Medicine in Ancient Egypt

Abstract
Dengue fever, a mosquito-borne viral disease transmitted primarily by the mosquito species Aedes aegypti, has become a significant global health concern, with cases surging in recent years. While no explicit records of dengue exist from ancient Egypt, this study explores the theoretical possibility of its presence during that era. By integrating contemporary epidemiological data, historical medical texts, entomological studies, and palaeoclimatic analyses, the problem of whether ancient Egyptians could have encountered a disease resembling dengue is assessed.

Egyptian medical texts on papyrus and ostraca have been preserved from the time of the Middle Kingdom (1940-1640 BCE) until the Graeco-Roman and Byzantine Period (332-641 CE). 1 The two hieratic papyri Ebers 2 and Smith 3 date to the New Kingdom (1550-1070 BCE), more precisely to the beginning of the New Kingdom (ca. 1550 BCE). The Papyrus Ebers, kept at the library of the University of Leipzig/Albertina, 4 is a compendium of diverse medical prescriptions and instructive texts -e.g. for skin, eye or inner ailments -containing in all almost 880 individual texts on its recto (1.1-110.9). Interestingly, on the back of the first column, there is a 13-line calendric note from the ninth regnal year of the king Amenhotep I. 5 The papyrus' length is approximately 18 m and its height is 30 cm. The repository of Papyrus Edwin Smith is in the New York Academy of Medicine. Its recto contains 48 texts concerning diverse injuries of different degrees of severity (1.1-17.19), which is why it is called 'Wundenbuch' in German (the literal English equivalent would be 'book of wounds', although the academy calls it the 'Surgical Papyrus'). 6 Its verso contains spells against epidemics (18.1-20.12) and some instructional texts and medical prescriptions (20.13-22.14). The length amounts to 4.7 m, the height to 32 cm.

Nuestro trabajo busca resaltar la aplicacion practica de los remedios naturales recopilados en la farmacopea egipcia del Imperio Medio, cuyas fuentes medicas principales son los papiros de Kahoun, Ebers y Edwin Smith. En dicho analisis hemos encontrado principalmente tratamientos de origen vegetal como el uso de los nenufares, la mandragora y la adormidera (por sus efectos alucinogenos y analgesicos), ademas de los inciensos psicotropicos (como el kyphi). Del mismo modo, cabe destacar la importancia del curandero y las tecnicas terapeuticas que manejaba para tratar enfermedades del corazon, la vista y el aparato ginecologico.

Eczema or (Atopic Dermatitis) is one of the dermatology diseases that the ancient Egyptians had known it. The lexical Egyptian term of Eczema is wSaw. The ancient Egyptian succeeded in a distinction between Acute and chronic eczema infections and made remedies for each type. There are many recipes in the hieratic medical papyri, including eight recipes in Pap. Ebres, here recipes in Pap. Hearst, and one recipe in each of the following papyri: Pap. Louvre E 32847, Pap. Chester Beatty VI and Pap. Berlin 3038. Many plant, animal, and mineral drugs were used in the treatment. Some of the recipes which were used in describing the Eczema disease and its treatment are so identical.

The article is part of the research axis of "Herbal medicine and presentday medicine": it intends to analyse the "remedy preparation" skills of Egyptian physicians in the light of the knowledge and practices of modern herbalism. Herbal medicine has multiple ways of extracting the active substances of medicinal plants and of applying the resulting preparations: Firstly, I focus on the extraction of active principles: nowadays we can resort to various methods using infusion, tincture, tonic wine, or medicinal oil. We note that extraction is always done with a solvent, a carrier substance, that must be chosen based on its physicochemical affinity with the active principle required: hydrophilic, lipophilic, etc. However, we realize that-without knowing or even being aware of the biochemical composition of the plants they used-Egyptian physicians had already set up a number of these processes: water (dew), alcohol (wine, beer), oil, but also milk and honey. A study of lists of remedies, the Ebers papyrus for example, will make it possible to systematize the transformations applied to the plants. I present the numerous vehiclesmw, Hnq.t, irp, mrH.t, irt.t, bi.t-and their uses. Secondly, I present how these active substances were administered: today's herbal medicine has recourse to an arsenal of galenic forms such as capsules, ointments, cataplasms, inhalations, ... Once again, an analysis of Egyptian medical texts allows great understanding of the possible applications of the various remedies and, by extension, great skills in their preparations. To become aware of this reality, archaeological reconstructions will demonstrate the "very modern" character of these medicinal preparations. The Ebers papyrus and the remedies which were explained in it are also the ground material for this part of the paper.

The history of wine use as a medicine dates back to antiquity. However, it has been rediscovered and reliably confirmed by current medical research. It is believed that wine is among the first documented remedies known and used by humans dating back to a period before 5000 BC. Preserved to date evidence of the medical use of wine in ancient times is very limited and is related to the development of different cultures and ancient civilizations. The article chronicles the more important periods of the history of the use of wine for medical (healing and prophylactic) purposes. The first evidence dates back to the time of the Mesopotamian culture, when the world's oldest Sumerian Pharmacopoeia-clay tiles, some of which contain wine prescriptions for therapy, was created. The next important documentary evidence is found in the Sino-Tibetan Pharmacopoeia, the Egyptian Medical Papyri, the Bible, the Sacred Book of the Jews Talmud, and the ancient Indian medical texts of Ayurveda. In ancient Greece, the first evidence of the healing effects of wine is found in the two poems of Homer Iliad and Odyssey. With the development of medical knowledge at the time of Hippocrates, the therapeutic use of wine expanded. Hippocrates included wine in the diet of almost all diseases, especially during the recovery period. Afterwards, the principles of wine therapy continued to be topical, although they were the subject of a heated debate during the Greco-Roman period, Galen's era, and even the Byzantine era, when the influence of Arab medicine began to manifest itself more and more.

Observers of ancient Egyptian sources are often impressed by the images of healthy and strong bodies which are presented throughout the ancient Egyptian art. Indeed the majority of people, of all genders, are represented in their youthful days, being fit showing no signs of obesity, exhaustion or illness. It seems that, with the exception of permanent disabilities, the ancient artists were inclined towards depicting people in their ideal physical form, young, slim and healthy. Yet how far was this image reflected in reality? It is a well-known fact that the average life expectancy of Egyptians was around 35 years old Hence there is a good chance that people suffered many health problems that led to their short lives. In addition to that, how realistic is it to assume that most people in an ancient agricultural society looked like modern athletes? Although there are numerous papers dealing with diverse topics like ancient Egyptian medicine, diet and diseases no research was devoted to evaluating the overall health and well-being of ancient Egyptians. This article aims to be an analytical-descriptive study of the realistic situation concerning ancient Egyptians' health by contrasting artistic images and ancient textual sources with modern resources like mummy analysis , diet evaluation and environmental factors to decide how overall healthy the ancient Egyptian life was. Permanent disabilities such as dwarfism and blindness have been excluded from this research since they are widely covered by research elsewhere.

The Edwin Smith papyrus in the history of medicine The historical bases of occidental medicine precede the Hippocratic corpus. Between the third and first millennium B.C. Egyptian medicine developed a model of medical practice that was a reference horizon for other Mediterranean cultures. There are a great number of papyri of that time, which gathered the medical and surgical skills and that are matter of study. The Edwin Smith papyrus (PES) is one of them. We analyzed the PES in its historical context, its history, its structure and its medical and dental significance. Finally, we analyzed the relevance of PES as a sign of a change in the medicine study method in the ancient Egypt. PES is an insight into how medicine was practiced in ancient Egypt. Historically, it is also the first medical document based on objective observations, excluding all magical and religious perceptions, as well as the underlying cultural framework. The similarity between the current clinical method and that described in the Smith papyrus, strongly suggests the idea that part of the origin of medicine, can be found in ancient Egypt.

Данная статья посвящена зарождению медицины в Древнем мире. Рассмотрено появление первых врачей и методы лечения больных в разных частях света. В статье названа архитектура первых медицинских учреждений. Ключевые слова: медицина, лечебные здания, врачи, архитектура, Древний мир.

Discovery of fire at the dawn of prehistoric time brought not only the benefits to human beings offering the light and heat, but also misfortune due to burns; and that was the beginning of burns treatment. Egyptian doctors made medicines from plants, animal products and minerals, which they combined with magic and religious procedures. The earliest records described burns dressings with milk from mothers of male babies. Goddess Isis was called upon to help. Some remedies and procedures proved so successful that their application continued for centuries. The Edwin Smith papyrus (1500 BC) mentioned the treatment of burns with honey and grease. Ebers Papyrus (1500 BC) contains descriptions of application of mud, excrement, oil and plant extracts. They also used honey, Aloe and tannic acid to heal burns. Ancient Egyptians did not know about microorganisms but they knew that honey, moldy bread and copper salts could prevent infections from dirt in burns healing. Thyme, opium and belladon...

The main aim of this research is to study the role of the hair in Ancient Egypt, as the hair was generally a symbol of mourning. In this regard, the study is divided into two (6) major parts as follows: Introduction, The hair care in ancient Egypt, The Hair as Symbol of Mourning, Diseases of Hair and their Treatment, The result, and the catalog of the hair styles in ancient Egypt.

School literacy program has been conducted for several years in some junior high schools in Jakarta such as SMPN 220 Jakarta. However, there are some problems in the school. The school does not have enough teachers to assist the literacy program. The only activity in that program is reading. Sometimes, some students also tell their friends what they have read. In the other school, SMPN 191 Jakarta, school literacy program never exists. This community service program tried to help the schools planning and conducting an appropriate follow up activity of the reading activity. Graphic organizer is a tool that can be used to help the students understand the reading passages during the follow up activity. In using Graphic organizers, the students need to use their thinking skills to obtain several information related to the characters, events, and facts in the reading passages. The students become aware that reading is an activity to develop their cognitive by observing and digging up inf...

The proceedings include articles and abstracts from the section "Archaeology of the Eastern Mediterranean" of the XVI International Archaeological Conference of Students and Postgraduates "Problems of Archaeology of Eastern Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean " (Rostov-on-Don, November 25-30, 2021). The topics of the reports cover the problems of archaeology and restoration of Ancient Egypt
and the Eastern Mediterranean. For archaeologists and historians.

In this paper we research on an Egyptian funerary relief housed in the Museo Arqueológico Nacional (Madrid), file number 2001/ 110/ 2 -its artistic and epigraphic features. The text informs us that the owner was “a Royal Scribe, Chief of Physicians”. The relief lets us see he was awarded the Gold of Honour. Our purpose is to know if there are other documents about him, and to assign the relief a chronology.
Estudiamos en este trabajo un relieve funerario egipcio del Museo Arqueológico Nacional (Madrid), nº inv. 2001/ 110/ 2, especialmente sus características artísticas y epigráficas. El texto nos informa de que se trata de un “escriba real, jefe de los médicos”. Mediante la imagen sabemos que, además, fue merecedor del Oro del Honor. Nuestro propósito es intentar conocer si existen otros documentos sobre este personaje, y asignar al relieve una cronología.

The history of wine use as a medicine dates back to antiquity. However, it has been rediscovered and reliably confirmed by current medical research. It is believed that wine is among the first documented remedies known and used by humans dating back to a period before 5000 BC. Preserved to date evidence of the medical use of wine in ancient times is very limited and is related to the development of different cultures and ancient civilizations. The article chronicles the more important periods of the history of the use of wine for medical (healing and prophylactic) purposes. The first evidence dates back to the time of the Mesopotamian culture, when the world's oldest Sumerian Pharmacopoeia-clay tiles, some of which contain wine prescriptions for therapy, was created. The next important documentary evidence is found in the Sino-Tibetan Pharmacopoeia, the Egyptian Medical Papyri, the Bible, the Sacred Book of the Jews Talmud, and the ancient Indian medical texts of Ayurveda. In ancient Greece, the first evidence of the healing effects of wine is found in the two poems of Homer Iliad and Odyssey. With the development of medical knowledge at the time of Hippocrates, the therapeutic use of wine expanded. Hippocrates included wine in the diet of almost all diseases, especially during the recovery period. Afterwards, the principles of wine therapy continued to be topical, although they were the subject of a heated debate during the Greco-Roman period, Galen's era, and even the Byzantine era, when the influence of Arab medicine began to manifest itself more and more.

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to analyze in detail the (present and absent) iconography and the pseudo-hieroglyphs of the cippus of Horus (file number 34328) housed in the Museo Arqueológico Nacional of Madrid. This stele has suffered severe erosion undoubtedly due to its use as a magical-healing instrument-probably over several centuries. We also try to offer two chronologies related to the piece: on the one hand the possible date of its production, on the other hand a conjecturable date of its final deposition.
Keywords: Cippus. Horus on the Crocodiles. Pseudohieroglyphs. Erosion. Manufacture and deposit chronologies.
Resumen: El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar detalladamente la iconografía (presente y ausente) y los pseudojeroglíficos del cippus de Horus 34328 del Museo Arqueológico Nacional de Madrid, estela que ha sufrido además un acusado desgaste, debido sin lugar a dudas a su uso como instrumento mágico-sanador a lo largo de varios siglos. Intentamos también ofrecer dos cronologías relativas a la pieza: la de su elaboración y la de su presumible amortización.
Palabras clave: Cippus. Horus sobre los cocodrilos. Pseudojeroglíficos. Desgaste. Cronologías de manufactura y de deposición.

كان الشعر أحد معايير الصحة، فالأطباء كثيرا ما يعالجون الشعر بطريق الجسم وذلك بواسطة الفيتامينات والمقويات والخضروات، واهتم المصريون بشعورهم فابتكروا الأمشاط التي تدلك الفروة وتمشط دورتها الدموية وتزيل الصئبان والحشرات والشيب تغير يتمشى مع السن ولو أنه ينجم أحيانا من صدمات عصبية، ومنذ أقدم العصور استخدم الشعر لتمييز طوائف الأنسان.
      تناولت البرديات المصرية القديمة وصف وطرق علاج عدة أمراض خاصة بالشعر كالتالي:
1- القراع: من الأمراض الجلدية الطفيلية نتيجة الإصابة بفطر نباتي Tinea Favas يخترق الطبقة السطحية للجلد ويصل إلى منبت الشعر، وتبادل غطاء الرأس من أهم عوامل عدواه، ورد هذا المرض في بردية إيبرس وصفات (437 إلى450)، وكذا بردية هيرست وصفة رقم (24)، وكذلك في بردية اللوفر E 32847 ((v. 25,2-4.
2- الشيب: من أمراض النمو ورد ببردية إيبرس وصفات رقم (451 إلى 460)، وكذلك في بردية هيرست (147 إلى 149).
3- شيب الحواجب: من أمراض النمو ورد ببردية إيبرس وصفات رقم (461 إلى 463).
4- سقوط الشعر: وصف المصريون لأنماء الشعر عدة عقاقير وجاء ذلك في بردية إيبرس وصفة رقم (251)، وتطابقت معها وصفة بردية اللوفر E 32847 (v. 24, 20-25, 2) ، ووصفات إيبرس (464 إلى 473)، وكذلك في بردية هيرست (144 إلى 146).
5- إزالة الشعر: تناول في وصفات ببردية إيبرس (474 إلى 476)، وكذلك في بردية هيرست (155 إلى 158).
6- أورام الرأس: حالة أثروما (ورم) بفروة الرأس  وردت في بردية إيبرس وصفة رقم (870).
7- أمراض فروة الرأس: ورد عدة أمراض التي تصيب فروة الرأس منها:
(أ‌) الهبرية Dandruff: وفيها تتساقط قشور الجلد الميت من فروة الرأس، وتكون صفراء زيتية أو بيضاء يابسة، ولعلاجها وردت وصفة إيبرس (712)، وكذلك هيرست (17)، وبردية الرمسيوم 3 ب سطر (8-10)
(ب‌) مرض ألتهاب جلد الرأس mSSwt: ورد علاجه في بردية هيرست (167)، وكذا بردية اللوفر E 32847 ((r.12,5.
(جـ) قشرة الشعر: ورد علاجه في بردية اللوفر E 32847 ((r.9,7-9، وكذا بردية زويجا وصفة سطر (86-87).
8- الصلع المبقع: من أمراض النمو وكان الصلع منتشرا حيث كانت الملكة نفرتارى صلعاء القمة، والصلع أما أنه وراثي أو نتيجة أمراض منهكة أو حادة ورد على بردية إيبرس وصفة رقم (466) وكذا وصفات رقم (771 إلى 777).
      استخدم المصري القديم العديد من العقاقير المختلفة التي تفيد في علاج الشعر، من العلاج الذي جاء في وصفات البرديات الطبية يمكن تقسيمه لعدة أقسام منها ما هو عبارة عن خليط من منتجات حيوانية، وخليط من منتجات نباتية، وخليط من مواد عضوية، وكذلك من مواد غير مألوفة وغامضة، ومنها ما يجمع بعض المنتجات الحيوانية والنباتية والعضوية معا، كما تطابقت بعض وصفات البرديات بين وصفات بردية إيبرس مع وصفات بردية هيرست أو بردية اللوفر E 32847.

The ancient Egyptians knew the diseases that affect the body parts and skin diseases were one of them. They discovered many different types of dermatology diseases and defined many prescriptions to each type for the patient's recovery with precise identification of all contents of the recipe (whether animal, plant or mineral drugs), quantities of Drugs, and methods of preparation. Many magical spells for treatment of skin diseases and injuries were found alongside medical prescriptions on medical hieratic papyri. It is obvious that magic had a huge importance in the recovery from such disease, by the end of the New Kingdom; it played a dominant role in understanding the nature of the disease. As the Ebers Papyrus, one of the medical texts, states, "Magic is effective together with medicine. Medicine is effective together with magic."

This is my First Class dissertation about the pharmaceutical properties of animal, herbal and mineral remedies (from their collection to their preparation and use) within treatment for various physical injuries (including broken bones, burns and fractures) with additional consultation of evidence within the medical papyri.
Note: this is an unpublished undergraduate research paper

Objectives: In Antiquity, colchicine was used as a poison and as a remedy for Podagra. Research so far has revealed that the physician Alexander of Tralles was the first who used it in the 6th century AD. Alexander recommended a plant he called "Hermodaktylon", which takes off the pain in the feet immediately. "Hermodaktylon" is identified with Colchicum autumnale L., which contains colchicine in his bulbs and seeds. We will present new data that varieties of Colchicum were used for medical treatment of Podagra far earlier than hitherto known by research.

Methods: We performed a systematic full text search in Greek and Latin original sources of Antiquity for "Hermodaktylon"/"Hermodactylus" and for the synonyms "Ephemeron"/"Ephemerum", "Kolchikon"/"Colchicum", and "Bolbos (agrios)"/"bulbus (agrestis)". We analysed our findings with philological and historico-critical methods.

Results: There are 48 text passages in original sources. Lucian of Samosata (2nd century AD) was the first who mentioned a plant he called "bolbos" as a remedy for Podagra. The Byzantine physician Jacobus Psychrestes (5th century AD) developed two recipes. Aëtius of Amida (6th century AD) transmitted two recipes. One case with an overdose of colchicine was discovered which resulted in the death of a patient in Byzantine times.

Conclusions: New specific recipes containing Colchicum were discovered. Jacobus Psychrestes and Aëtius used Colchicum systematically for the therapy of Podagra earlier than the 6th century AD. However, the therapeutic use of Colchicum was already known in the 2nd century AD.

La figura del chamán ¿Qué fue lo que propició que surgiesen dentro de las primeras comunidades la figura de un curandero o sanador? Siguiendo con la hipótesis del párrafo anterior, no es descabellado imaginar que hubo una serie de elementos naturales que debieron causar un especial pavor a los hombres primitivos: las tormentas, con sus rayos y truenos, las erupciones volcánicas, las ventiscas, las inundaciones, las sequías y, por qué no, la simple contemplación del sol y la luna, con sus desapariciones periódicas. A todo esto habría que añadir el mundo de los sueños, otra dimensión incontrolable y que conectaba al hombre prehistórico con un mundo incomprensible. ¿Qué explicación podía dar a todos estos fenómenos? Ninguna. Dado que el hombre no podía controlarlos supuso que debía de existir una fuerza superior desconocida, y, así, poco a poco fue surgiendo un pensamiento mágico. Con el paso del tiempo atribuirían a los fenómenos naturales voluntades sobrenaturales, que podrían castigar a su antojo a los hombres, por lo que era preciso rendirles reverencia. La enfermedad pasó a ser entendida como un castigo de espíritus malignos. Mediante una serie de prácticas, el hombre podría congraciarse con todos estos elementos y, de esta forma, protegerse frente a la enfermedad y las fuerzas del mal, habida cuenta de que los espíritus le podrían privar de la salud, del bienestar y, en último término, de la felicidad. Más importante aún, si cabe, es preguntarnos qué actitud adoptaba el grupo frente a un enfermo. Intuimos que las reacciones eran muy variadas, si la enfermedad era leve se le administraba un tratamiento, pero si la enfermedad era grave o de causa incomprensible se consideraba que el paciente había sufrido un castigo divino, y, en tal caso, podría ser abandonado a su suerte o ser sacrificado a los dioses. En la medicina primitiva no existía distinción entre enfermedades orgánicas y psicológicas, debido a que el concepto que primaba era el mágico. En la mentalidad reduccionista de aquellos seres humanos, las causas que podían propiciar una enfermedad se resumían al azar (como, por ejemplo, los traumatismos) o a los elementos mágicos. Los pueblos primitivos que conviven actualmente con nosotros distinguen cinco situaciones que pueden producir una enfermedad: la infracción de un tabú, un hechizo maligno, la pérdida del alma, la posesión por un espíritu maligno o la intrusión de un cuerpo extraño. Es de suponer que en la prehistoria estos conceptos también estuvieron presentes. La infracción del tabú se produce cuando se rompen las normas sociales que intentan preservar al individuo de las impurezas. Habitualmente suele guardar relación con el consumo de determinados alimentos (comidas o bebidas que estén prohibidas, etc.), la conducta sexual (por ejemplo, mantener relaciones sexuales durante el período menstrual o entre personas que compartan lazos

En la Antigüedad, la Medicina siempre se revistió de innegable importancia entre las poblaciones; sus orígenes se remontan a prácticas místicas y esotéricas, mezcladas con un poco de realidad e innovación médica, en el seno de las brillantes sociedades de Mesopotamia y Egipto. Sigue siendo, un interesante legado de los tiempos remotos de la Antigüedad, que poco a poco se fue desarrollando, hasta culminar en realizaciones médicas de admirable envergadura y de científica notabilidad.
Ante todo, la Medicina puede ser vista como una vía de salida del dolor y del sufrimiento. Los diagnósticos, tratamientos y prescripciones médicas se podían equiparar a una salvación de los "males divinos" o de los espíritus malévolos que invadían el organismo humano. Las fuertes creencias egipcias de que cualquier dolencia venía por decisión divina, o porque la actitud humana no estaba siendo la mejor, estaban muy inculcadas.

Medicina en el Antiguo Egipto. Se refiere a la práctica de la medicina en el Antiguo Egipto desde 3300 a.n.e. hasta la invasión persa (520 a.n.e.).Se enseñaba en las casas de la vida adjuntas a los templos, dónde se realizaban los cuidados especiales a los enfermos y se formaba específicamente a médicos por medio de prácticas controladas por los sacerdotes, prácticas que luego ejercían con la clientela. Lo que se sabe sobre el tema, proviene de diversos papiros: el papiro Edwin Smith, que es el documento quirúrgico más antiguo que se conoce, pues data del siglo XVII a. n.e. y entonces ya era antiguo; el de Ebers, que es una recopilación de textos médicos; el de Kahun, que se refiere a ginecología; el de Hearst, que es un formulario médico práctico; el de Londres, que contiene numerosos encantamientos.

The evolution of animal cults and deities in ancient Egypt was closely linked to the emergence of rudimentary biomedical science and pharmacology. The Kahun Veterinary Papyrus, discovered by Flinders Petrie in 1889, could well be the earliest medical text in Egyptian history. Some scholars believe this was pivotal in transferring knowledge of veterinary medicine to that of human medicine.
Animals in  Egypt became  a vital  commodity  in  human health care. Various drugs of animal origin such as fats and oils,  honey,  milk,  blood,  placenta,  bile,  internal  organs,  and even excrement and urine were included in medical remedies. But a lesser-known fact about some animals is their remarkable ability to self-medicate, and the observation of this could have led humans to turn to nature’s pharmacy for health care.

Gout is one of the rare diseases that defines its sufferers by class and culture. It is also one of the first chronic diseases to be clinically described. The Egyptians had identified gout as a distinct disorder by 2640 BCE. This paper traces the history of gout from its earliest recorded period down to modern times, with a particular emphasis on the cultural, political, geopolitical, and social aspects. Included is a discussion of its role in the American Revolution. Today, gout is a well-understood clinically managed arthritic disease that excites little comment. This is an entirely modern perspective. For most of human history, gout was a disease of distinction that dominated much of medicine, playing the same role in Rome’s third century BCE aristocracy it would later play in the aristocracies of 17th and 18th century France and England, when each of these countries dominated the world. Because it was considered a disease of lifestyle until modern times, when genetics began to be understood, gout was associated with rich, high status Caucasian men and their excessive consumption of drink and rich foods. It was virtually unknown in Asia, until Western dietary practices became widespread there. From earliest history, gout has been linked with high IQ and sexual promiscuity, which made it grist for artists and writers, and their social commentary up to the time of Dickens; this is discussed, with examples. Because of its association with the rich, gout also developed a powerful moralistic aspect, particularly during the Christian era when the concept of sin was a cultural fundamental. The loose living and indulgence of the rich and the gout it produced made the disease a parable of Christian ethics. The Italian poet Francesco Petrarch (1304- 1374) was one of the first to establish this nuance, and it influenced how gout was seen for centuries. Part of what gave gout its special character was that while it tortured, it rarely killed. Indeed, when death was a frequent visitor to families, it was thought a painful but welcomed prophylactic against diseases that did kill. Even in modern times, gout still favors the rich and powerful. American research conducted in the 1960s found that corporate executives, just like their English gentry, or Roman senatorial predecessors, had higher urate concentrations than their blue-collar employees.

В статье Олега Гуцуляка «Египетские следы Платоновского нарратива об Атлантиде» предлагается метод перепрочтения текстов Платона об Атлантиде в сравнении с источниками, современными Платону и даже упоминаемые им как в самих текстах об Атлантиде, так и других его сочинениях. В частности, сравнивается платоновский нарратив об Атлантиде с классическим для античной культуры нарративом об цивилизации Древнего Египта. На этом основании предлагается версия о значительном влиянии на нарратив Платона нарратива Геродота в контексте формирования представлений для слушателей о странной и иной для них цивилизации, от описания самой страны до бытующих в ней традициях и обрядах, политической организации, ведения созидательной культурной деятельности и её истории.

Предлагается рассматривать как особо повлиявший на платоновский нарратив об Атлантиде геродотовский нарратив относительно географической, каналостроительной, политической и религиозной истории египетского оазиса («острова») Фаюм. Также предполагается, что Платон вследствии значительного хронологического расстояния между ним и сообщаемыми им египетскими историческими рассказами произвел при «реконструировании» нарратива об Атлантиде «смешение», «отождествление» некоторых событий из истории Древнего Египта (инвазии «народов моря», гиксосов, ливийских и нубийских племен, военные походы фараонов различных династий в Переднюю Азию, контакты Египта с Архаической Грецией и пр.).

Кроме того, как видно, Платон использовал обширный мифологический материал египетской традиции и, вероятно, ему была известна версия о древнем катаклизме, произошедшим с древними египтянами в додинастические времена, зафиксированном в их мифологической традиции как «падение правления бога Шу» и «крушение владычества бога Геба».

Gout was well recognised in the Hellenistic tradition and in later medical texts. For even as the ancients themselves saw gout, the description remains of: joints of the extremities, primarily the great toe, which become swollen, inflamed and exquisitely tender, so that the sufferer will not even tolerate the weight of clothes upon the limb. In the annals of early 'Western tradition' medicine, Scribonius Largus, physician to the emperor Nero, attributed strange power from a certain fish, called Na'pkh in Greek, which relieved the pain of gout. With almost the same pronouncement, the "Nar fish" of ancient Egypt generally refer to catfish which, in several instances, were recorded in medical papyri as treatment ingredients for specific ailments -one and a half thousand years before the birth of Hippocrates. As regards pathological findings in Egyptian mummies, while atherosclerosis has recently been identified, no incidences of gout have been noticed. My investigation hypothesizes that, with the assumed life-style of some members of the Ancient Egyptian population (providing they lived into their 5 th decade) there ought to be a natural predisposition and likely incidence of gout. For written evidence in adjunct, this implies a priori that amongst the various ailments described in the medical papyri, provision for gout was made. To establish that the condition existed at the time of New Kingdom documents, modern researchers need to be in agreement that there is a precise hieroglyphic word for "gout".

This paper deals with some of the most prevalent pathologies in ancient Egypt; which were those and how were those prevented. They were mainly caused by diet and hygiene care, or the lack of it, plagues and infestations, and how the ancient Egyptian peoples dealt with them.

Beyond the surviving medical and magical papyri and art depictions, we must pay attention to contemporary Egypt; going there often enables an Egyptologist to see, to hear, to smell and to feel many of the habits Egyptians still have and perform towards any sign of disease or disruption of physical well-being.

There are several remedies in the medical papyri which refer to the use of 'Nar' fish - the Egyptian catfish. The place of fish, and in particular the Nile electric catfish, in art and iconography will be discussed. The diagnosis and treatment of headache as an example - both in the Egyptian and the subsequent Greek and Latin literature - is explored. The tantalising question of whether some unique forms of ichthyotherapy might actually have constituted an early form of electrotherapy is speculated upon.