![]() His subsequent works of the same kind-Uarda (1877), Homo sum (1878), Die Schwestern (1880), Der Kaiser (1881), of which the scene is laid in Egypt at the time of Hadrian, Serapis (1885), Die Nilbraut (1887), and Kleopatra (1894), were also well received, and did much to make the public familiar with the discoveries of Egyptologists. Eine ägyptische Königstochter was published in 1864 and obtained great success. Ebers early conceived the idea of popularizing Egyptian lore by means of historical romances. If you’re looking to learn more about Egyptian medicine, or just want to get a look at what passed for Pharmacology in Ancient Egypt, probably a good translation to check out.German Egyptologist and novelist Georg Moritz Ebers discovered the Egyptian medical papyrus, circa 1550 BC, named Ebers papyrus, at Luxor (Thebes) in the winter of 1873/74. And if those didn’t work, there were also the plethora of accompanying magic spells to rely on, most of them offering praise and appeals to various gods that were associated with certain body parts or the ailment in question, to try and convince them to help expedite the healing process. Sure, if you lived in that time, you probably wanted to be in Egypt if you got hurt, but I don’t live in that time and even with all the problems we have now in our healthcare systems, I’m still really grateful I live in our current year, because Egyptian potions were quite gross. Potions often included things like dung from various animals, any number of their various leavings and body parts, minerals like lead and granite or gem stones, and poultices of all manner of awful ingredients. Though not nearly as unnerving as some of the other things the Egyptians had their patients ingest, imbibe, place in various orifices, or rub on their bodies. Meat is also still used on occasion in places to help with bruises, I’m told, but they also used it for open wounds which is a little unnerving. Honey is of interest because as little as they knew about germ theory or had any concept of what it meant for a substance to have antiseptic properties, they still figured out that wounds tended to heal better, somehow. Common practice for wounds for instance, was the use of honey, or meat to cover them. You’ll see a lot of herbs, potions to drink, poultices and the like, as well as detailed spells and appeals to various gods to help get rid of the illness in question. Totally worthwhile in my opinion.Īs compared to the Edwin Smith Papyrus, the Ebers Papyrus has about 700 spells and potions written on it, organized head to toe in terms of what they are supposed to help. As with so many older volumes, I found my copy at the Internet Archive, though unlike some volumes, it requires a free account with the site to access it. You can find it on Amazon, for a price that’s somewhat reasonable if you want a hard copy, or you may be able to find it in a library if your lucky. Bryan and he translated it from a German translation in 1931. The English translation I used was by Cyril P. We’re a lot closer here to witch’s brews, than we have been with the other papyri I’ve read. It largely differs from the other medical papyri that we know of in that where the Hearst Papyrus seemed like more of a list of ailments, and the Edwin Smith Papyrus seems to deal more with how to handle ailments in a more physical or surgical manner, the Ebers Papyrus is more concerned with concocting potions and ointments and the recitation of spells and prayers. ![]() It is believed to have been penned around 1550 BC and the original copy can be found in the collection of the Leipzig University Library. Originally found by Edwin Smith (yes, the same one for whom the Edwin Smith Papyrus is named), it somehow came into the possession of an antiquities dealer in Luxor where it was eventually purchased by the German Egyptologist Georg Ebers. So this article, we’re looking at the more pharmaceutical end of Ancient Egyptian medicine with the Ebers Papyrus. Even so, I’ve still been trying to keep up with my reading. Been a while since my last post, mainly because we’ve been traveling a lot and that’s been keeping me rather busy. ![]()
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