Read more
Informationen zum Autor Markham J. Geller is Professor of Semitic Languages at University College London and Guest Professor at the Freie Universität Berlin. He is the author of Evil Demons: Canonical Utukku Lemnutu Incantations (2007) and co-editor of Disease in Babylo-nia (2007)and Imagining Creation (2008). Klappentext Even in the twenty-first century, medicine remains something of a mystery. In a few significant areas we are hardly better informed than ancient and medieval practitioners. Yet when the topic of ancient medicine is broached, too often the tendency is to dismiss it solely as the product of ignorance and superstition. By delving into the way medicine was actually practiced by various Babylonian professionals of the second and first millennium, Ancient Babylonian Medicine: Theory and Practice shatters some of our preconceived notions about ancient medicine. Through the use of a great variety of extant cuneiform tablets ? many previously unknown ? noted Assyriologist and ancient-language expert Markham J. Geller reveals the rich legacy of Babylonian healing techniques. Challenging the traditional view of ancient medicine that rigidly distinguishes between science and superstition, Geller shows how ancient healing methods and strategies embodied a vastly more complex relationship between medicine and magic. He theorizes that when viewed from the perspective of a patient concerned only with the efficacy of treatment, medicine and magic were simply dual approaches to healing. Geller also examines basic therapeutic concepts, utilizing medical commentaries ascribed to physician-scribes among Babylonian scholars ? a source not previously researched. Original and provocative, Ancient Babylonian Medicine: Theory and Practice offers startling new insights into the dark and distant roots of modern medicine. Zusammenfassung Utilizing a great variety of previously unknown cuneiform tablets, Ancient Babylonian Medicine: Theory and Practice examines the way medicine was practiced by various Babylonian professionals of the 2nd and 1st millennium B.C. Inhaltsverzeichnis List of Illustrations viii List of Abbreviations x Acknowledgments xii Introduction to Babylonian Medicine and Magic 1 1 Medicine as Science 11 2 Who Did What to Whom? 43 3 The Politics of Medicine 56 4 Medicine as Literature 89 5 Medicine and Philosophy 118 6 Medical Training: MD or PhD? 130 7 Uruk Medical Commentaries 141 8 Medicine and Magic as Independent Approaches to Healing 161 Appendix: An Edition of a Medical Commentary 168 Notes 177 References 202 Subject Index 211 Selective Index of Akkadian and Greek Words 217 Index of Akkadian Personal Names 220 ...
List of contents
List of Illustrations.
List of Abbreviations.
Acknowledgments.
Introduction to Babylonian Medicine and Magic.
1 Medicine as Science.
2 Who Did What to Whom?
3 The Politics of Medicine.
4 Medicine as Literature.
5 Medicine and Philosophy.
6 Medical Training: MD or PhD?
7 Uruk Medical Commentaries.
8 Medicine and Magic as Independent Approaches to Healing.
Appendix: An Edition of a Medical Commentary.
Notes.
References.
Subject Index.
Selective Index of Akkadian and Greek Words.
Index of Akkadian Personal Names.
Report
"Ancient Babylonian Medicineis an important andfascinating book which not only provides a much needed introductionto the theory and practice of medicine in ancient Mesopotamia butalso makes a significant contribution to the study of ancientMesopotamian scholarship. It is clearly and elegantly written,nicely illustrated, and well produced." ( Aestimatio , 1 June 2013)
"This book is a rare achievement: as a scholarly work, it providesan important addition to the history of medicine; for the generalreader, it is a fascinating introduction to the theory and practiceof medicine in Mesopotamian society." (Antiquity Reviews, 2011)
"In sum, Geller has written a remarkably useful and thoughtfulvolume on what is an elusive topic. Assyriologists and historiansof medicine will gain much from reading this work and it willcertainly become required reading for the discipline." (Bryn MawrClassical Review, 19 August 2011)
"Markham J. Geller brings a welcome, dual expertise now ratherrare in medical history (he is an MD as well as a Rabbi andProfessor of Semitic Languages), and some of his previous studiesof Talmudic texts led him to the discovery of medical loan-wordsthat turned out to be embedded Akka-dian dating from the periodknown as the "Babylonian Captivity". (Times Literary Supplement, 21January 2011)
"He appends a commentary probably composed by the Uruk scholarIqisa, who flourished in the latter part of the fourth century BC;the transcription, and possibly the translation, is from a 1924edition by Campbell Thompson." ( SciTech Book News , December2010)
