The Fragments of Asclepiades of Bithynia. (360G-Wellcome-091617_Z_10_Z)

The proposed project will provide the essential scholarly foundation for answering the research questions asked, namely a critical edition of all the fragments and testimonia relating to Asclepiades of Bithynia and the subsequent members of his medical sect, a collection which has long been recognized as an urgent desideratum (e.g. by van der Eijk (2001), 6; Rawson (1982), 370; Schrijvers (1976), 253 n. 35). The edited fragments will be accompanied by translation and full exegesis, in the form o f both interpretative, contextualizing essays and line-by-line commentary. Heinrich von Staden s Herophilus: The Art of Medicine in Early Alexandria (Cambridge 1989) is at present conceived of as the closest model for the projected publication. At this early stage, it is envisaged that the fragments will be arranged under seven general headings, each to be accompanied by an interpretative essay: (1) Life and Works; (2) Theory of Matter; (3) Epistemology, Theory of Sensation, Psychology; (4) Phys iology; (5) Pathology; (6) Therapeutics; (7) The Asclepiadean Sect. This will also constitute the first comprehensive study of Asclepiades life and thought, the development of his medical sect, and the long-term significance of his theories.