Time and Ancient Medicine: How Sundials and Water Clocks Changed Medical Science

Time and Ancient Medicine is the first monograph to explore how the introduction of new timekeeping technologies affected the practice, rhetoric, and philosophy of ancient medicine. It offers a chronological narrative of how timekeeping technologies and medical practices evolved and influenced one another in ancient Greece and Rome, with consideration of relevant Pharaonic Egyptian and Assyro-Babylonian precedents. Kassandra J. Miller investigates thematic questions through a series of case studies, drawing from the Roman Imperial period. The study reveals that time and timekeeping played fundamental roles in ancient medical debates and practices and challenges the traditional narrative that the social history of “clock time” only begins with the invention of the mechanical clock in the Medieval period.

Format: Hardback
Length: 256 pages
Publication date: 07 September 2023
Publisher: Oxford University Press

Time and Ancient Medicine is a groundbreaking monograph that delves into the intricate interplay between the introduction of new timekeeping technologies, such as sundials and water clocks, and the practice, rhetoric, and philosophy of ancient medicine. It explores, on the one hand, how these technological advancements influenced the understanding and treatment of illness in ancient Greece and Rome, and on the other hand, how medical timekeeping practices impacted broader societal engagements with time.

The study aims to provide a comprehensive chronological narrative of how timekeeping technologies and medical practices evolved and interacted in ancient Greece and Rome, taking into account relevant precedents from Pharaonic Egypt and Assyro-Babylonian civilizations. Kassandra J. Miller employs a series of case studies drawn from the Roman Imperial period to investigate thematic questions related to medical timekeeping. These case studies examine how debates over medical timekeeping intersected with discussions about proper scientific methodology, the status of medicine as a formal art, and the relationships between medicine and other disciplines such as mathematics, astronomy, and astrology.

Throughout the study, Miller places epigraphic, artistic, and other material evidence for hourly timekeeping in dialogue with selections from medical literature, some of which have not previously been published in modern-language translation. This approach allows for a rich and nuanced understanding of the historical context in which ancient medical debates and practices took place.

The findings of this study reveal that time and timekeeping played fundamental roles in ancient medical debates and practices. It challenges the traditional narrative that the social history of "clock time" only begins with the invention of the mechanical clock in the Medieval period. Instead, it offers new insights into the specific ways that physicians of the ancient Mediterranean engaged with their evolving temporal landscapes. It raises questions about the relationships between time and medicine in the modern day and encourages us to reevaluate our understanding of these interconnections.

In conclusion, Time and Ancient Medicine is a groundbreaking work that sheds light on the complex relationship between time, medicine, and society in ancient times. It provides a valuable contribution to the field of ancient history and offers insights that can be applied to our contemporary understanding of time and health.

Weight: 538g
Dimension: 240 x 164 x 20 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780198885177