The Epidaurian Iamata: The first “Court of Miracles”?
Résumé
The structure of the iamata, formulated by the numerous Asclepieian sanctuaries, reflects fourth century BC societal structures where several medical systems coexist, such as therapy, based on a “scientific” study, and divine medicine marked by empiricism and, sometimes, deriving from magic. Thus, the narratives involve considerations on diseases or clinical details about health care for patients. What is more, the syntactic form and terminology also glorify divine efficiency. Between techne and thauma, the aim of this paper is to explain how the polyphony of the iamata can put a therapeutic action at the service of the extraordinary and the miracle, turning rational medicine into a propaganda tool of the divine.
Domaines
Etudes classiques
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