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Real cure and imaginary cure (1)

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05 Scientific knowledge and scholarly lore



 		Keywords
Greece
medicine
Period
4th century BCE
Hellenistic Empires 		Channel
Hellenistic poets

Text
References to magic circles, fumigation and sprinkling of the patient can all be found in the Akkadian Šurpu rituals.

Menander, Phasma 50-56:
What do I suggest you do? If there had really been anything wrong with you, then you’d have had to look for a real cure. But there isn’t. Find an imaginary cure for your imaginary disease and persuade yourself that it is doing you some good. Get the woman to wipe you round in a circle and fumigate you. Sprinkle yourself with water drawn from three springs, with salt and lentils added.

Source (list of abbreviations)
Menander, Phasma 50-56

Bibliography

Geller 2001-2002, 56Geller, Mark J. “West Meets East. Early Greek and Babylonian Diagnosis.” Archiv für Orientforschung 48/49 (2001-2002) 50-75.

Amar Annus


URL for this entry: http://www.aakkl.helsinki.fi/melammu/database/gen_html/a0000993.php

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