Monday 11. 5. 2026 16:00
lecture | Center for Medieval Studies Room 114, Jilská 1, Prague 1 Reception will follow at 17:45 at Husova 7 (around the corner from Jilská)
Alain Touwaide, Emanuela Appetiti: Dioscorides, De materia medica, and its Tradition: Revisiting Scholarship
Organized by the Department for the Study of Ancient and Medieval Thought as a part of the Alchemies of Scent project
Detailed information
Speakers:
Alain Touwaide
Institute for the Preservation of Medical Traditions
Center for Hellenic Studies, Harvard University
Emanuela Appetiti
Institute for the Preservation of Medical Traditions
Center for Hellenic Studies, Harvard University
Dioscorides, De materia medica, and its Tradition: Revisiting Scholarship
De materia medica by Dioscorides, composed in the first century CE, is the most comprehensive ancient work on the therapeutic uses of natural substances. Although it has been extensively studied, closer attention to its text, translations, and manuscripts reveals many overlooked or unrecognized details. These details change the picture of both the work itself and its tradition from Antiquity to the Renaissance. This seminar presents fresh research on Dioscorides and his seminal role in the development of Mediterranean pharmacotherapeutics.
For more information:
