Galen's Treatise περὶ ἀλυπίας (De indolentia) in Context: A tale of resilience, edited by Dr. Caroline Petit, Brill, 2019

In 193 AD, Galen of Pergamum, physician to the emperors, discloses crucial information in a letter to an unnamed friend. This long-lost text was rediscovered in 2005 by a then PhD student, and has since generated more literature than any other Galen text. In the wake of Vivian Nutton's authoritative translation (2013), this collection of essays addresses some of the many facets of the text, shedding new light on Galen, Rome, and the reign of Commodus.

Arising from a Wellcome-funded conference, the book is open access, courtesy of Brill and the Wellcome Trust.

Out in September 2018: Caroline Petit’s book, Galien de Pergame ou la rhétorique de la Providence: Médecine, littérature et pouvoir à Rome is the first comprehensive study of the role of rhetoric in Galen’s œuvre. Physician to several Roman emperors and author of the most impressive body of works in antiquity up to AD 350, Galen created a compelling figure of authority through his medical and philosophical works. The book analyses the range of Galen’s rhetorical mastery through five chapters, studying in turn Galen and the Hellenic tradition, Galen’s demonstrative and refutative tactics, the role of enargeia in Galen’s descriptions and narratives, his ‘hymn’ to Nature in his main anatomical work, De usu partium, and finally autobiography and self-portrait in his œuvre.

In this blog I reflect on Galen's ambivalent take on earlier works dealing with forbidden material, such as Xenocrates' treatise On animal parts.

https://www.medicineancientandmodern.com/2018/01/28/forbidden-material-galen-on-xenocrates-of-aphrodisias/

Read Annie Sharples' take on Iliad Book One and its ramifications toward ancient attitudes to disability here.

An international workshop at the BSR about Galen's treatise On simple drugs, its textual transmission and interpretation throughout the ages.

22 September, British School in Rome.

Organised by Dr. Caroline Petit, Dr. Matteo Martelli & Dr. Lucia Raggetti.