KOKOSZKO Maciej, JAGUSIAK Krzysztof, DYBAŁA Jolanta, The Chickpea (ἐρέβινϑος; Cicer arietinum L) as a Medicinal Foodstuff and Medicine in Selected Greek Medical Writings (original) (raw)
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Studia Ceranea
Leguminous plants were a crucially important element in the Mediterranean diet, and, as such, these plants were second only to cereals. It is also important to note that according to medical writings preserved from antiquity and the early Byzantine period they were considered to be an accessible source of substances which could be applied in therapeutics. One of the most commonly mentioned legumes was the chickpea. The source material demonstrates that the medicinal properties of the chickpea and its therapeutic use were discussed by Greek physicians as early as in the fourth century BC. It seems that the plant was a readily accessible medicament and thus used in therapy also by those who could not afford costly medicines. The authors argue, however, that the medical theory concerning its role in therapeutics evolved into a fully developed form only in the first century AD (thanks to Dioscorides) and was not modified by Galen. The doctrine of these two physicians became part of the ...
A few examples should suffice-M. K o k o s z k o, Ryby i ich znaczenie w życiu codziennym ludzi późnego antyku i wczesnego Bizancjum (III-VII w.) (Fish and their significance in the daily life of people in late Antiquity and early Byzantine times (IIIrd-VIIth century)), Łódź 2005, passim; M. K o k o s z k o, Medycyna bizantyńska na temat aiora (αἰώρα), czyli kilka słów o jednej z procedur terapeutycznych zastosowanych w kuracji cesarza Aleksego I Komnena (na podstawie pism medycznych Galena, Orybazjusza, Aecjusza z Amidy i Pawła z Eginy) (Byzantine medicine on the topic of aiora (αἰώρα), or a few words on one of the therapeutic procedures used to treat the Emperor Alexios I Komnenos
Rice as a Foodstuff in Ancient and Byzantine "Materia Medica
Studia Ceranea
The present study discusses dietetic qualities of rice and culinary recipes pertaining to its preparation as demonstrated in ancient and Byzantine medical treatises compiled between 1st and 7th cent. A.D. (Dioscurides, Galen, Oribasius, Anthimus, Alexander of Tralles, Aetius of Amida and Paul of Aegina). The evidence (in the part touching on gastronomic applications of rice) also includes De re coquinaria attributed to Apicius. The article consists of three parts. The first analyzes sources and modern literature to assess the impact of rice on the Greco-Roman and Byzantine agriculture. The results of the analysis confirm the scholarly opinion that rice was never popular in the Mediterranean in the ancient and early Byzantine periods. A slow and gradual change in its status appeared along with the Arab agricultural revolution. The second chapter of the study is devoted to dietetic characterizations of rice and presents features attributed to the cereal over the ages. The authors come...
"Symbolae Philologorum Posnaniensium Graecae et Latinae", 2017
The following article attempts to address two issues. The first one concerns dietetic characteristic of barley flour, which was a very popular product used both in Graeco-Roman and Byzantine culinary art and medicine. The second one deals with the therapeutic role of this product: different forms of remedies made from it, its effects on the human body, and various health problems cured by an application of medicines containing aleuron krithinon. To address these questions we study ancient and Byzantine Greek medical sources written between the 1st and 7th century AD by Dioscurides, Galen, Oribasius, Aetius of Amida, Alexander of Tralles, Paul of Aegina, and the anonymous author of the treatise entitled De cibis.
2015
Common millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) and foxtail millet, also known as Italian millet (Setaria italica P. Beauv.), are among crop grasses that in the Antiquity and the early Byzantine period were grown on a relatively large scale. Yet although the sources indicate that they were among popular crops, they were neither as widespread not as highly regarded by consumers as wheat and barley. Views pertinent to the dietetic doctrine with regard to those to plants evolved before Galen’s lifetime and were very consistent, considering that they did not change over the period from the 2nd to the 7th century. This doctrine pointed to the less beneficial qualities of both these crop plants in comparison to the most highly values grains used in bread-making, especially to wheat. Also, common and foxtail millet were constantly present in the cuisine of the period in question, both being used as food in the rural areas rather than in cities. They were usually put in boiled dishes, because millet bread was unpopular owing to its brittleness and disagreeable taste. Both common and foxtail millet were included among the fármaka used in the period between the 2nd and 7th century, although they certainly were not as favoured in medicine as wheat and barley. Common millet was more often mentioned in the healing role. Both grains were used in medical procedures as components of healing diets, especially foods helpful in alleviating gastric disorders. Flour ground from common millet was applied as powder, whereas the grain itself found use as a component of warming cataplasms and poultices which usually had a drying quality. In addition, millet to was considered to be an efficacious antidote against poisons.
Amsterdam University Press eBooks, 2023
List of illustrations Abbreviations Selected Bibliography Index of Manuscripts, Early Printed Books, and Objects General Index of individuals, titles of printed works, iconography Index of English plant names Latin names for medieval plant names Index of Latin plant names Index of medieval Latin and Greek plant names (italics) and (old) Dutch (D.), German (G.) and French (Fr.) Names (roman) Colophon Chapter 7. 'The Cook is the Best Doctor' Plants for Food and Health: Recipes and Prescriptions
Prehistoric diet and the context of food consumption in the Aegean have been the subject of several recent papers and volumes (e.g. Vaughn and Coulson 2000; Wright 2004; Megaloudi 2006a; Mee and Renard 2007; Tzedakis et al. 2008;. The food of distant ancestors seems to attract the interest not only of researchers but also of the wider public as the recent communication of research results on prehistoric food from Greece has shown. Prehistoric food may be used to reinforce modern national identities or it may create a sense of continuity between the distant past, the present and the future. It is widely accepted in the literature that plants must have constituted the main source of food while meat was mainly consumed on special occasions such as feasting, and in actions of hospitality (e.g. Halstead 1981 Perlès 2001;. So, what is the archaeological evidence for plant food in prehistoric Greece? This paper is based on archaeobotanical assemblages, preserved by charring from over 70 sites dating to the Neolithic (approximately between 7000-3500 B.C.) and the Bronze Age (approximately between 3500-1100 B.C.). It uses the knowledge accumulated on archaeological plant remains from prehistoric Greece over the past 20 years in order to approach the available plant food ingredients and provide snapshots of prehistoric recipes, sizzling hot from the hearth, watering the palate and intoxicating the senses. P l a n t s a n i t P l a n t s a n d C u l t u r e : s e e d s o f t h e c u l t u r a l h e r i t a g e o f E u r o p e -© 2 0 0 9 · E d i p u g l i a s . r . l . -w w w . e d i p u g l i a . i t 26 1. -Flotation machine operating at the site of Makri, Northern Greece, after Valamoti 2009. Notes 1 See also Zohary and Hopf 2000 and Nesbitt 2003 for a discussion on the origins of spelt.