Page 164 - Sarpedon’dan Keykubad’a Bir Zamanlar Antalya

The Doctor From Attaleia
Athenaeus
Once upon a time, a physician from these lands managed to
carry his fame to Rome with the innovations that he introduced.
As a result of this, the name of this great scientist who prac-
ticed medicine in Rome, Athenaeus is remembered. Athenaeus
was from Attelia, that is, a compatriot from Antalya. He provided
cures for people’s diseases in Kaleiçi, which we are visiting to-
day.
Athenaeus, who had a successful medical education, also
became a student of the famous philosopher Posidonius. The
physician from Antalya left his mark on the history of medicine
with nearly 30 volumes of books concerning different fields of
medicine such as: physiology, pathology, embryology, thera-
peutics and diet. So much so that the most important scientist
among those who refer to these books is the great physician
Galen from Pergamon. Athenaeus, who was of the pneumanist
view, defended the view that the pneuma represents the spirit
within us and is constantly spreading throughout our body. Ac-
cording to Athenaeus, the body consists of four different quali-
ties: hot, cold, wet and dry. According to him, the source of all
diseases is due to an imbalance between these four different
qualities in the body. He stated that the combination of warmth
and wetness reveals a very healthy state, but fever and dryness
of the skin reveal diseases. In this context, the great medicine
man likened the vital form of man to the seasonal cycles. So
much so that the treatment method at this point was to suppress
the fever. For this, diet was a very important method for Athe-
naeus. Dueto his research on diet, he made significant contribu-
tions to the development of dietary science. For example there
are statements about the health benefits and harms to the body
of different types of grains. In addition to these, he discussed
the effects of climate or the location of residences on human
health. He was interested in the issue of cleaning drinking water.
He also intervened in the approach of women and warned them
to avoid alcohol consumption and attend to their nutrition and

163