Routledge Galen: A Thinking Doctor in Imperial Rome (Routledge Ancient Biographies)

This volume offers a comprehensive biography of the Roman physician Galen, and explores his activities and ideas as a doctor and intellectual, as well as his reception in later centuries. Nutton’s wide-ranging study surveys Galen's early life and medical education, as well as his later career in Rome and his role as court physician for over forty years. It examines Galen's philosophical approach to medicine and the body, his practices of prognosis and dissection, and his ideas about preventative medicine and drugs. A final chapter explores the continuing impact of Galen's work in the centuries after his death, from his pre-eminence in Islamic medicine to his resurgence in Western medicine in the Renaissance, and his continuing impact through to the nineteenth century even after the discoveries of Vesalius and Harvey. Galen is the definitive biography this fascinating figure, written by the preeminent Galen scholar, and offers an invaluable resource for anyone interested in Galen and his work, and the history of medicine more broadly. Review "This book will be a point of reference for many a student of ancient medicine. With unparalleled erudition and style, Vivian Nutton takes us through the life and work of the great Galen, weaving together the biographical and detailed analysis of Galen’s thought and practice. What emerges is the towering picture of a unique individual in the history of thought. The contrasting afterlives of Galen, from ‘philosopher of the cosmos’ for medieval readers, to Renaissance Latin epigrams and disparaging comments by an old German philologist, bear witness to the unmatched life, career and achievements of the physician to Marcus Aurelius – this splendid book, too, pays hommage to Galen, whilst illustrating his most relentless student’s dedication, mastery and wit." - Caroline Petit, University of Warwick, UK "Only within the past few decades have students of antiquity come to understand just how rich and exciting Galen was, not only as a medical writer but as a keen and delightfully opinionated observer of Greco-Roman intellectual culture during the second century CE. With this new biography of Galen, Nutton introduces this feisty, polymathic Greek doctor and his voluminous writings to newcomers and seasoned scholars alike. Nutton’s elegant and lucid biography offers a lively portrayal of Galen’s medical practice, his professional rivalries, and his monumental contributions to the history of western medicine." - Ralph M. Rosen, University of Pennsylvania, USA "After a lifetime of study, Vivian Nutton understands Galen, his work and influence as well as anyone alive. He distils with clarity the scholarship Galen used, later Galenism and modern interpretations. This volume is a real eye-opener for historians across all periods, medical researchers and the general reader." - John Wilkins, University of Exeter, UK "This book will be a point of reference for many a student of ancient medicine. With unparalleled erudition and style, Vivian Nutton takes us through the life and work of the great Galen, weaving together the biographical and detailed analysis of Galen’s thought and practice. What emerges is the towering picture of a unique individual in the history of thought. The contrasting afterlives of Galen, from ‘philosopher of the cosmos’ for medieval readers, to Renaissance Latin epigrams and disparaging comments by an old German philologist, bear witness to the unmatched life, career and achievements of the physician to Marcus Aurelius – this splendid book, too, pays hommage to Galen, whilst illustrating his most relentless student’s dedication, mastery and wit." - Caroline Petit, University of Warwick, UK "Only within the past few decades have students of antiquity come to understand just how rich and exciting Galen was, not only as a medical writer but as a keen and delightfully opinionated observer of Greco-Roman intellectual culture during the second cent