Galen
Roman and Greek physician whose medical theories dominated for over 1,300 years.
Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons
Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus, often anglicized as Galen or Galen of Pergamon, was a Roman and Greek physician, surgeon, and philosopher. Considered one of the most accomplished medical researchers of antiquity, he influenced anatomy, physiology, pathology, pharmacology, neurology, philosophy, and logic. His views dominated Western medical science for more than 1,300 years.
- born
- September 129 CE
- died
- c. 216 CE
- field
- Medicine, surgery, philosophy
- nationality
- Roman and Greek
- known_for
- Theory of the four humors; anatomical reports based on animal dissection; personal physician to several Roman emperors
Lore & Background
Galen was born in September 129 CE in Pergamon (present-day Bergama, Turkey), the son of Aelius Nicon, a wealthy Greek architect with scholarly interests. He received a comprehensive education in philosophy and medicine, studying at the local asclepeion and traveling to Smyrna, Corinth, Crete, Cilicia, Cyprus, and Alexandria. At age 28, he returned to Pergamon as physician to the gladiators of the High Priest of Asia, where he learned about diet, fitness, hygiene, and trauma treatment, referring to wounds as 'windows into the body.' Only five gladiators died under his care, compared to sixty under his predecessor.
Reader's Guide
Galen's significance lies in his synthesis of the Hippocratic theory of the four humors—black bile, yellow bile, blood, and phlegm—with his own anatomical and physiological observations. Because human dissection was forbidden in the Roman Empire, he based his anatomical reports mainly on dissections of Barbary apes and pigs, reasoning that animal anatomy closely resembled human anatomy. His theory of the circulatory system remained unchallenged until Ibn al-Nafis described pulmonary circulation around 1242, and his anatomical reports were uncontested until Andreas Vesalius published human dissections in 1543. Galen's use of direct observation, dissection, and vivisection represented a middle ground between rationalist and empiricist medical sects. Many of his works survive in Greek or translation, though some were destroyed and others attributed to him are considered spurious. His influence on Western medicine lasted more than 1,300 years.
Did You Know?
- Galen's Greek name Galēnós comes from the adjective meaning 'calm'.
- He switched from dissecting Barbary apes to pigs because the apes' vivid facial expressions risked prosecution.
- He served as personal physician to several Roman emperors, including Marcus Aurelius and Commodus.
- Galen's father, Aelius Nicon, was a wealthy architect who had a dream in which the god Asclepius commanded him to send Galen to study medicine.
Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)
"Galen, Exhortation to Study the Arts, Coxe (1846), p. 479; cf. Diogenes Laërtius, vi. 32." — Galen "Galen, On the Affected Parts, Alard (1813), p. 104." — Galen "But it is best of all to look at the human skeleton with your own eyes." — Galen "Galen, On Anatomical Procedures, Bk. 1, Ch. 2; as translated by Charles Singer in Galen on Anatomical Procedures (1956), p. 2." — Galen
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