Olympias of Thebes

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Olympias of Thebes was a Greek midwife who lived in the first century B.C.E. [1] She was also a writer. [1] She was distinguished among the ancient Greeks for her medical writings and medical ability. [2] [3]

Pliny wrote that Olympias stated that mallows "with goose grease ... cause abortion" and that she could cure a type "of barrenness. . . by bull's gall, serpents' fat, copper rust and honey, rubbed on the parts before intercourse". [1]

It is also likely that Dioscorides knew about her work. [1]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Marilyn Bailey Ogilvie; Joy Dorothy Harvey (2000). The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science: L-Z. Taylor & Francis. pp. 962–. ISBN   978-0-415-92040-7.
  2. James Read Chadwick (1879). The Study and Practice of Medicine by Women. A.S. Barnes & Company. pp. 444–.
  3. Jessie Boucherett. The Englishwoman's review (of social and industrial questions) [ed. by J. Boucherett].