Galen is undoubtedly one of the most important founders of medical science. His vast and diverse body of work that has been preserved represents a tremendous reservoir of scientific knowledge, discoveries, and observations.
Moreover, his work was highly acclaimed and influential, and it had a profound impact on shaping Medieval Medicine, Islamic medicine, and Jewish medicine, while also significantly influencing Renaissance medicine, the Enlightenment, and modern times.
The reception and utilization of his work by later scholars, together with the work of the father of Medicine, Hippocrates, formed the core foundation of health sciences during the following centuries. Even today, almost everyone recognizes their essential and fundamental contribution to related sciences, often referring back to their valuable writings.
This particular book by the editions of "Zitros" offers, after a detailed and well-documented overview of the history of Ancient Greek Medicine, an accessible presentation of Galen, his work, the fields he was involved in, his reception and application in Byzantium, as well as his presence in post-Byzantine and modern times. It presents in a very approachable manner, for both the general readership and specialists, two exceptional and engaging texts by the distinguished parchment-medical philosopher.
These texts are addressed to young people considering studying Medicine: the "Encouraging Discourse on the Medical Science" and his substantial treatise "That the Best Physician is Also a Philosopher," with a vivid Modern Greek translation, detailed commentary, and extensive bibliographical grounding.
In his first work, Galen advocates engaging in Medicine after first comparing it with other arts and concluding its superiority, while in the second, focusing on the relationship between medicine and philosophy, he presents the image of the ideal physician-philosopher, who, in addition to strong scientific training, should also embody certain philosophical traits and virtues that will significantly contribute to achieving the ultimate goal of medical science.
The introduction, translation, and commentary were carried out by the award-winning translator and author, philologist and postdoctoral researcher at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Mr. Petros K. Vlachakos, while the book is prefaced by the surgical doctor, postgraduate trained in Geneva, Switzerland, and Member of Parliament for Lakonia, Mr. Neoklis D. Kritikos.
