The ‘Hippocratic’ Corpus - Softcover

Craik, Elizabeth

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1138021717 ISBN 13: 9781138021716

Publisher: Routledge, 2014

Synopsis

The Hippocratic Corpus comprises some sixty medical works of varying length, style and content. Collectively, this is the largest surviving body of early Greek prose. As such, it is an invaluable resource for scholars and students not only of ancient medicine but also of Greek life in general.

Hippocrates lived in the age of Socrates and most of the treatises seem to originate in the classical period. There is, however, no consensus on Hippocratic attribution. The ‘Hippocratic’ Corpus examines the works individually under the broad headings:

• content - each work is summarised for the reader
• comment - the substance and style of each work is discussed
• context is provided not just in relation to the corpus as a whole but also to the work’s wider relevance.

Whereas the scholar or student approaching, say, Euripides or Herodotus has a wealth of books available to provide introduction and orientation, no such study has existed for the Hippocratic Corpus. As The ‘Hippocratic’ Corpus has a substantial introduction, and as each work is summarised for the reader, it facilitates use and exploration of an important body of evidence by all interested in Greek medicine and society.

Elizabeth Craik is Honorary Professor at University of St Andrews and Visiting Professor at University of Newcastle, UK.

About this title

Review

"Craik’s glossary is praiseworthy for the way that it connects Greek terms consistently with English equivalents, when such translation contributes to clarity of concept. The ‘Hippocratic’ Corpus: Content and Context is a much-needed text, and Craik achieves her goal of providing simultaneously a general introduction and a reference work. This concise and comprehensive book is a useful tool both for those interested in learning more about the ‘Hippocratic’ Corpus and its component parts, and for scholars investigating research questions." - by Katherine D. van Schaik, Harvard University, BMCR

Edition details

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1138021717
• ISBN 13: 9781138021716
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 344