Sous le signe de Thot : magie et pharmacologie en Égypte Ancienne

Under the sign of Thoth: magic and pharmacology in Ancient Egypt. Charlotte LEJEUNE The ancient history of medicine is a topic that should be of interest not only to Egyptian history buffs, but to all physicians curious about the origins of our ancestral preoccupations with ways of healing. Beyond the procedures and results of a diagnosis based on the science of the time, this lecture will show you the importance of magic in explaining and treating ailments. Egyptian medicine was renowned throughout the ancient world, its practitioners sought after in the Near and Middle East, and its texts studied as far afield as classical Greece. But procedures and results did not depend solely on scientific diagnosis. Magic played a very important role, from the explanation of an ailment to its treatment. The same applied to the treatment of various animal bites and stings, and to the care of pregnant women and newborn babies: medical examination and the use of rites and formulas went hand in hand. Under the patronage of Thoth, master of all knowledge, this lecture takes you on a journey into Egyptian medicine through the use of divine aid, amulets and remedies derived from pharmacology.