John Lascaratos

The carbon monoxide poisoning of two Byzantine emperors.

CASE REPORT In this paper, two possible cases of acute carbon monoxide poisoning previously not identified in the medical and historical literature are discussed. The first concerns the famous Byzantine Emperor Julian the Apostate, who may have suffered mild carbon monoxide poisoning from which he quickly and completely recovered. The second case involves his successor, Jovian, who may have succumbed to severe carbon monoxide poisoning. Both cases were in all likelihood due to the burning of coal in braziers, a usual method of indoor heating during that epoch.

Child sexual abuse: historical cases in the Byzantine Empire (324–1453 A.D.)

OBJECTIVE The aim of this article is the presentation and brief analysis of some historical cases, unknown in the broader medical bibliography, of child sexual abuse in Byzantine Society (324-1453 A.D.). METHOD The original texts of the Byzantine historians, chroniclers and ecclesiastical authors, written in the Greek language, were studied in order to locate instances of child sexual abuse. RESULTS Although the punishment provided by the laws and the church for cases of child sexual abuse were very strict, a number of instances of rapes under cover of premature marriages, even in the imperial families, are revealed in these texts. Furthermore, cases of child prostitution, pederasty, and incest are included in the historical texts and some contemporary authors confirmed the presence of many such cases in all classes of Byzantine society. CONCLUSION The research of original Byzantine literature disclosed many instances of child sexual abuse in all social classes even in the mediaeval Byzantine society which was characterized by strict legal and religious prohibitions.

The roots of cosmetic medicine: hair cosmetics in Byzantine times (ad 324–1453)

In the new eastern Roman Empire, a group of talented physicians was established; amongst them, the most eminent were Oribasius of Pergamum (4th century ad ), Aetius of Amida (6th century ad ), Alexander of Tralles (6th century ad ), and Paul of Aegina (7th century ad ). These men studied medicine in Alexandria, followed Hippocratic, Hellenistic, Roman, and Galenic traditions, and enriched medical science from their wealth of experience. This tradition was continued until the conquest of Constantinople by a series of celebrated physicians, such as Theophanes (10th century ad ), Michael Psellus (11th century ad ), Ioannes Actuarius (14th century ad ), and others. An examination of the medical knowledge of the Byzantines is of significant interest, because the majority of them, in their writings, preserve the knowledge of the ancient Greek physicians, many of whose works are now lost, adding their own personal experience. 2

Surgery for inguinal hernia in Byzantine times (A.D. 324-1453): first scientific descriptions.

The aim of this article is to present the techniques applied by Byzantine physicians for inguinal hernia repair and to note their influence on the development of surgery after that time. A study and analysis of the original texts of the Byzantine medical writers, written in Greek, and containing the now mostly lost knowledge of the ancient Hellenistic and Roman periods, was undertaken. Two Byzantine physicians, Aetius of Amida (6th century A.D.) and Paul of Aegina (7th century A.D.), described two techniques for confrontation of inguinal hernia, namely the surgical removal of the prolapsed peritoneum and the cauterization of the groin. These methods were probably derived from the texts of earlier Greek surgeons to which they added their own keen observations. The study of Byzantine medical and literary texts proves that the surgical techniques for inguinal hernia were practiced in Byzantine times and influenced later Arabian and European surgery, thus constituting significant roots of surgery.

The wounding of Alexander the Great in Cyropolis (329 BC) : The first reported case of the syndrome of transient cortical blindness ?

I believe that the transient blindness which presented Alexander the Great after his being wounded on his head and/or his neck by a stone from a catapult during the siege of Cyropolis (329 BC) was in all probability a case of transient cortical blindness that was recognized as a special entity in the 1960s. I reached this conclusion after the comparative study of the Emperors clinical picture provided by ancient texts, especially those of Plutarch and Quintus Curtius Rufus, with that of a modern medical bibliography.

Professor Nicolas Taptas (1871–1955): A Pioneer of Post-Laryngectomy Voice Rehabilitation

Objective To report on the career of Professor Nicolas Taptas of Constantinople (1871–1955) and his contribution to the development of an artificial larynx.

Fatal Wounding of the Byzantine Emperor Julian the Apostate (361–363 a.d.): Approach to the Contribution of Ancient Surgery

Abstract. Byzantine surgery flourished from the early stages of the Byzantine empire (324–1453 a.d.). The first great Byzantine physicians, among the most eminent being Oribasius from Pergamun (fourth century), not only compiled anthologies of the works of ancient Greek, Alexandrian, and Roman physicians but added their own personal practical experience and observations. The circumstances surrounding, and the treatment of, the fatal abdominal wounding of one of the most renowned emperors of Byzantium, Julian the Apostate (361–363 a.d.), is examined based on historical accounts unknown in the broader medical bibliography, namely, the histories and chronicles of Byzantine writers. From this analysis it can be concluded that the emperors physician, Oribasius, in all probability, applied knowledge of ancient Greek and Roman surgery to save his famous patient. The techniques of “gastrorrhaphy” and pharmaceutical confrontation of the wound in that era, adopted later by the surgeons of the Medieval West, seem to constitute noteworthy roots of modern surgery.

Operations on hermaphrodites and castration in Byzantine times (324-1453 AD).

The authors present and comment on the surgical methods performed on hermaphrodites and for castration, which are unique in the medical bibliography of Byzantium and were described by the famous physician of the 7th century, Paul of Aegina. The latter describes the techniques of reconstruction of hermaphrodites learned from the now lost work of the great surgeon of the 1st century AD, Leonidas from Alexandria. Paul of Aegina presents, with some ethical reservation the scientific methods of castration used by surgeons only in cases of acts of God or for serious health reasons, where they were obliged to operate. The authors furthermore present the legal position of the state and the church in relation to a phenomenon so widespread in Byzantium as castration.

The penalty of blinding during Byzantine times

This paper which is based on the works of Byzantine chroniclers examines the imposition of blinding as a penalty in Byzantium. Punishment by blinding, though of extremely ancient origin, was imposed on Christians in the Roman Empire under the rule of Diocletian (AD 303). This continued up to the time of Constantine the Great and blinding as a penalty reappeared in the Byzantine Empire (AD 705) under the rule of Justinian Rhinotmitos. The writers investigate the grounds for the imposition of the penalty, and the methods employed, and a series of examples are given as handed down by Byzantine chroniclers. Finally, the ethical background of the penalty is examined according to the legislature and common-law extant in Byzantium.

“Eyes” on the Thrones: Imperial Ophthalmologic Nicknames

Several Greek and Byzantine sovereigns are known in history by nicknames that are of ophthalmologic origin; the sobriquets derive from characteristics of their eyes or their actions in relation to the eyes. The first was Antigonos I Monophthalmus (the One-eyed), who was the most eminent successor of Alexander the Great and Sovereign of Eastern Mediterranean Asia. He obtained his nickname at an early age when he lost one eye fighting at the seige of Perinthos, as a general of King Philip of Macedon (father of Alexander the Great). Several Byzantine emperors also have a number of similar nicknames, such as Anastasius I Dicoros (with Heterochromia Iridis), Alexius V Ducas Murtzuphlus (with Scowling Eyebrows), and Andronicus I Comnenus Misophaes (Hater of Sunlight, since he blinded a great number of his opponents). To these must be added the Byzantine Empress Zoe Carvounopsina (with Coal-black Eyes).