Society, Medicine and Religion in the Sacred Tales of Aelius Aristides

Ido Israelowich, D.Phil. (2008) in Ancient History, University of Oxford, is a lecturer of Classics at Tel Aviv University. He has published on various aspects of the work of Aristides and on medicine in the Graeco-Roman World.

• Introduction2 Chapter one: Aelius Aristides and the Sacred Tales14 Introduction14 Section one: the composition of the Sacred Tales18 Date of composition:18 Method of composition20 Motives for composition24 Section two: The Sacred Tales as an autobiography32 Section three: the ancient readers of the Sacred Tales36 Section four: A narrative of redemption41 Conclusion48 Chapter two: Society, disease and medicine in the Sacred Tales of Aristides49 Introduction49 Section One - The Graeco-Roman health-care system53 Towards a definition of a medical discourse53 Medicine in the Graeco-Roman world58 Roman medicine and its Greek influences:75 Galen:83 * * *94 Dreams95 Section two: The sick, medicine and physicians in the world of the Sacred Tales116 I. The place of the sick in society117 II. Medical discourse in the Sacred Tales118 Medical authority:118 Medical praxis:123 Purgation:124 Pharmakon129 Dreams133 Medical procedures and the physicians:136 III. The physicians in the Sacred Tales139 Section Three: Towards a medical history of Aelius Aristides143 Falling ill146 Aristides and Asclepius153 Wider Contexts165 Conclusion179 Chapter three: Reconsidering private religions; religion and religious experience in the Sacred Tales of Aelius Aristides185 Introduction185 Section one: Theology190 Section two: The myth of Asclepius198 Section three: Divination, oracles and dreams211 Dreams217 Oracles222 Section four: Visual culture and social forms of cult-organisation226 Cult, festivals and games226 The power of images235 Conclusion246 Conclusion249 Bibliography261

"Insgesamt ist Israelowich [...] für seine Arbeit zu danken. Die Gesamtaussage, dass es sich bei den Hieroi Logoi um ein Kind seiner Zeit handelt und das Werk in weit größerem Maße als bisher gedacht die medizinischen wie auch religiösen Gegebenheiten des 2. nachchristlichen Jahrhunderts widerspiegelt, ist richtig und wichtig. Insbesondere für künftige Forschungen zu den Heiligen Berichten sowie zur Medizingeschichte ist das Werk eine Bereicherung. Christian Fron, H-Soz-u-Kult, 6.5.2013"Ido Israelowich's book is both an informative read and a useful contribution to the history of medicine and the sick, while providing a welcome tool for specialists of Aristides and the Second Sophistic." Johann Goeken, Bryn Mawr Classical Review, 7.40.2013"Ido Israelowich nous donne ici une étude attentive et juste, qui offre des bases sûres pour la lecture et l'interprétation des Discours sacrés." Laurent Pernot, sehepunkte 13 (2013), Nr. 12