Hippocrates' Woman - Reading the Female Body in Ancient Greece (Hardcover)

In ancient Greece, gynaecology originated in the myth of the first woman Pandora, whose beautiful appearance was seen to cover her dangerous "insides". This book demonstrates how ancient Greek healers read the signs offered by their patients' bodies, arguing that medicine was based on ideas about women and their bodies found in myth and ritual. Helen King deploys a wide range of comparative material from the social sciences to discuss religious healing, chronic pain and the creation of a powerful self-image by aspiring healers. She outlines how nursing and midwifery have tried to create their own versions of the ancient Greek past to give themselves great status, and presents a detailed account of how doctors twisted ancient Greek texts into ways of controlling women's behaviour. Finally she analyzes how later medicine, by diagnosing "hysteria" and by recommending practices such as clitoridectomy, gave its decisions authority by claiming ancient Greek origins which never existed. The text provides an insight into the origins of gynaecology and the influence of the early study and medical texts on later medical practices and theories up to the Victorian era.

General

Imprint:	Routledge
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Release date:	October 1998
First published:	1998
Authors:	Helen King
Dimensions:	234 x 156 x 23mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Hardcover
Pages:	344
ISBN-13:	978-0-415-13894-9
Categories:	Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Myths & mythology Books > Humanities > History > World history > BCE to 500 CE Books > Humanities > History > European history > General Books > Medicine > Clinical & internal medicine > Gynaecology & obstetrics > General Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Gender studies > Women's studies > General Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Social institutions > Customs & folklore > Folklore Books > History > European history > General Books > History > World history > BCE to 500 CE Books > Religion & Spirituality > Myths & mythology
LSN:	0-415-13894-9
Barcode:	9780415138949

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