med in ancient egypt final

menstruation: "liquid issuing from lips"

also word for "to cleanse" or "to purify"

remedies for woman to hasn't had period in many years, inflamed belly, and vomiting (amenorrhea) 

Disease is perceived as unnatural, an “evil spell”

• Not well-attested for until Ptolemaic and later times
• - Space under stairs of multi-story houses reversed for women to withdraw to during menstruation

Only reference to from earlier times: 8 women went to a ‘place of women’

Ebers 783: various plants and honey placed on vagina

Kahun 21-22: crocodile dung, honey, sour milk

Pee on emmer and barley every day, if they all grow she is pregnant. If barley grows, it's a male. If the emmer grows its a female. If they don’t grow, she will not bear a child 

Berlin 196: anoint her chest, forearms, and upper arms with fat/oil and in the morning look at them. If her vessels are blue-green and not sunken, it means a satisfactory (uncomplicated birth). If her vessels are sunken like the skin (surface) of her body, it means a miscarriage. If her vessels are dark blue-green she will give birth with delay (complications/ lengthy birthing)

Labor and uncomplicated births are almost absent in medical papyri 

Ebers papyrus provide remedies to hasten birth and/or potentially abortions 

• Representations of magical births of pharaohs 
• - Red-djedet in papyrus westcar 
• - New kingdom divine birth scenes

Ptolemaic representations of birth (305 - 30 BC)

used in childbirth to raise women above the ground to make the child more accessible to her helpers 

personified bricks as a goddess of brith, Maskhenet 

- "The place of Alighting": represented as a brick with a women's head or a women or falcon with a tall split object on her head 

new kingdom divine brith scene of king: Amun assumes form of king and makes love to queen 

Queen giving birth with protective deities helping (shows birth goddess hippo/lion) 

Kahun 4: birth injury to perineum (area between anus and vagina)

journal recording of a workman given three days off when his wife gave birth to help take care of his wife or take part in purification cerimonies

"mother of humankind"

1880 BCE 


town built for workers laboring on Pyramid of the middle kingdom pharaoh Sesotris

found in kahun in April and november 1889 by Flinders Petrie 

currently housed in the University of College London 

note on back dated year 29 of Amnenmhat III (1825 BCE) 

badly fragmented 

* format: instructions for a women suffering from, account of symptoms, diagnosis, prescription for remedy 

* unlike Edwin Smith papyrus, lack of examination instructions

* illnesses of women seem to be chiefly associated with problems of the womb (wandering womb)

belief that a displaced uterus was the cause of many medial pathologies in women

ungovernable emotional distress -> Greek word for uterus

• god especially associated with protection of women and children
• - one spell calls for a dwarf clay statue of Bes to be placed on the mother to lessen the pain of giving birth 

2000 BCE

Bulls, cows, horses, donkeys naturally of great practical and religious importance 

Format different than for humans: "“If I see [a bull with] airborne disease, its eyes running…” 

Same issues as dealing with humans

ritual practice where one goes to a sacred site or shrine, generally deals with priestly or professional intermediaries, sleeps in a specific sacred area, in the hopes of receiving a dream vision which will help solve the individual’s issue 

Specific areas in Theban and Memphite temples

dream procedures just one form of "divination" 

one might receive a dream vision from gods unbidden or purposely seek a dream vision (solicited or unsolicited dreams) 

Specialists in dream interpretation (priests or professionals, associated with sanctuaries/temples)

priests produced scholarly handbooks about dreams which were considered to have oracular value 

* basic pattern: "if ... then..."

* sound-play!! puns!

• Wenamun sent to Lebanon to get good wood to build the sacred bark of Amun of Karnak in Thebes/Luxor, robbed on the way by one of his sailors + foreign prince gives him hard time 
•  *god puts foreign prince's servant boy in trance ("It is Amun who sent him. It is he who made him come!") -> Wenamun argues with prince and he cries and laments 

- tale describes inner psychology: Wenamun cries and prince displays empathy by sending Egyptian songstress to him

• collection of spells, mostly concerned with protection of the king by the ear 
• - inimical forces that have entered or threaten to enter the ear of the pharaoh 

spells meant to not only cure but to protect 

inimical forces not seen as disease itself but rather agents that bring or cause the disease

the power to avert evil influences

from Greek "to turn aside"

spitting is an expression of generative force (Gods, kings, demons, animals, plants, earth, etc. may be viewed as product of spitting) 

use of spittle to "activate" clay serpent, spitting to heal wounds (ex. eye was "sick" from weeping, spit on it) 

spittle seen as a source and carrier of corruption and fifth (purges and spitting to rid body of waste as medical treatment) 

blowing: breath in healing, similar to saliva (used in exorcisms) 

licking: curative and cursing meanings

• swallowing: absorption and acquisition of power/characteristics 
• - ex. pyramid texts: king consumes the gods and acquires their power 2300 BCE 

Atum (creator god of Heliopolis, the All-God): self created appears on the primeval hill risen from the waters, begins act of creation earth 

created first two descendents: Shu (air) and Tefnut (moisture) from his bodily fluids -> create Geb (earth) and Nut (sky) -> create Osiris and Isis, and Seth and Nepththys

from pyramid of Unas 2300 BCE 

from Pyramid Texts 

spell where the king consumes gods and acquires their power 

• 
• 1372-1355 BCE (Armana Period) 

depicted in artwork tall, disproportionate limbs, both male and female features (breasts and feminine hips) 

diagnosis: Klinefelter's syndrome (XXY chromosomes) or Marfan's syndrome

sun disk that shines for all 

- Great Hymn to Aten = written of Akhenaten + his wife Nefertiti 

Old Testament 

• Cupbearer and baker of the king offended him and were placed in prison with another prisoner Joseph 
• They both had a dream the same night and told them to Joseph to interpret them 
• Cupbearer said that in his dream he saw a vine with three branches that blossomed and ripened into grapes which he squeezed and put into the pharaoh's cup and gave it to the pharaoh 
• Joseph said it means that within 3 days (3 branches) the pharoah will restore him to his position. Joseph asks that when he does so, mention him to the Pharaoh and get him out of prison

Hathor  = associated with sycamore tree 

• suggests that non-royal persons can have dream visions 
• - Hathor predicted something ab his tomb previously 

"To be upon the waters" = to be loyal/true to 

Direct interaction with Hathor in a dream 

Marked desire to spread good word about the deity who helped

1st century BCE 


created sleep for stopped weariness, wakefulness for taking care of food, medicine for stopping sickness, wine for stopping sadness 

dream as a guide

43 BCE , now in British Museum 

• dream vision regarding birth of son Imhotep, the god helps out 
• relief scene at top shows the lady Taimhotep, worshipping Osiris and five other gods 

Taimhotep's husband is the High Priest of the Memphite God Ptah 

First part of text: reminiscent of typical funerary stela -> discusses virtues, titles and more elaborate bc addresses everyone who enters tomb 

• Second part of text: discusses dream and giving birth after praying to the gods 
• - revelation (dream vision) with desire for a male child: god came to high priest in a dream and god said that if he does great work he is will give them a son 

precise time/date of son's birth recorded (horoscopes/astrology popular)

3rd century CE 

demotic - Greek magical handbook written by magicians/priests 

spell to cause nightmares, specific on what to do and say

time of Cleopatra the 7th: 51 -30 BC

Khnum: god based in Aswan, considered source of Nile inundation

• - consists of three parts:
• 1) Khnum is viewed as the creator mankind who continually creates men and women on his potter's wheel and endows the human body with all its parts and functions 
• 2) the gods is adored as the creator all peoples and as the maker of animals and plants 
• 3) describes different manifestations of the god by virtue of which he is identical with other creator-gods 
• 

Ptolemaic Period: 305-30 BC


Meryre is a great lector priest but the pharaoh was not told about him because the other lector priest feared he would outcast them because he was so good 

One day the pharaoh got sick and the lector priests to prolong his death. Only Meryre can do it but he will die if he does it. King takes oath not to harm his family, to get revenge on the envious priests, and to let Meryre take a statue of Hathor to the underworld with him. 

In the underworld Meryre meets goddess Hathor and “great living god” osiris 

Meryre asks to return, he is told he cannot but asks Hathor for information about his family. Hathor informs him that the king broke his oath, took his wife, and killed his son. The magicians egged him on to do these things 

Meryre cannot go back but forms a man of clay to return to Earth to avenge him. He has the king kill all the magicians

healing statue - "pointed pole" (Latin) 

• showing a young Horus immobilizing dangerous animals. back is covered with texts that call on deities for protection 
• water is poured over the text and drunk as a remedy for illness

800 BCE 

protective texts for child 

hollow cylinder with heads of deities 

decrees = divine oracles promising specific protections to named individuals -> long life, prosperity, good health and protection

1370 BCE

Hittite king requested help from Egypt for his sister to give birth 

Ramses explains that the women is too old to give birth but will nonetheless send an expert and materials in hope that divine intervention may bring a miracle

300 BCE

discusses marriages between Egyptian and near eastern kingdoms - nationalistic 

honors god Khonsu (healing deity) - sent to "expel wandering spirits" when younger sister of bride is sick 

• *Mitanni = North Syria 
• *Baktan = Afghanistan 

Temple of Khonsu in Karnak

550 BCE

Amasis, egyptian king who loves kelby wine, drank a lot and got a hangover 

Was told a story of a sailor who is commanded by the king in the story to leave on a dangerous journey. This plunges him into a deep depression; he is unable to eat, drink, or make love to his wife. The rest of the story was lost.

1200 BCE

King/queen pray for birth of prince -> prince born w/ prophecy (determined by seven Hathors) of dying through crocodile, snake or dog -> vies for princess after leaving kingdom à princess protects him (kills snake) -> prince has interaction w/ dog + crocodile (story ends) 

* seven Hathors determine fate a birth 

placebo!! 

• ** Udjat ("whole" "healthy"): eye of Horus damaed by Seth but restored by Thoth 
• - protective amulet 
• (theme found throughout Egyptian history) 
• 

1st Century CE 

Greek account of murder of Osiris and his resurrection by Isis and Thoth 

• Osiris's body was cut up into many pieces and spread around Egypt
• Isis on a journey to find all the pieces, fashions likeness of member and resurrects Osiris to impregnate herself

most elaborate cippus in the Metropolitan Museum 

• on back, Isis as a widow with little Horus who is not well 
• Isis worries about Horus who is injured, sick, fatherless
• - she needs help 

short mythic tale embedded into a spell

magical amulets/gems may control the uterus 

perhaps meant to stop flow of blood, hemorrhage or menstruation 

Middle Kingdom 2000 BCE 

protective spells 

• magical wand  
• - with protective demons summoned by spells

Taweret: "great one" - a protective goddess who helps women in childbirth and the baby 

Meresger: "she who loves silence" local goddess of Deir el-Medina 

no evidence of dissection in Egypt until Herophilus, Greek physician from Chalcedon, worked at Alexndrian medical school in early Ptolemaic period (250 BCE) 


rarely interactions between doctors and embalmers (embalmers may be consulted before a death, only demonstrated contact with doctors) 

embalmers showed great technical expertise, esp by the removal of the brain through the nose 

embalmers regarded as "unclean"

soft organs removed before mummification and placed in jars under protection of specific deities ("The Sons of Horus") 

• Liver: Immensity (human head under protection of Isis) 
• Lungs: Hapy (baboon under protection of Hathor) 
• Stomach: Duamutef (jackal under protection of Neith) 
• Intestines: Qebehsenuef (hawk under protection of Serqet)

• 500 BCE
• three classes (diff costs) 
• body concealed and embalmed for 70 days before continuing with mummification process 
• flint knife drawing of brain through nostrils

mid 13th dynasty to 3rd century BC 

• found inscribed on heart scarabs (large scarab-shaped amulets) worn around neck 
• spell in which deceased asks their heart not to testify against them at the underworld judgement 

• heart is center of cognition, in the final judgement heart is thought to be weighed against principle of order and justice 
• - afterlife only granted to those who lived a righteous life 
• 

Howard Carter working on body of Tutankhamun (1922)

- cat scan and DNA studies to establish family relationships

Doctors who go against the law’s prescriptions are subject to trial with death as penalty 

Egyptians quite conservative, few stray from established modes of treatment 

• Difficult to explore innovation since few medical papyri survive 
• - But evident in Ebers section 339 indicating a new technique or the introduction of foreign language incantations 

• Egyptain medicine taking inspiration/developing from Greek practices 
• innovations in glosses (feather of vulture as an eyedropper)

1500 BCE (New Kingdom)

• medical text in which a forgein language is utilized for magical purpose 
• - Hebrew words, Mesopotamian gods

Temple of Kom Ombo - for crocodile god Sobek 

not easy to identify use: scissors, balance, scalpel, hooks, forceps, iron blades, tools for dissections ** Roman influence for instruments 

knowledge engraved on walls 

300 BC

First section: descriptions of snakes in Egypt, symptoms of bits and treatments (if... then... format) 

*Selket: scorpion goddess associated with medicine 

prominent role of magical incantations in the cure and preventions of snake bites 

snakes associated with various deities

good snake 

snake swallowing its own tail 

symbolic cyclic nature of time

"to circumcise"

• 
• 2300 BCE 

• evidence for circumcision found in mummies but unusual scene in tomb 
• - combined with pubic hair shaving 
• - likely for ritual initiation into manhood rather than for medical reasons

700 BCE

Nubian (Sudanese) king describes great victories in Egypt, several minor kinglets come to pay respect but some couldn't enter because they were uncircumcised (unclean?)

Old/Middle Kingdom

in tombs, path of communication with dead, offerings presented here to deceased 

• door had engravings of various medical specialties that the deceased held (physiotherapy/massage, manicure/pedicure, reflexology = use of pressure points to relieve pain and promote healing) 
• Irenakhty's false door (from first intermediate period 2000 BC) found in Giza by Junker (1928)

• a royal prince meets the magician Djedi as Djedi is being anointed and massaged 
• - Djedi has "his servant at his head to smear him and another to rub his leg"

natron/salt: used in mummification, drawing fluid/ reduce swelling, drawing pus (external application under bandage for sepsis) 

many minerals used in medicinal drugs

Letters to deceased in forms of prayers written on potter and placed within tombs 

• - accused deceased as being source of negative events befalling living 
• - written to persuade spirits to rule in favor of writer at tribunal (underworld judgement)

• young and proud future physician travels to Egypt to study medicine, finds ancient book with stone and herbal remedies, preaches these remedies to other scholars and to family back home (but remedies don't work), now consumed with anguish and suicidal thoughts, gets a priest to help him speak with Asklepois (greek god of medicine) 
• - finds out that must pick the plants according to the stars

Ramsside Period 1100 BCE 

Egyptian awareness of psychological states 

• lamenting (mourning) love
•  

parasitic disease 

Infection acquired from immersion in water containing worm released by snails 

Haematuria (blood in urine), serious liver and kidney damage, stunt growth, learning disabilities 

Archeological evidence in mummified human

spinal tuberculosis in priests 

• Roma was doorkeeper of 18th or 19th dynasty
• - portrayed on his funerary stela with a grossly wasted and shortened leg and equinus deformity of the foot 

dwarfism as "divine manifestation" -> connection with deity Bes (very popular protector god) 

Achondroplasia = slowed growth of bone in cartilage of growth plate 

Pygmy perform sacred dances, letter asking to bring the pygmy

1st century BCE

Pheros = blinded pharaoh

king punished with blindness by gods, dreamed that he could recover if tears of virtuous women placed in his eyes 

after trying everyone within royal court, a virtuous woman is found outside the royal palace and king’s sight is restored, all non virtuous women were executed

"Mind overstepping" - outcome of someone with late dementia and has lost control of their mental faculties 

dealing with cognitive issues -> brain-fog

Perishing/forgetting of the mind -> dementia

The sun god has become old and senile. He drools and Isis uses his spittle to make a snake. The snake bites the old sun god and she tricks him into giving her his secret name in order to cure him 

sun-god is insulted and falls into a depression

1800 BC

Man suffers from life and longs for death, ba threatens to leave him. Abandonment by his ba would mean total annihilation instead of resurrection and immortal bliss. He pleads that his ba stay with him, saying it is not suicide but natural death with traditional burial. Ba tells him that death is sad and stop complaining and enjoy life. Man is depressed, bleak view of world, so he welcomes death and his ba joins him. 

human-headed bird that leaves body when a person dies, enjoys mobility after death

time of cleopatra 51-30 BC

• vegetables and natron (salt) best food 
• sickness happens bc of problems with food 
• one who drinks too much wine will be hungover the next day 
• moderation 

interaction between Egyptian and Greek traditions

150 BCE

Woman is delighted that he is learning demotic script (greek letters based on Egyptian letters) 

He is learning so he could teach the slave boys, who labor the establishment of an enema doctor

coptic evolved from ancient Egyptain with Greek words 

medicine was predominantly Greek, containing many Egyptian remedies and with Arabic influences 

many coptic monasteries 

 The Aftermath - medical specialists associated with coptic monasteries after about 350 CE

*Coptic medical papyrus (700 CE): Uses of opium

coptic monasteries

Centers of medical treatment and scholarship (like the House of Life in earlier Egypt)