Browsing by Author "Kokoszko, Maciej"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    On Anthimus and his work
    (Wydawnictwo KUL, 2022) Kokoszko, Maciej
    In the Church Fathers’ teachings there are numerous references to medical knowledge, including those concerning dietetics. They were, however, not meant to be used to heal the faithful but they were a resource of morally elevating metaphors appropriate in preaching Christian ethics. The first fully extant work on dietetics penned by a Christian author is entitled De observatione ciborum. It is a Latin collection of dietetic advice addressed to Teuderich, ruler of the Franks (6th c. AD). Its author, Anthimus, was a Greek physician exiled from Constantinople, first seeking refuge among the Arrian Goths, and later sent to the Catholic Franks on diplomatic missions. The present article provides a fuller picture of Anthimus’ medical competence and shows arguments to pinpoint the date of compiling the treatise. The analysis is based on three entries of the treatise, namely Chapters 25, 26 and 33. The method adopted in the research is a heuristic analysis of Anthimus’ work, and select, mainly medical, literature. The author of the present study argues that the work was composed in the Constantinopolitan milieu after 508, possibly circa 511. Its author was a competent physician, able to creatively apply theories he learned.
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    On Frankincense-scented Soaps, Peelings and Cleansers or on Cosmetics and Commotics in Antiquity and Early Byzantium
    (Wydawnictwo KUL, 2021) Kokoszko, Maciej; Rzeźnicka, Zofia
    Cosmetology (τέχνη κοσμητική), i.e. a resource of means aimed at maintaining natural beauty of a human, was not frowned upon by the pagans nor by the Christians. What they disapproved of was commotic (κομμωτικὴ τέχνη), defined (by Galen, Clement of Alexandria, Gregory of Nyssa and Theodoret of Cyrus ) as an art of changing the outward appearance to the detriment of nature and one’s health. The present study has been designed to discuss select information, extant in Book VIII of Iatricorum libri by Aëtius of Amida, on what preparations were at disposal of the people of the Mediterranean who cared for their physical cleanliness (as well as health), regardless of their religious proclivities. It is focused on a number of prescriptions for face and body cleansers, though the analysed inventory has been limited to the ones including frankincense. The research material has turned out to be ample enough to draw conclusions on the ingredients used in such agents, their effectiveness, the form of the preparations, their application mode as well as on the addressees of the recipes. It has been also suggested that the formulas were compiled from the body of medical knowledge, akin to what was collected by Titus Statilius Crito in his work On cosmetics.
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    The History of Polyarchion (πολυάρχιον), John Chrysostom’s Illness, and Access to Medicinal Treatments at the End of Late Antiquity
    (Wydawnictwo KUL, 2024) Rzeźnicka, Zofia; Kokoszko, Maciej
    John Chrysostom’s (c. 347‑407) works are valuable for medical historians because they provide us with a first-hand insight into his health problems and the therapies he was treated with. John’s correspondence gives us a unique opportunity to assess the popularity of certain drugs and the availability of healthcare, enabling us to verify the extant medical data. In the present study we will discuss the information on Chrysostom’s illness including his mention of a medicament named polyarchion (πολυάρχιον) which had been sent to the archbishop by Carteria. On the basis of the recipes preserved in medical treatises by Galen as well as other medical data, we will introduce the main properties of the medicine and treatments in which it was administered. Having outlined the scope of its action, and having analysed the symptoms of Chrysostom’s condition described in his correspondence to Olympias, we will establish the nature of the ecclesiastic’s main ailments fully. Finally, we will also conclude on the drug’s availability in the Byzantine world and on the inclusion of drug formulas in early Byzantine medical works. Pisma Jana Chryzostoma (ok. 347 - 407) stanowią cenne dla historyków medycyny źródło informacji, dostarczając bezpośredniego wglądu w jego problemy zdrowotne i terapie, którym był poddawany. Korespondencja Jana daje nam unikalną możliwość zbadania popularności niektórych leków i dostępności opieki zdrowotnej, umożliwiając tym samym weryfikację danych zachowanych w traktatach medycznych. W niniejszym artykule przeanalizujemy stan zdrowia Chryzostoma w oparciu o jego wzmiankę dotyczącą leku zwanego polyarchion (πολυάρχιον), przesłanego arcybiskupowi przez niejaką Karterię. Na podstawie przepisów na polyarchion zachowanych w traktatach Galena i Pawła z Eginy przybliżymy główne właściwości tego medykamentu i terapie, w których był stosowany. Nakreśliwszy zakres jego działania i przeanalizowawszy dolegliwości Chryzostoma opisane w jego korespondencji z Olympias oraz w jego żywocie autorstwa Palladiusza z Galacji, ustalimy te, na które duchowny uskarżał się najczęściej. Finalnie ocenimy dostępność analizowanego leku na przełomie IV i V wieku oraz zasady włączania antycznych recept do wczesnobizantyńskich pism medycznych.