Overview
The modern world is fascinated by diet and the effect it can have on health, with advice abounding on what we should or should not eat. This preoccupation was also very much a feature of the ancient world, at least among those who could afford the time and money to listen to the advice of a doctor. At the apogee of ancient medical advances stood Galen (AD 129-c.AD 210), once the personal physician to the emperor Marcus Aurelius. A prolific writer, amongst his surviving works is what he believed to be the definitive guide to a healthy diet, based on the theory of the four humours. In these treatises Galen sets out this theory, which was to be profoundly influential on medicine for many centuries, and describes in fascinating detail the effects on health of a vast range of foods, from lettuce, lard, and fish, to peaches, pickles and hyacinths. Galen On Food and Diet makes all these texts available in English for the first time, and provides many captivating insights into the ancient understanding of food and health. With clear, elegant translations, supported by a lucid introduction, helpful notes, and an extensive bibliography, this volume is an invaluable resource for classicists, ancient historians and all those interested in the history of food.
Full Product Details
Author: Mark Grant
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd
Imprint: Routledge
Dimensions:
Width: 15.60cm
, Height: 1.20cm
, Length: 23.40cm
Weight: 0.380kg
ISBN: 9780415232333
ISBN 10: 0415232333
Pages: 224
Publication Date: 11 September 2000
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Tertiary & Higher Education
,
Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: In Print
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Reviews
` This is a book to be dipped into periodically with equal measure of delight, disgust and surprise inspiring us to think about changes in our tastes and dispositions about diet through the ages. - Ron Iphofen, University of Wales, Bangor, Medical Sociology News, December 2001 'Anyone interested in the classics, in food, the history of medicine and health will find this book as fascinating as I did.' - Ron Iphofen, Medical Sociology News
` This is a book to be dipped into periodically with equal measure of delight, disgust and surprise inspiring us to think about changes in our tastes and dispositions about diet through the ages. - Ron Iphofen, University of Wales, Bangor, Medical Sociology News, December 2001 'Anyone interested in the classics, in food, the history of medicine and health will find this book as fascinating as I did.' - Ron Iphofen, Medical Sociology News
