International Conference organised by Chiara Thumiger, Krystal Marlier
Sept 14, 2023 – Sept 15, 2023
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Unter den Linden 6, Room 2249a

This event is part of the DFG-funded research project “Mental Health in Late Antique Medicine: Caelius Aurelianus on Mental Disorders” based in the Department of Classics at the CAU University in Kiel, Germany.

PI: Chiara Thumiger (Cluster of Excellence Roots, CAU Kiel; Visiting scholar, HU Berlin)

The objective of this conference is to explore in a new light the work and influence of the late antique medical writer Caelius Aurelianus. Caelius Aurelianus is the author of a major treatise De morbis acutis et chronicis (On Acute and Chronic Diseases) as well as of the Gynaecia and Medicinales Responsiones which only survive in fragments. It has been several decades since the last dedicated conference on him and his work; it is now time to propose a reevaluation of his figure as a medical thinker, author, and doxographical source, take stock of the scholarly status quaestionis and envisage future lines of inquiry.

This conference is an occasion to discuss key aspects of his work, his significance in the history of medicine, and his status in contemporary scholarship. We are delighted to have gathered a rich and varied combination of experts in ancient medicine and history, history of philosophy and science, ancient languages and literature, and archaeology of the North African context.

Topics of discussion include the practice of medicine, nosology, pathology, medicine and emotions, emotions and therapeutic techniques;  medical traditions, sects, doctrinal diagreements and the Methodist school; the language, style, and narratology of Caelius’ text; questions of authoriality and reception.

Informations : Humboldt Universität