Greco-roman sources on the healing art of middle and eastern european peoples

GRECO-ROMAN SOURCES ON THE HEALING ART OF MIDDLE AND EASTERN EUROPEAN PEOPLES Obreza, Aleš Aškerèeva 7 1000 LJUBLJANA SLOVENIA In professional literature there is a large amount of articles, dealing with the history of pharmacy. Nevertheless, to date there remains the need of a critical search in Greco-roman written sources with the aim to find data, concerning the attitude of “civilised” inhabitants of Mediterranean, towards their practise of healing art of their culturally less developed neighbours. The article presents a possibility of further research in this interesting field. Research comprised the careful reading of more than 20 available texts in which Greeks and Romans regarded other nations as barbaric, culturally and scientifically inferior to them. The sources about healing art among them are therefore rare and dispersed throughout their work. The only exception is presented in the person of Pliny the Elder, who very methodically presented the preparations used by ancient men. The following centuries present another reduction in the number and quality of sources that lasted until the dissolution of Roman state and the formation of Byzantine empire in the east.