Heroic Pharmacology: Sophocles and the Metaphors of Greek Medical Thought

Mitchell‐Boyask, Robin

doi:10.1002/9781118350508.ch22

Cited by 3 publications

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References 27 publications

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“…renowned interest in medicine 64 and the 'free circulation of ideas and recipes' between medical writers and collective traditions corroborate the possibility that the symptomatology of Heracles' feminization might be inspired by cases of uterine diseases. 65 Heracles then goes on to describe his symptoms (1053-7):…”

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confidence: 82%

Heracles’ Itch: An Analysis of the First Case of Male Uterine Displacement in Greek Literature

Blanco

2020

The Class. Q.

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Scholars have long grappled with the nature of Heracles’ νόσος and his consequent feminization in Sophocles’ Women of Trachis (= Trachiniae). Despite being triggered by a poisonous garment, which acts by means of magic incantation, the evolution of Heracles’ symptoms is described as a clinical case. Yet, making sense of his feminization from a scientific perspective has proven hard. In this paper, I investigate the symptoms experienced by Heracles, which Sophocles generically refers to as νόσος. The first part focusses on Sophocles’ description of erôs as a disease in Trachiniae. I then move on to dividing Heracles’ symptoms into two categories, which I will call νόσος1 and νόσος2. The erotic passion for Iole which Heracles naturally experiences in the first part of the tragedy will be denoted by νόσος1, whereas νόσος2 will refer to the magic-induced symptoms from which he suffers in the second and final part. In the final section of the paper I will seek to provide a scientific explanation for νόσος2 and, ultimately, to describe the medical reasons behind Heracles’ feminization.

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mentioning

confidence: 82%

Heracles’ Itch: An Analysis of the First Case of Male Uterine Displacement in Greek Literature

Blanco

2020

The Class. Q.

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Aias’ Critical Day

Cowan

2021

Symbolae Osloenses

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Deianeira, Death, and Apotheosis

Romero-González

2021

The Oxford Handbook of Heracles

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This chapter is focused, in the first part, on the character of Deianeira, especially on her relationship with Achelous, Nessus, and Heracles and how she deals with them. The consequences of these relations are negative, as her name implies (“killer of men”). They are defeated or killed. However, some authors exonerate Deianeira of culpability for Heracles’ death. The death of Heracles and his following apotheosis are examined in the second part. Once he is burned both by the poisoned tunic and the pyre, Heracles’ afterlife is located both in Hades (his mortal part) and with the gods (his immortal part), among whom he enjoys a second youth and a marriage to Hebe, as a prize for his worldly sufferings. Finally, the chapter ends with an analysis of Deianeira’s associations with magic.

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Heroic Pharmacology: Sophocles and the Metaphors of Greek Medical Thought

Cited by 3 publications

References 27 publications

Heracles’ Itch: An Analysis of the First Case of Male Uterine Displacement in Greek Literature

Heracles’ Itch: An Analysis of the First Case of Male Uterine Displacement in Greek Literature

Aias’ Critical Day

Deianeira, Death, and Apotheosis

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