The Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) and the Center for Hellenic Studies (CHS) are pleased to announce a multidisciplinary seminar on “Ancient Medicine, Science, and Magic” for faculty members at CIC member colleges and universities. The seminar will broaden faculty members’ knowledge and perspective to help them strengthen the teaching of the classics. Thanks to generous support from the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation there is no cost for participation.
Ancient Greek science is best known for its concern with deductive demonstration, as exemplified by mathematical texts such as Euclid’s Elements, and with theoretical explanation of natural phenomena. These concerns, which are shared by seminal philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle, are undoubtedly crucial and highly influential aspects of Greek thought. Yet, much of ancient scientific literature is concerned not so much with explanation as with prediction and control. Doctors aimed not only to understand how the body worked, but to restore their patients to health. Astronomical cycles were studied to predict changes in the seasons and the weather, knowledge which could also be useful to doctors in anticipating changing disease conditions. The discipline we know as “astrology” aimed to deploy knowledge of the heavens to predict the fates of individuals and states. Engineers harnessed the power of technology to alter nature in ways beneficial for human needs. The aim to control natural phenomena overlaps with the goal of magical practices; indeed it was precisely this similarity that led many medical and scientific writers to attempt to distinguish their own activities from magic.
The seminar will be organized around units touching on all these themes, with examples drawn from medicine, philosophy, engineering, astronomy, and astrology. Through short presentations and guided discussions, participants will explore ancient Greek science, medicine, and magic from a broad perspective, that can be used to design a wide range of instructional materials. The seminar will led by Mark Schiefsky, C. Lois P. Grove Professor of the Classics at Harvard University and director of the Center for Hellenic Studies.
The Center for Hellenic Studies
The CHS is dedicated to the reassertion of the humanism of the ancient world, centering on Hellenic civilization in its widest sense. Today, it stands as a premier research facility, cultivating a repository of materials that attracts scholars, researchers, and students from all over the world. Located in Washington, DC, Harvard University’s Center for Hellenic Studies was founded by means of an endowment made “exclusively for the establishment of an educational center in the field of Hellenic Studies designed to rediscover the humanism of the Hellenic Greeks.” This humanistic vision remains the driving force of the Center for Hellenic Studies.
A fitting metaphor for the mission of the Center (and the basis of its logo) is the lighthouse of Alexandria, the Pharos, as envisioned in the dream of Alexander the Great. The story of this vision, as retold in Plutarch’s Life of Alexander, was meant to become a permanent “charter myth” that captured the ideal of Alexandria-in-Egypt as the ultimate Greek city and—more basically—the ideal of Hellenic Civilization as a universalized concept of humanism, transcending distinctions between Europe and non-Europe. The Center tries to honor these ideals by bringing together a variety of research and teaching interests centering on Hellenic civilization in the widest sense of the term “Hellenic.” This concept encompasses the evolution of the Greek language and its culture as a central point of contact for all the different civilizations of the ancient Mediterranean world. Interaction with foreign cultures, including the diffusion of Roman influence, is an integral part of this concept.
Workshop Leader
Mark J. Schiefsky is director of the Center for Hellenic Studies and C. Lois P. Grove Professor of the Classics at Harvard University. He has published numerous articles and reviews in the fields of ancient philosophy and science, as well as Hippocrates On Ancient Medicine: Translated with Introduction and Commentary (2005), which studies these themes in the case of one of the most important and influential texts of the Hippocratic Corpus, On Ancient Medicine. Apart from ancient medicine and mechanics, Schiefsky studies the reception of ancient Greek philosophy and science, particularly in the Arabic-speaking world, and continues to work on extending and developing digital humanities resources, with the aim of creating a rigorous, multilingual approach to studying conceptual developments in the history of science and philosophy.
Current Status
The seminar will be held July 29–August 4, 2024, at the Center for Hellenic Studies in Washington, DC. Up to 20 participants will be selected by competitive nomination. Lodging, most meals, and seminar materials will be provided, thanks to generous support from the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation and the Center for Hellenic Studies. The only cost to participants or their institutions is transportation to and from the seminar location.
Contact Information
If you have any questions or comments please contact Stephen Gibson, CIC’s director of programs, at sgibson@cic.edu or (202) 466-7230.