) was a physician of the 1st century BC.

Biography

He studied at

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

, and was in that city at the same time with the

triumvir A triumvirate ( la, triumvirātus) or a triarchy is a political institution ruled or dominated by three individuals, known as triumvirs ( la, triumviri). The arrangement can be formal or informal. Though the three leaders in a triumvirate are ...

Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the au ...

, of whose profusion and extravagance he was an eye-witness. He became acquainted with the triumvir's son

Antyllus Antyllus ( grc, Ἄντυλλος) was a Greek surgeon, who lived in the 2nd century AD in Rome. He is most notable for his method of treatment of aneurysms. He described the types of aneurysms, and created a taxonomy related to the lesions' poten ...

, with whom he sometimes supped, about 30 BC. On one occasion, when a certain physician had been annoying the company by his logical sophisms and forward behaviour, Philotas silenced him at last with the following syllogism: ''Cold water is to be given in a certain fever; but every one who has a fever has a certain fever; therefore cold water is to be given in all fevers''; which so pleased Antyllus, who was at table, that he pointed to a

sideboard A sideboard, also called a buffet, is an item of furniture traditionally used in the dining room for serving food, for displaying serving dishes, and for storage. It usually consists of a set of cabinets, or cupboards, and one or more drawers ...

covered with large goblets, and said: ''I give you all these, Philotas''. As Antyllus was quite a lad at that time, Philotas scrupled to accept such a gift, but was encouraged to do so by one of the attendants, who asked him if he did not know that the giver was a son of the triumvir Antonius, and that he had full power to make such presents. He may perhaps be the same physician, of whose medical formulae one is quoted by

Aulus Cornelius Celsus Aulus Cornelius Celsus ( 25 BC 50 AD) was a Roman encyclopaedist, known for his extant medical work, ''De Medicina'', which is believed to be the only surviving section of a much larger encyclopedia. The ''De Medicina'' is a primary source on ...

and

Asclepiades Pharmacion Asclepiades Pharmacion or Asclepiades Junior ( el, Ἀσκληπιάδης; fl. 1st–2nd century) was a Greek physician. He is believed to have lived at the end of the 1st or the beginning of the 2nd century AD, as he quotes Andromachus, Diosc ...

, and who must have lived in or before the 1st century BC.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Philotas (Physician) 1st-century BC Greek physicians Locrians