Ἐρασίστρατος
Erasistratos, Erasistratus
Translated by D. Graham J. Shipley14 Jan 2001Vetting: high5 revisions
Translation
[Erasistratos] of Ioulis, [i.e.] from the Iouliad city-state on Keos island. Therefore he is styled Keian.1 Son of Kretoxene, the sister of Medios the doctor,2 and of Kleombrotos.
This man cured Antiochos the king3 when he was sick with longing for his stepmother Stratonike. He discovered the illness by holding his hand over the man's heart and estimating its fluttering. For every time Antiochos happened to see his stepmother passing through, his heart fluttered markedly with his desire for this woman.4
He is buried by Mount Mykale, opposite Samos. He wrote 9 books on medicine.
This man cured Antiochos the king3 when he was sick with longing for his stepmother Stratonike. He discovered the illness by holding his hand over the man's heart and estimating its fluttering. For every time Antiochos happened to see his stepmother passing through, his heart fluttered markedly with his desire for this woman.4
He is buried by Mount Mykale, opposite Samos. He wrote 9 books on medicine.
Greek original · Adler’s text
Ἐρασίστρατος, Ἰουλιήτης, ἀπὸ Ἰουλιάδος πόλεως Κέω τῆς νήσου. χρηματίζει οὖν Κήϊος, υἱὸς Κρητοξένης, τῆς Μηδίου τοῦ ἰατροῦ ἀδελφῆς, καὶ Κλεομβρότου. οὗτος Ἀντίοχον τὸν βασιλέα νοσοῦντα ὑπὸ τοῦ τῆς μητρυιᾶς Στρατονίκης πόθου ἰάσατο, εὑρὼν τὸ πάθος ἐκ τοῦ σχεῖν τὴν χεῖρα ἐπὶ τὴν καρδίαν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὸν παλμὸν συνει- κάσαι. ὁσάκις γὰρ ἔβλεπεν ὁ Ἀντίοχος τὴν μητρυιὰν αὐτοῦ τυχὸν διερχομένην ἐπάλλετο τὴν καρδίαν μάλιστα τῷ ταύτης ἔρωτι. τέθαπται δὲ πρὸς τῷ ὄρει τῇ Μυκάλῃ, καταντικρὺ Σάμου. ἔγραψεν ἰατρικὰ βιβλία θʹ.
Betacode
*)erasi/stratos, *)ioulih/ths, a)po\ *)ioulia/dos po/lews *ke/w th=s nh/sou. xrhmati/zei ou)=n *kh/i+os, ui(o\s *krhtoce/nhs, th=s *mhdi/ou tou= i)atrou= a)delfh=s, kai\ *kleombro/tou. ou(=tos *)anti/oxon to\n basile/a nosou=nta u(po\ tou= th=s mhtruia=s *stratoni/khs po/qou i)a/sato, eu(rw\n to\ pa/qos e)k tou= sxei=n th\n xei=ra e)pi\ th\n kardi/an au)tou= kai\ to\n palmo\n sunei- ka/sai. o(sa/kis ga\r e)/blepen o( *)anti/oxos th\n mhtruia\n au)tou= tuxo\n dierxome/nhn e)pa/lleto th\n kardi/an ma/lista tw=| tau/ths e)/rwti. te/qaptai de\ pro\s tw=| o)/rei th=| *muka/lh|, katantikru\ *sa/mou. e)/grayen i)atrika\ bibli/a q#.
Notes (4)
- c.315-(?)240 BC. See generally, esp. on the medical aspects, Heinrich von Staden in OCD(4) s.v.
- 1On Keos and Ioulis see generally Gary Reger in M.H. Hansen & T.H. Nielsen (eds.), An Inventory of Archaic and Classical Poleis (Oxford 2004) 747-7749. ↩
- 2Perhaps the man who generated mu 885. ↩
- 3i.e. ultimately Antiochos I Soter (reigned 281-261), son of Seleukos I (sigma 202: successor of Alexander the Great; king of Alexander's former Asiatic territories from 305 to 281). See further, next note. ↩
- 4Antiochos was designated co-ruler from 294 or 293, so the handing on of Stratonike (Seleukos' second wife) to her stepson may have had the political purpose of cementing the succession. The tale of the lovesick Antiochos is told in Plutarch's biography of Stratonike's father (Demetrios 38) and also in Appian, Syriaca 308-313, and Lucian. Shipley (below) 71: 'the episode was embellished as a love story by Hellenistic writers [using Euripides' Hippolytus as a model: DW] ... None of this need be true: the story may well have its origin in propaganda designed to demonstrate the harmonious working relationship between father and son, concealing Seleukos' true purpose in sharing the kingship with his son to ensure a smooth succession. Alternatively, the story need not have its origin in Seleukid propaganda, and may tell us nothing about royal policy, but may be the product of the rhetorical tradition of earlier imperial times'. ↩
References
Shipley, G. (2000), The Greek World after Alexander: 323-30 BC (London and New York: Routledge)
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Revision history5 revisions · last 15 Jan 2016
- Revised — David Whitehead
- augmented notes; another keyword — David Whitehead
- tweaking — David Whitehead
- more keywords — David Whitehead
- augmented bibliography; modified keywords; cosmetics — David Whitehead
- Translated — D. Graham J. Shipley