Hippiatrica
The Hippiatrica (Greek: Ἱππιατρικά) is a Byzantine compilation of ancient Greek writings, or texts, focused on the care and healing of horses.[1] The texts were probably compiled in the 5th or 6th century AD by an unknown editor.[1]
Contents
The writings of seven authors from Late Antiquity make up the main parts of the Hippiatrica: 1) the veterinary manuals of Apsyrtus, 2) Eumelus (a veterinarian in Thebes, Greece[2]), 3) Hierocles, 4) Hippocrates, 5) Theomnestus, 6) Pelagonius's Latin text translated into Greek, and 7) the chapter on horses from Anatolius's text on agriculture.[3] The seven authors allude to the classical Greek veterinarians Xenophon and Simon of Athens.[3] They were also influenced by Hellenistic agricultural literature based on Mago of Carthage.[3] In the 10th century AD, two more writings from Late Antiquity were added to the Hippiatrica: a work by Tiberius and an anonymous set of Prognoses and Remedies (Greek: Προγνώσεις καὶ ἰάσεις).[4] The contents of the Hippiatrica focus on practical treatment rather than on medical theory.[5] Also, the texts in the Hippiatrica come in different styles: proverbs, poetry, incantations, letters, instructions, prooimia, medical definitions, recipes, and reminiscences.[6] Cheiron, the Greek centaur connected to healing and veterinary medicine, appears twice in the Hippiatrica and a cure called a cheironeion (Greek: χειρώνειον) is named after the mythological creature.[7]
References
Citations
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 McCabe 2007, p. 1.
- ↑ Karasszon 1988, p. 115.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 McCabe 2007, p. 13.
- ↑ McCabe 2007, pp. 13–14.
- ↑ McCabe 2007, p. 15.
- ↑ McCabe 2007, p. 14.
- ↑ McCabe 2007, pp. 10–11.
Sources
- McCabe, Anne (2007). A Byzantine Encyclopaedia of Horse Medicine: The Sources, Compilation, and Transmission of the Hippiatrica. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-153510-9.
- Karasszon, Dénes (1988). A Concise History of Veterinary Medicine. Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó. ISBN 978-9-63-054610-2.
Further reading
- Lazaris, Stavros (2010). Art et science vétérinaire à Byzance: Formes et fonctions de l'image hippiatrique. Turnhout: Brepols. ISBN 978-2-503-53446-6.
- Lazaris, Stavros (2015). "Learning and Memorising Hippiatric Knowledge in Late Antiquity and in Byzantium". Le cheval dans la culture médiévale: 269–294.