ABSTRACT
This book has covered the whole span of medicine in Greek and Roman Antiquity, from its earliest written records until the seventh century of the Christian era. It has taken a broad view of what medicine was and how it was practised, trying above all to set it within a context of other developments in ancient society. Such a project could be extended almost indefinitely in a whole series of volumes, but this study has chosen to emphasise three aspects of ancient medicine that provide complementary reasons why one should take an interest in the medical world of so distant a past: its place in the development of Western medicine in general; its continuing influence on modern preconceptions about health and healing; and the diversity of ancient medical practice.
