Pedanius Dioscorides

Athina Malapani (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens)

Ed. by Sophia Papaioannou, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.1.2: Ancient Roman Writing and Culture (Republic and Empire), -750-476.
Vol. editors: William John Dominik (University of Otago), Giacomo Fedeli (University of Exeter), Victoria Fendel (University of Oxford), Thomas Habinek (University of Southern California), Emily Kneebone (University of Nottingham), Elodie Paillard (University of Sydney), Sophia Papaioannou (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens), Jula Wildberger (American University of Paris)

Dates

Born c. 40
Died c. 90
Activity c. 70-c. 90

Places

Born in Turkey
Active in Ancient Greece; Ancient Rome (Republic & Empire)

Activities

Primary

Botanist
Physician/ Doctor

Resources

Dioscorides' Works

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Biography

Although history does not record a time when man did not employ herbs for treatment, the history of ancient pharmacology has been largely neglected, until well into the twentieth century (Koppanyi 1935: 316). Pedanius Dioscorides (ca. AD 50-70) was the first who tried to put together a scientific study of certain medical substances and produce what would become for centuries the standard work of pharmacology, a study of five books, Materia Medica (Koppanyi 1935: 36; Elliot 1914: 88; King 2001: 50). Many prescriptions recorded in his work were already known, and most of them were not written by specialized doctors; still, they formed the basis for Dioscorides’ work (King 2001: 50).

Although history does not record a time when man did not employ herbs for treatment, the history of…

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1558 words

Citation: Malapani, Athina. "Pedanius Dioscorides". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 26 October 2015 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=13619, accessed 31 October 2024.]