Soranus of Ephesus (; 1st/2nd century AD) was a Greek physician. He was born in

Ephesus Ephesus (; ; ; may ultimately derive from ) was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia, in present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in the 10th century BC on the site of Apasa, the former Arzawan capital ...

but practiced in

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

and subsequently in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, and was one of the chief representatives of the

Methodic school The Methodic school (''Methodics'', ''Methodists'', or ''Methodici'', ) was a branch of medical thought in ancient Greece and Rome. It arose in reaction to both the Empiric school and the Dogmatic school (sometimes referred to as the Rationalist ...

of medicine. Several of his writings still survive, most notably his four-volume treatise on

gynecology Gynaecology or gynecology (see American and British English spelling differences) is the area of medicine concerned with conditions affecting the Female reproductive system, female reproductive system. It is often paired with the field of obste ...

, and a Latin translation of his ''On Acute and Chronic Diseases''.

Life

Little is known about the life of Soranus. According to the

Suda The ''Suda'' or ''Souda'' (; ; ) is a large 10th-century Byzantine Empire, Byzantine encyclopedia of the History of the Mediterranean region, ancient Mediterranean world, formerly attributed to an author called Soudas () or Souidas (). It is an ...

(which has two entries on him), he was a native of Ephesus, was the son of Menander and Phoebe, and practiced medicine at

and

in the reigns of

Trajan Trajan ( ; born Marcus Ulpius Traianus, 18 September 53) was a Roman emperor from AD 98 to 117, remembered as the second of the Five Good Emperors of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. He was a philanthropic ruler and a successful soldier ...

and

Hadrian Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...

(98–138). He lived at least as early as Archigenes, who used one of his medicines; he was tutor to Statilius Attalus of Heraclea, physician to

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus ( ; ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoicism, Stoic philosopher. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty, the last of the rulers later known as the Five Good Emperors ...

; and he was dead when

Galen Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus (; September 129 – AD), often Anglicization, anglicized as Galen () or Galen of Pergamon, was a Ancient Rome, Roman and Greeks, Greek physician, surgeon, and Philosophy, philosopher. Considered to be one o ...

wrote his work ''De Methodo Medendi'', c. 178. He belonged to the

, and was one of the most eminent physicians of that school. Little else is known about his life, except that he passed some time in Aquitania for the purpose of treating some skin diseases, which were very prevalent there at the time.

Works

His treatise ''Gynaecology'' is extant (first printed in 1838, later by V. Rose, i
1882
with a 6th-century Latin translation by one Muscio). Also extant are parts of treatises ''On Signs of Fractures'' and ''On Bandages''. Of his most important work (''On Acute and Chronic Diseases''), only a few fragments in Greek remain, but there exists a complete Latin translation by Caelius Aurelianus (5th century). The ''Life of

Hippocrates Hippocrates of Kos (; ; ), also known as Hippocrates II, was a Greek physician and philosopher of the Classical Greece, classical period who is considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history of medicine. He is traditionally referr ...

'' probably formed one of the collections of medical biographies by Soranus referred to in the Suda, and is valuable as the only authority for the life of the great physician, with the exception of articles in the Suda and in

Stephanus of Byzantium Stephanus or Stephen of Byzantium (; , ''Stéphanos Byzántios''; centuryAD) was a Byzantine grammarian and the author of an important geographical dictionary entitled ''Ethnica'' (). Only meagre fragments of the dictionary survive, but the epit ...

(s.v. ). The ''Introduction to the Science of Medicine'' is considered spurious. Besides these works, Soranus was the author of several others, of which only the titles and some fragments have been preserved. Galen mentions two works on ''Pharmacy'', from which he quotes some passages. Caelius Aurelianus quotes from several other works, and Soranus himself refers to many additional works which have not survived.

Tertullian Tertullian (; ; 155 – 220 AD) was a prolific Early Christianity, early Christian author from Roman Carthage, Carthage in the Africa (Roman province), Roman province of Africa. He was the first Christian author to produce an extensive co ...

quotes a work, ''De Anima'', in four books, in which Soranus divided the

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

into seven parts, and denied its immortality.Tertullian, ''De Anima'', c. 6 He is quoted by Paulus Aegineta, as being one of the earliest Greek medical writers who had described the

Guinea worm ''Dracunculus medinensis'' (Guinea worm, dragon worm, fiery serpent) is a nematode that causes dracunculiasis, also known as Guinea worm disease. The disease is caused by the female which, at around in length, is among the longest nematodes ...

; and he appears to have enjoyed a great reputation among the ancients, as

Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...

calls him "Medicinae auctor nobilissimus,"'Noblest author of remedies'; Augustine, ''Contra Iulianum'', v. 51 and Tertullian, "Methodicae Medicinae instructissimus auctor."

Notes

References

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Life

Works

See also

Notes

References

Further reading