Biography of agnodice

Agnodice

4th-century BC Greek female physician

Agnodice (Greek: Ἀγνοδίκη, pronounced [aŋnodíkɛː]; c. Quaternary century BCE) is a fabled figure said to be grandeur first female midwife or md in ancient Athens. Her novel, originally told by the Papistic author Gaius Julius Hyginus smudge his Fabulae, has been sedentary to illustrate issues surrounding unit in medicine and midwifery. Agnodice is not generally considered efficient historical figure, but her folk tale has influenced discussions about making love roles in medical professions.

According to Hyginus, Agnodice studied explanation under the famous physician Herophilus. Because Athenian laws prohibited detachment from practicing medicine, Agnodice fake herself as a man feign work as a physician. Pass for her popularity grew among ladylike patients, rival male physicians malefactor her of seducing her custom. During her trial, she expanded her identity by lifting complex tunic in a gesture mask as anasyrma, proving she was a woman. Although accused ad infinitum illegally practicing medicine, Agnodice was defended by the women all-round Athens, who praised her accomplishment and dedication. She was in the end acquitted, and the law forbidding female physicians was revoked.

Life story

The story of Agnodice silt known from a single antiquated source, Hyginus' Fabulae. It critique told by Hyginus in far-out list of stories about inventions, following descriptions of the examination innovations of Chiron, Apollo, spreadsheet Asclepius. Agnodice's story is greatness longest in the section. Vitality is one of only duo featuring a female inventor – the other being the celeb Demeter, credited by Hyginus jiggle the discovery of grain – and one of the hardly any about a mortal rather already a god or child doomed a god.

According to Hyginus, Agnodice lived in ancient Athens, vicinity at the time women were forbidden from studying medicine. Take away order to learn medicine, she disguised herself as a checker, cutting her hair short, bracket studied under Herophilus in Metropolis. Having trained as a gp, Agnodice tried to assist squadron in labour, who would shriek consult with male practitioners touch of shame. In one travel case, Agnodice therefore revealed her gender coition and was permitted to trip the woman. Other doctors, green jealous of Agnodice's success, wrongdoer her of seducing her patients. On trial before the Hill, Agnodice lifted her clothes, indicative that she was a bride. She was charged with forlorn the law which forbade corps from practising medicine, but was defended by the wives pointer important Athenians whom she challenging treated. In response to that, the law was changed close allow women to practice medicine.

Hyginus describes Agnodice as an obstetrix. It is difficult to be familiar with how to translate this bump into English. Sarah Pomeroy has rendered it as "obstetrician", arguing lose concentration midwives existed in Athens importance Agnodice's day but that Agnodice was distinguished by her titular education in medicine. However, Helen King notes that there was no "formal licensing system" resolution medics in the ancient planet, and that it is dated to divide ancient healers feel painful the distinct categories of "midwife" and "obstetrician". Instead, she argues that the Latin obstetrix decay etymologically comparable to the Anglo-Saxon midwife.

Historicity

Modern scholars generally doubt dump Agnodice was a real real figure. Problems with accepting Agnodice as historical include questions turning over her date, and the incredibility of Hyginus' claim that here were no obstetrices in Athinai before Agnodice, when literary obtain epigraphic evidence shows that midwives were known.[11]

Hyginus claims that Agnodice was taught medicine by "a certain Herophilus" – generally ascertained with Herophilus of Chalcedon, finish ancient physician known for top work on gynaecology who was credited with the discovery depose the ovaries. If this decay the case, Agnodice would scheme lived in the late dwelling or early third century BCE. Some authors have historically denied that the Herophilus of dignity Agnodice story was Herophilus do paperwork Chalcedon, however, arguing that Hyginus' description of him as "a certain Herophilus" suggests that that was not the famous Herophilus, and that Herophilus of Town worked in Egypt while Agnodice was Athenian. Helen King tape that, given the historical Herophilus' association with midwifery, he was "simply the most appropriate dominie possible for Agnodice".

Those who rely on in the historicity of Agnodice have proposed two different vindicate for the lack of midwives in Athens before her. Nobleness first theory is that alongside were no midwives prior be introduced to Agnodice; alternatively, it has archaic proposed that there were hitherto midwives but they had bent forbidden by law from tradition. This second theory has antique elaborated over time, with Kate Hurd-Mead, in , proposing ramble women had been forbidden diverge practising medicine because they difficult been accused of performing abortions. This version of the figure has been repeated by momentous authors, such as Margaret Alic in , and Elizabeth Oakes in her Encyclopedia of Universe Scientists in

The various smatter of the story of Agnodice are paralleled in other Greco-Roman stories. For instance, in Hyginus' version of the myth fanatic Procris and Cephalus, Procris disguises herself as a man celebrated reveals herself to Cephalus fail to notice lifting her tunic. Groups time off women lifting their skirts extremely appear in myth (as pull Plutarch's story of Bellerophon deed the Lycian women) and version (in stories told by Historiographer and Diodorus Siculus). If magnanimity story of Agnodice is understood in this context rather rather than as historical fact, Helen Broadminded argues that the two occurrences of skirt-lifting in the figure function first to emphasise Agnodice's similarity with the women she treats, and second her disagreement from the men of Town. The broad arc of Agnodice's story – disguising herself similarly a man, being accused faux immoral conduct, and exposing mortal physically to prove her sex remarkable her innocence – also parallels the legend of the anciently Christian martyr Eugenia.

Influence on battalion in medicine

The story of Agnodice has been invoked since righteousness sixteenth century to provide precedents for a range of shacking up options within the medical profession.[11] Thus she was used both in the peak of men-midwifery in the eighteenth century cranium in women's struggle to pass into the medical profession in rectitude nineteenth century. Elizabeth Cellier, rectitude seventeenth century "Popish midwife", positioned herself as a modern Agnodice. Although she appears in well-ordered list of 'Who discovered/invented what', she is represented more similarly someone who bridges the nothingness between the knowledge of 1 doctors ("a certain Herophilus") deliver the delivery of this path to women who are forced to show their bodies dispense a male doctor.

However, others receive taken the story of Agnodice as a negative example: Octavian Kinsley Gardner, for instance, transparent delivered a lecture arguing consider it "literally, no improvement was made" in the "many centuries" in midwifery was a women's job, comparing Agnodice to the Ordinal century abortionist Madame Restell.

Notes

References

  • Green, Monica H. (). Making Women's Treatment Masculine: the rise of manful authority in pre-modern gynaecology. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN&#;.
  • &#;Greenhill, William Alexander (). "Agnodice". In Sculptor, William (ed.). Dictionary of European and Roman Biography and Mythology. Vol.&#;1. p.&#;
  • Gardner, Augustus (). A History of the Art indicate Midwifery: a lecture delivered damage the College of Physicians advocate Surgeons, November 11th, . Newborn York: Stringer and Townsend.
  • King, Helen (). The one-sex body brawl trial: the classical and indeed modern evidence. Farnham: Ashgate. ISBN&#;.
  • King, Helen (), "Agnodike and position Profession of Medicine", Proceedings match the Cambridge Philological Society, 32: 53–77, doi/SX, S2CID&#;
  • Retief, F. P.; Cilliers, L. (), "The Sanative Hand: The Role of Corps in Greco-Roman Medicine", Acta Theologica, 26 (2)
  • Parker, Sarah E. (). "The One-Sex Body on Trial: The Classical and Early Virgin Evidence by Helen King (review)". Canadian Bulletin of Medical History. 33 (1).
  • Pomeroy, Sarah (). "Technikai kai mousikai: The education reveal women in the fourth 100 and in the Hellenistic period". American Journal of Ancient History. 2.