Claudius Galenus of Pergamum ( 131- 201 AD), better known as Galen, was an ancient Greek physician. His views dominated European medicine for over a thousand years. 1 Life
Galen was born in Pergamum (modern-day Bergama, Turkey) to an architect's family. His interests were eclectic - agriculture, architecture, astronomy, astrology, philosophy - until he concentrated on medicine.
By the age of 20 he had become a therapeutes ("attendant" or "associate") of the god Asclepius in the local temple for four years. After his father's death in 148 or 149Events Last (3rd) year of Jianhe of the Chinese Han Dynasty Births Deaths 149. he left to study abroad. He studied in SmyrnaIzmir ( Turkish spelling Izmir contraction of its former name Smyrna in Greek), the second-largest port (after Istanbul) and the third most populous city of Turkey is located on the Aegean Sea near the Gulf of Izmir. It is the capital of the Izmir Provinc and CorinthCorinth Greece is a prominent city in both Greek mythology and the New Testament. There are also numerous places in the United States with this name: Corinth in Bullock County, Alabama Corinth in Clay County, Alabama Corinth in Cullman County, Alabama Cor and at AlexandriaLocated on the Mediterranean Sea coast, Alexandria (in Arabic, al-iskandariyyah is the chief seaport in Egypt, and that country's second largest city, and the capital of the Al Iskandariyah governate. It is located at 31°12'N, 29°15'E, 208 km (129 miles). He studied medicine for a total of twelve years. When he returned to Pergamum in 157Events Births Deaths 157., he worked as a physician in a gladiatorThis article is about the Roman professional fighters. For the Russell Crowe movie, see Gladiator (2000 movie). For the insect, see Gladiator (insect). 1872 painting by Jean-Leon Gerome, is a well known history painter's researched conception of a gladiat school for three or four years. During this time he gained experience of trauma and wound treatment. He later regarded wounds as "windows into the body".
From 162Events Lucius Verus begins a war with the Parthians. Births Deaths Justin Martyr, Christian writer (possible date) 162. he lived in RomeRome ( Italian and Latin Roma is the capital city of Italy, and of its Lazio region. It is located on the lower Tiber river, near the Mediterranean Sea, at 41°50'N, 12°15'E. The Vatican City State, a sovereign enclave within Rome, is the seat of the Roman where he wrote extensively, lectured and publicly demonstrated his knowledge of anatomy. He gained a reputation as an experienced physician and his practice had widespread clientele. One of them was consul Flavius Boethius who introduced him in court where he became a court physician to emperor Marcus Aurelius. Later he also treated Lucius Verus, Commodus and Septimius Severus. Reputedly he spoke mostly Greek, which was a more respected language of medicine than Latin at the time. He briefly returned to Pergamum in 166- 169.
Galen spent the rest of his life in royal court, writing and experimenting. He performed vivisections of numerous animals to study the function of the kidneys and the spinal cord. His favorite subject was the barbary ape. Reportedly he employed 20 scribes to write down his words. In 191, fire in the Temple of Peace destroyed some of his records. His exact date of death has traditionally been placed around the year 200, based on a reference from the 10th century Suda Lexicon. Some, however, have argued for dates as late as 216.
