Maddalena Rumor

This book project uses a novel methodology of identifying likely mistranslations of strange pharmaceutical ingredients (Dreckapotheke) to expand the current thinking about Babylonian pharmacology and our knowledge of its interrelation with Graeco-Roman medicine. With evidence obtained through original comparative analysis, it challenges the commonly-held notion that no textual parallels can be found between these two medical literatures. The results supply a new history of the socio-intellectual context within which ancient medical ideas circulated, developed, created a tradition, and eventually were transmitted. At the same time it offers additional insight into the often elusive relationship between professional and popular healing practices in the Ancient World.