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Home , Amphidromia, Paideia, Silphium

The Birth of : Ancient Views, Modern Interpretations, and Enduring Debates

By Cody Kornack , History, Colorado College Bachelor of Arts May 2014

Kornack

“Our society may allow women far greater control of their own destiny than the ancient world did, but women are still subject to political, social and personal restrictions, norms and rules that make motherhood not always desirable.”

~Konstantinos Kapparis, Abortion in the Ancient World

Kornack

Acknowledgements

Foremost, I would like to thank the professors of the Classics, History, and Politics departments at Colorado College for creating an environment that cultivated my intellect, encouraged my curiosity, and imbued me with the determination to pursue this thesis topic. In particular, I am especially thankful for the guidance and encouragement of Sanjaya Thakur who helped me throughout the research and writing of this thesis. Likewise, I would like to thank

Owen Cramer and Marcia Dobson for their enduring support with regards to teaching me Greek, as well as Dan Leon and Carol Neel for their helpful comments and suggestions in my editing process. I am endlessly thankful for the love, guidance, and support of my parents, Julie and

Russ, and both of my brothers, Kyle and Jake.

Honor Code Upheld

Cody Kornack Kornack

Table of Contents

Introduction ...... 1 Ancient Terminology ...... 4 Methodology ...... 5 Demand, Motive, Accessibility, and Judgment ...... 9 Background ...... 13 Works: The Man and the Corpus ...... 16 The Oath and Abortion ...... 18 The Remainder of the Corpus and Abortion ...... 24 Influence ...... 26 Translation of the Hippocratic Oath ...... 28 Background ...... 29 Works ...... 30 Influence ...... 32 Background ...... 34 Works ...... 35 Influence ...... 38 Pythagoreans Background ...... 40 Works ...... 40 Influence ...... 41 Soranus Background ...... 43 Works ...... 43 Influence ...... 44 Popular Culture Oratory ...... 46 Hymn to ...... 47 Plays ...... 49 Religion ...... 52 Conclusion ...... 53 Bibliography ...... 57 Kornack 1

Introduction In this paper, I intend to examine views on abortion, evidenced by critical political, philosophical, and medical figures of the day, shaped by mythology and playwrights, and illustrated through surviving academic texts and popular literature. With reference to the original works of Hippocrates, Plato, and Aristotle, among others, and through the synthesis and analysis of modern scholars, such as Konstantinos Kapparis, John Riddle, and Ludwig Edelstein,

I aim to present an in-depth examination of the complex framework that shaped ancient Greek views on abortion which continue to resonate so strongly in the contemporary debate.

In my search to find a thesis-worthy topic, my highest priority was to be able to write on a topic still relevant and interwoven throughout our own society. While direct and indirect references to abortive remedies abound in Greek texts of various sorts, each offering its own opinion, conflicting opinions in ancient times did not typically lead to the imposition of one person’s will or idea of “right” on another person. One cannot help but contrast this approach to that of contemporary society. Today, many organizations, both religious and political, seek to translate their religious ideology or beliefs about abortion into the law of the land. Even so, the modern debate resembles the discussions of ancient times in other ways in that the objective knowledge needed to determine definitively when life begins and whether abortion should be sanctioned continues to elude us.

In analyzing the various elements of the abortion debate, it becomes clear that the opinions and scholarship regarding abortion are significantly shaped by the culture, region, and time period in which they develop. Generally, a child in ancient was protected by law and bestowed with moral rights only after formally being accepted by the father in a naming Kornack 2 ceremony, referred to as .1 In pre-Christian times, abortion, through both chemical and surgical means, was widely accepted as a practical method of controlling family size or simply eliminating an unwanted fetus.2 Exceptions did arise, however. A fourth century BCE speech made by Lysias, an Attic political orator, deliberates on such an exception in which an abortion gave rise to controversy.3

Inconsistencies arise early in the with regards to textual evidence. For example, medical writings, beginning with those attributed to the Hippocratic Corpus, refer to abortions and detail prescriptions on how one would be performed or induced. Yet, concurrently, the Hippocratic Oath clearly forbade physicians from prescribing abortive pessaries. In the 300’s

BCE, Aristotle endeavored to find biological evidence to determine the point at which a fetus attained a psyche, or life force.4 Echoing the Hippocratic Oath of centuries earlier, Soranus, the second century AD medical writer who left behind that period’s most detailed book on gynecology, advised against pessaries, limiting his concerns to the danger they posed to the mother and remaining silent on the moral implications of aborting a fetus.5 By that time, though, the text of the Hippocratic Oath had already been changed to imply that it forbade not just

1 Mentioned by Aristotle (History of Animals, 588a8): “it was here that the creation of a legal social identity took place.” Liston, Maria & Susan Rotroff: Babies in the Well: Archaeological Evidence for Newborn Disposal in ; ed. Grubbs, Judith and Tim Parkin. The Oxford Handbook of Childhood and in the Classical World: 77 2 Riddle, John. "Oral Contraceptives and Early-Term during and the Middle Ages," Oxford Journals 132 (1991): 4 3 Sopater, in “On Abortion,” quotes Lysias referring to an induced abortion that was tried in court as a homicide. Kapparis, Konstantinos. “Women and Family in Athenian Law,” in Adriaan Lanni, ed., “Athenian Law in its Democratic Context” (Center for Hellenic Studies On-line Discussion Series). Republished in C.W. Blackwell, ed., Dēmos: Classical (A. Mahoney and R. Scaife, edd., The Stoa: a consortium for electronic publication in the humanities) edition of March 22, 2003. 4 Patsioti, Joanna. "Aristotelian Perspectives on Social Ethics." The Archive: Archive of Twentieth World Congress of (1998). 5 Salisbury, Joyce E. of Women in the Ancient World. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC- CLIO, 2001. pg. 1 Kornack 3 abortive pessaries but abortions of any kind.6 The practice of abortion, even in ancient times, is burdened with controversy, fueled by beliefs of prominent individuals, societal and cultural values, and the dearth of information that all three of these factors suffered throughout time and without prejudice to geographic region.

The current debate on abortion is as contentious as ever, with pro-choice and pro-life galvanizing and dividing families and politicians alike. While the issues concerning abortion are closely associated with modern times, the feminist movement, and the seminal

United States Supreme Court decision, Roe v. Wade,7 the varying opinions regarding abortion and the bioethics inherent in such a debate predate even the Hippocratic Oath, which originated more than 2,400 years ago.8 Ancient discussions were fueled by philosophical thought and science, both of which produced strong, unwavering opinions, not unlike their modern counterparts. Since the times of Aristotle, Lysias, and others mentioned in this paper, scientific advances have enabled us to understand with certainty the process of fetal development; despite these advances, however, society seems no closer to answering the fundamental questions at the heart of every abortion debate: When does life begin? What are the moral implications of abortion? When, if ever, is abortion murder? And, finally, who bears the authority to answer such questions? The enduring nature of these questions inspired me to examine how such questions were asked and answered in societies gifted with Hippocrates, Aristotle, and Plato, some of the greatest thinkers in recorded history.

6 Riddle, John. Eve's Herbs: A History of Contraception and Abortion in the West. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 1997. Print. 38 7 Pollitt, Katha."Abortion in American History," The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, May 1997. Web. 8 Hulkower, Raphael. "The History of the Hippocratic Oath: Outdated, Inauthentic, and Yet Still Relevant." The Einstein Journal of Biology and 25 (2010): 2009-10. Kornack 4

Ancient Abortions Terminology

A reflection on abortion that traverses centuries and continents in two very different languages requires some clarification about terminology. The Classical does not differentiate between spontaneous and induced abortions.9 Konstantinos Kapparis details the various Greek words used throughout ancient texts to refer to either spontaneous or induced abortions: amblosis, ektrosis/trosis/troma/trosmos, or phthora/apophora for the noun, and ambloun/ambliskein/amblottein, ektitroskein, or phtheirein/apophtheirein for the verb.10

Kapparis recognizes that Galen, a Roman physician of the second century AD, also made an effort to define the various words, saying, “[Galen] says that amblosis is the ektrosis of an immature foetus.”11 Lysias, an , used the word amblosis, while ektrosis is often used in the works of the Hippocratic Corpus.12 Kapparis goes on to speculate that the difference in the usage of the ancient words resembles the differences in the usage of the modern words, where amblose is applied in a formal context and ektrose is the informal equivalent.13

Pessaries, the abortion method referenced in the Hippocratic Oath, are vaginal suppositories that are inserted into the uterus in either liquid or solid form. Contrastingly, is a term applied to any agent that terminates a pregnancy.14 According to Riddle,

“[T]he words for emmenagogues and abortifacients were also interchangeable” in classical

9 Kapparis, Konstantinos. Abortion in the Ancient World. London: Duckworth Academic, 2002. Print. 7 10 Ibid. 8 The Greek, along with the definition, provided by Perseus.tufts.edu: ἄµβλωµα (abortion), ἔκτρωµα (untimely birth), ἀποφθορά (abortion, miscarriage) 11 Ibid. 12 Ibid. 13 Ibid. 14 Riddle, John. Contraception and Abortion from the Ancient World to the Renaissance. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 1992. Print. 9 Kornack 5

Greek.15 However, today, the term, emmenagogues, specifically refers to herbs that promote menstruation, regardless of the presence of a fetus.16

Methodology

In antiquity, abortion was a permissible solution to an unwanted pregnancy.17 Pessaries and other concoctions to induce abortion were commonplace and varied. Thus, an abundance of information exists today about the ancient methodology of the induction of abortions. Many recipes for abortive potions recommended by those who practiced Hippocratic medicine are preserved to this day, including:

• Three inches of soap-wort (stroutheion) root boiled in honey; • One obol of poplar from powdered in water. It was supposed to expel a dead foetus; • Leaves of chaste-tree (agnos) in wine.18

Over time, the scarcity of ingredients or a desire for experimentation led doctors and midwives to substitute some ingredients for others, impacting the final products’ effectiveness.19 Some ingredients reoccur in these ancient abortive recipes more often than others. The ancient used a vast number of “herbal abortifacients, including silphium (a giant ), pennyroyal, and myrrh; modern analyses suggest that many of these were effective.”20 Riddle claims that “…the apparent reason for the of silphion [or silphium] is that it was prized more highly than

15 Riddle, Contraception and Abortion ….11 16 Riddle, "Oral Contraceptives….” 10 Augarde, A. J. The Oxford Dictionary. 17 Riddle, John. "Oral Contraceptives and Early-Term Abortifacients during Classical Antiquity and the Middle Ages." Oxford Journals 132 (1991). Print. 4 Perry, Dr. David L. "Abortion and Personhood: Historical and Comparative Notes." Abortion and Personhood: Historical and Comparative Notes. Web. 28 Oct. 2013 18 Kapparis. Abortion in the Ancient World 14 19 Ibid. 20 "Abortion." International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. Ed. William A. Darity, Jr. 2nd ed. Vol. 1. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2008. 1-3. U.S. History In Context. Web. 2 Oct. 2013. Kornack 6 the related , combined with the fact that ancient attempts to cultivate it were unsuccessful.”21 In this case, the demand for a plant known for its abortive qualities was so great that it could not be cultivated quickly enough in regions hospitable to its growth. The silphium plant and the valuable role that it played in ancient society are reflected in the image below that displays a fifth-sixth century BCE .22

Scholars disagree as to the primary uses and the importance of silphium. The plant was rather resistant to cultivation and, as a result, became strongly associated with its place of origin,

Cyrene. Scholars speculate that silphium was most likely given its name by the Cyrene population which became closely associated with silphium over the following centuries.23 Nearly all that survive from the seventh-first century BCE picture the silphium plant, a testament to the impact that the plant had on the area’s trade and economy.24 Totelin describes silphium as a valuable commodity, regularly traded between and Crete.25 In myth,

Aristaeus, the son of , who is the patron of agriculture,26 is said to have discovered the uses of the plant.27 Totelin argues that silphium was used primarily as a culinary herb but also acknowledges that it is referenced in some sources, such as the Hippocratic works, as an abortive agent. He criticizes Riddle’s argument that silphium was cultivated for its role as an abortive or contraceptive agent, characterizing this as an exaggeration.28 With much debate and little evidence, some scholars speculate that the trade of silphium began in the Bronze Age. Over the

21 Riddle, "Oral Contraceptives …." 8 22 See image on following page. 23 Totelin, Laurence M. V. Hippocratic Recipes: Oral and Written Transmission of Pharmacological Knowledge in Fifth- and Fourth-century Greece. Leiden: Brill, 2009. Print. 158 24 Ibid. 25 Ibid. 159 26 Lindemans, Micha. "Aristaeus." Encyclopedia Mythica. 2014. Encyclopedia Mythica Online. 27 Ibid. 28 Totelin, Hippocratic Recipes… 160 Kornack 7 centuries, however, the popularity and various uses of the plant, paired with its resistance to cultivation, led to the extinction of the highly-valued plant.29 While modern scholars debate nearly every aspect of the plant, ranging from its name’s origin to its primary use, it remains clear that the plant was extremely popular and, to some degree, recognized for its contraceptive uses.

Sixth-fifth century BCE Cyrenian coins, both bearing images of the silphium plant

29 Silphium is the first plant on record to have been driven to extinction (Gow, Mary. Measuring the Earth: and His Celestial Geometry, 20). Pliny wrote that the last known silphium plant was gifted to the Roman Emperor, (Pliny, XIX, Ch.15). It is also speculated that the shape of the silphium seed is what eventually became the of modernity. Kornack 8

Many records indicate that mechanical abortion techniques—the application of pressure or use of various objects—were also commonly used.30 Hippocratic medicine, especially, appears well informed of the potential for inducing an abortion through mechanical means. In one Hippocratic treatise, On the Nature of the Child, the author recommends a mechanical means for abortion, saying that he advised a pregnant prostitute to kick her heels up in order to hit her buttocks and successfully induce an abortion.31 Soranus credits this passage with leading some to believe that Hippocrates was not entirely against abortion.32 Mechanically-induced abortions were mentioned by Hippocrates, Soranus, and Galen.33 In Galen’s case, however, the abortion was spontaneous and inflicted against the woman’s will.34

In addition to mechanically-induced abortions, an ancillary technique, referred to as

“bleeding,” was used along with other treatments to induce abortions. Bleeding was recommended by Galen and Soranus.35 Soranus credits the bleeding technique as having originated with Hippocrates.36 Soranus also recommends hot baths and bad diets as other ancillary methods that would help to weaken a pregnancy and aid in the induction of an abortion.37 Galen mentions that strong emotional shock could possibly result in an abortion.38

Some of the methods that could be used to induce an abortion were also the causes of incidental

30 Hippocrates On the Nature of the Child, Soranus Bk.I. Ch. XIX 31 Hippocrates On the Nature of the Child. Eventually, this method was named the Lacadaemonian Leap 32 Soranus, Gynaecology, i.60 (trans. Oswei Temkin, Soranus’ Gynaecology, Baltimore, 1956, pp. 62-3) 33 Soranus recommends carrying weights, vigorous exercise, violently leaping; Hippocrates recommends violently leaping 34 Kapparis. Abortion in the Ancient World. 23 35 Ibid. 24 36 Ibid. 27 37 Soranus. Gynecology 38 Kapparis. Abortion in the Ancient World Kornack 9 abortions or miscarriages. This made it difficult for doctors to know whether a fetus had been aborted incidentally or purposely, as discussed in another work of the Hippocratic Corpus,

Epidemics, in which the author says, “The wife of Simon: abortion of the thirteenth day. This happened to her after she took something (i.e., deliberately), or it was spontaneous.”39

Demand, Motive, Accessibility, and Judgment

The demand for abortions in the ancient world was fueled oftentimes by the implications of an unwanted pregnancy; these harsh implications are most easily explained through the definition of a single Greek word. The Greek word, µοιχεία (moecheia), has no perfect English translation but can be best understood as encompassing aspects of the words seduction and adultery; moecheia can be defined as seduction in that it involves the willingness of both parties, and it can be defined as adultery in that it implies an illicit sexual relationship.40 The word, moecheia, departs from the meaning of the English word, adultery, in that it refers to the illicit sexual activity of women in general, not only married women. It describes the breach of any bond between a man and a woman who was under that man’s protection: “It was not an offence against any abstract idea (e.g. fidelity) or institution (e.g. marriage), but an offence by one man against another man’s authority and masculinity.”41 This offense threatened family lines, and the consequences were sometimes dire: Kapparis explains that such a breach in some places justified the homicide of the adulterer. If women were to become pregnant while their husbands were away, serious consequences would be imposed:

…the permanent stigma and indignity, social , exclusion from the temples and public life, almost guaranteed violence against their person if not an

39 Hippocrates. Epidemics. 5,238 (5,53) 40 Carey, C. “Rape and Adultery in Athenian Law” The Classical Quarterly, New Series, Vol. 45, No. 2 (1995), pp. 407-417 Published by: Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Classical Association 407 41 Kapparis. Abortion in the Ancient World. 99 Kornack 10

impending threat to their life, constant humiliations at home, a guaranteed divorce and probably permanent separation from their existing children…abortion definitely appeared to be the lesser of two evils.42

The severe consequences of unwanted pregnancies thus resulted in the desire for abortions among women who became pregnant while committing moecheia.

Riddle theorizes that accessibility to methods of abortion and contraception precluded the need for some version of a black market for abortions in ancient times. Indeed, there is no evidence to suggest that such a black market existed. The information regarding which substances and herbs held abortifacient properties was widely known amongst women.43

Moreover, doctors were not necessarily required to undergo any formal education or certification process.44 As a result, while there was surely a market for the ingredients that could induce an abortion, there was not necessarily a need for a person from a specialized profession to administer them.45

Despite this accessibility, the act of abortion and those who underwent them were not without judgment. Galen, writing during the second century AD, says, “the negligence of women during pregnancy was suspicious for Hippocrates, because most of it is their own fault, like intemperance and licentiousness in their entire lifestyle, sexual passions, great excesses of the soul, abrupt leaps, oral drugs, and everything else, which creates the danger for the foetus to be rapidly destroyed.”46 This passage seems to suggest that Hippocrates believed that women would, at times, attempt to induce abortions without the help of a doctor. Unfortunately, no ancient source from a female perspective survives to unearth a supplemental or alternate opinion from a

42 Kapparis. Abortion in the Ancient World 107 43 Riddle. "Oral Contraceptives…” 26-7 44 Kapparis, Abortion in the Ancient World 45 Ibid. 83 46 Ibid. 82 Kornack 11 different angle.47 The passage also intimates a judgmental nature on Hippocrates’ part regarding the choices of women. Galen’s reference to Hippocrates’ perspective reflects an opinion regarding abortion in which it is not merely a practical procedure but, instead, a procedure fraught with moral and religious judgments for both the women and the doctors.

Doctors were required to strike a delicate balance between satisfying the wants and needs of their patients while also maintaining a reputation that would serve their practice. Kapparis explains the demands and complexities faced by the ancient doctors who performed abortions, saying:

Unlike their modern counterparts, ancient doctors could not protect themselves and their professional reputation behind standard policies and procedures, or precise legal provisions, and thus absolve themselves of personal responsibility by simply conforming to approved standards…each doctor was generally free to decide his course of action. Each individual had to balance his interests and reputation against the demand for abortions from patients from very different backgrounds and with a wide variety of personal circumstances.48

While there was no law against a doctor inducing an abortion, doctors had to be careful to maintain a general public appeal, even to those individuals who disapproved of the practice of abortion.49

While some doctors might have had personal, moral, or ethical objections to abortion, they may have set those objections aside in return for the high price rich women were willing to pay for them. Kapparis examines Eyben’s theory that wealthier people were the primary customers of abortions and theorizes that rich women were likely able and willing to pay high prices to doctors who were willing to perform abortions.50 While Kapparis’s view has merit from a contemporary perspective and certainly is a possibility, no surviving text from ancient times

47 Kapparis. Abortion in the Ancient World 130 48 Ibid. 49 Ibid. 82 50 Ibid. 83 and Eyben Kornack 12 alludes to the guilty mindset of the greedy abortionist whom Kapparis describes. While upper- class women were perhaps the most common patients of surgical abortions, other abortion methods were widely accessible.

Abortion, then, was readily available to many women of the ancient world, and the act itself was typically accepted. Early bases for judgment in relation to abortion, then, focused mostly on the controversial behavior that produced the unwanted pregnancy, rather than the development of the pregnancy itself. As science and medicine advanced with developments such as Hippocrates’ medical ethics guidelines and Aristotle’s scientific approach, the issues surrounding abortion grew more complicated, and they have become increasingly complex up to this day.

Kornack 13

Hippocrates Background Hippocrates was an ancient Greek physician who lived from approximately 450 BCE to

380 BCE.51 As a result of his early and enduring influence on the science of medicine, he is referred to as “the father of medicine,” and the body of work attributed to him and his followers is referred to as the Hippocratic Corpus.52 In order to best analyze and understand the works of the Hippocratic Corpus, it is first necessary to understand the context in which the works were produced.

Little is known with certainty about Hippocrates. Although the exact years of his birth and death remain unknown, Hippocrates lived around the time of , ,

Euripides, , , and Plato, among others.53 Hippocrates is said to have been raised with the priests of , specifically at the temple on Cos.54 Plato, in the , references Hippocrates in 380 BCE, calling him “Hippocrates of Cos, the Asclepiad.”55 Even before the prominence of philosophical schools and literature, the Asclepiad order of priest- physicians established a study of medicine.56 The Asclepiads “noted with great care the symptoms and issues of every case, and…from such observations they became in time great adepts in the art of prognosis.”57 It is believed that the information collected and the knowledge

51 Prioreschi, Plinio. A History of Medicine: Greek Medicine. Lewiston: Edwin Mellen, 1991. Print 202 52 The Genuine Works of Hippocrates with a Preliminary Discourse and Annotations by Francis Adams.15 53 Ibid. 10; Aulus Gellius claims that Socrates and Hippocrates were contemporaries. 54 Ibid. 8 55 Plato. Protagoras. Trans. Benjamin Jowett. New York: Liberal Arts, 1956. The Internet Classics Archive. Web. 311b: “Ἱπποκράτη τὸν Κῷον, τὸν τῶν Ἀσκληπιαδῶν” via Perseus.tufts.edu 56 The Genuine Works … by Francis Adams. 5 57 Ibid. 6; There were Temples of Health at Cos, Cnidos, , among others according to Lois Magner in her book, A History of Medicine, 75. Kornack 14 acquired by these priest-physicians were generally passed down in families, from father to son.58

Therefore, it seems, Hippocrates, while living with the renowned priest-physicians, inherited a system of knowledge developed and practiced by the esteemed Temples of Health.59 Hippocrates’ upbringing, then, likely shaped his personal ideals—characterized by in-depth contemplation of medicine’s role in society— that formed the framework for his role as the physician who would be remembered as the father of medicine.

Many timely twists of fate influenced Hippocrates. While Hippocrates would have had access to the Temples of Health because of his father, who was also a physician, Hippocrates also lived during the fifth century BCE, the age that gave birth to the idea of gymnastics as a branch of medicine.60 At first, the gymnasia were merely open spaces in which to exercise. In the fifth century BCE, however, Herodicus of Selymbria acknowledged the rising trend of partaking in proper diet and exercise and introduced gymnastics as a new science.61 The changing role of the gymnasia is referred to in a number of works of the Hippocratic Corpus and impacted the time during which Hippocrates lived.62

The Hippocratic Corpus itself was written amidst a confluence of philosophical and scientific expansion. (c. 485 – c. 380 BCE), a Greek , and (c. 460 – c.

370 BCE), who is known for founding the ancient atomism theory,63 influenced the philosophy of the age.64 Democritus developed ideas regarding the permanency of atoms.65 Gorgias, who

58 Jouanna, Jacques. Greek Medicine from Hippocrates to Galen: Selected Papers. Leiden: Brill, 2012. Print 68 59 The Genuine Works … by Francis Adams. 10 60 Ibid. 11 61 Nutton, Vivian. Ancient Medicine. 64 62 Ancient Medicine, The Nature of Man, The Nutriment, Aphorisms 63 Berryman, Sylvia, "Democritus", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2010 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.) 64 The Genuine Works …Francis Adams, 10 Kornack 15 appears as the title character in Plato’s dialogue, Gorgias, has a traceable impact on much of

Aristotle’s work, according to multiple scholars.66 Democritus and Gorgias influenced the philosophy during the same time period during which the works of the Hippocratic Corpus were being written.67 The emergence and dominance of their in Hippocrates’ lifetime share the trending interests of the time that also appear in and affect Hippocrates’ works, particularly their common pursuit to better understand the world around them. Modern scholars claim that Hippocrates works were also affected by the philosophical dogma associated with the

Pythagoreans.68 The zeitgeist of Hippocrates’ age and region, as well as the interconnectedness of the esteemed scholars of the time, undoubtedly influenced Hippocrates and the works that he produced.

The various contributors to the biomedical methodological works of the Corpus can be classified as originating out of Cos or Cnidos during the Classical period. The works of Cos aimed to establish general biomedical theories, while the Cnidos school studied individual and idiosyncratic cases. The Coan school can be credited with establishing a methodological study of medicine that aimed at creating general theories about medicine.

The Coan faction of Hippocratic thought had unquantifiable, powerful influence over “all three principal Hellenistic schools, which followed, namely: the Dogmatists, the Methodists and

65 i.e. “atomism,” a theory Aristotle later criticized in a lost monograph, “On Democritus,” preserved by Simplicius’ In Cael (Concepts of Space in Greek Thought by K.A Algra, 47) 66 History of Psychology: The Making of a Science by Edward Kardas, 101. “An Address On Medicine In : The Methods Of Hippocrates And Work Accomplished” By Him by G. Lorimer The British Medical Journal, Vol. 2, No. 2430 (Jul. 27, 1907). 197 67 Kardas, Edward. History of Psychology: The Making of a Science. 101 68 Ludwig Edelstein alleged that Pythagorean influence can be seen in the Oath; Paul Carrick (Medical Ethics in the Ancient World, 94-99) expresses agreement with Edelstein’s position; Steven Miles (The Hippocratic Oath and Medical Ethics, pg. 30) claims that medical ethicists agree with Edelstein’s conclusion while ancient scholars are generally more critical. Kornack 16 the Empirics.”69 ’ disciples, ages later, also recognized Hippocratic thought as having influenced their own.70 Francis Adams speculates that it was Hippocrates’ prominent reputation that inspired a contemporary rival to invent a fictitious story that Hippocrates had been forced to flee his homeland as a consequence of setting fire to the library of the Temple of Health of

Cnidos.71

Works: The Man and the Corpus

Among the many remnants of Hippocrates’ work survive the reputation and works of the

Hippocratic School of Medicine. As a whole, these works are conventionally referred to as “the

Hippocratic Corpus.”72 The works of the Hippocratic Corpus are understood to share a general time and place of origin, as well as a methodology. That is, by the early third century, there exist commentaries and glossaries that refer to the Hippocratic Corpus, indicating that it had taken shape by that date.73 However, scholars are unable to determine precisely what drew these works together as a single collection.74

Just as in second century BCE, modern scholars can only speculate as to the authors of the works of the Hippocratic Corpus. Wesley Smith describes the process by which a number of works became known as the Hippocratic Corpus.75 According to Smith, citing the work of

Zeuxis (early second century BCE), the works arrived by ship as independent works in

Alexandria where they eventually became the Hippocratic Corpus. He further claims that “the

69 "Hippocrates - Biography." Hippocrates. European Graduate School. Web. 70 The Genuine Works … by Francis Adams. 4 71 The Genuine Works … by Francis Adams. 11-12 72 "Hippocrates - Biography." European Graduate School. 73 Lloyd, G. E. R. “The Hippocratic Question.” The Classical Quarterly, New Series, Vol. 25, No. 2 (Dec., 1975), Published by: Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Classical Association. 178 74 Ibid. 75 Smith, Wesley D. Pseudepigraphic Writings = Hippocrates, Pseudepigraphic Writings = Selections. English & Greek. 1990. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1990. Print. 9 Kornack 17

Corpus does not represent the library of a Coan school.”76 He concludes that the works are pre-

Alexandrian but cannot be used as evidence of the medical school on Cos. The works are

“stubbornly anonymous, giving few hints about the histories of the authors or the circumstances of composition.”77 Without knowing the author of a work, or even the author’s background, but knowing that the Corpus is not necessarily representative of the esteemed medical school on Cos, it is difficult to evaluate the credibility of a work and the background or education of its author.

Further, each work must be evaluated in its own right, given that its association with the

Hippocratic name does not associate the work with Hippocrates himself.

The Corpus’ attachment to the name Hippocrates is another question in itself. Adams claims that these works are united under Hippocrates’ name because they generally follow his principles and teachings. While the Oath was attributed to Hippocrates in antiquity, its authorship has come into question in modernity. Scholars aim to discover whether the Oath, a work that has been used and modeled in modernity, can really be attributed to the man known as the Father of Medicine or if it was authored by a less famous, perhaps less qualified, follower of

Hippocrates. Therefore, in evaluating works of the Corpus, whether one can attribute their authorship to Hippocrates, the esteemed man renowned for his medical expertise in his time and the centuries that followed, determines the of the respective work.

The Hippocratic Corpus consists of over seventy documents. Among these works, only a small number are attributed to Hippocrates himself with absolute certainty: Prognostics, the First and Third Epidemics, On Regimen in Acute Diseases, On Airs, Waters, and Places, On Wounds of the Head, and Aphorisms.78 While the authorship of the works of the Hippocratic Corpus is

76 Smith. Pseudepigraphic. 9 77 Ibid. 8 78 The Genuine Works,,, by Francis Adams. 25 Kornack 18 contested, the influence of these works and the Hippocratic School is not.

Confusion abounds about the works of the Hippocratic Corpus, especially when attempting to identify a specific work’s writer. The various classifications of the works of the

Hippocratic Corpus with regards to their possible authorship by Hippocrates range from genuine to utter discordance and provide ample fodder for debate among scholars. Galen, who lived in an age following Hippocrates’ prominence (130 AD – 200 AD), described the writing style of

Hippocrates: “extreme conciseness, precision and sometimes, as a result of forced brevity, obscurity.”79 Hippocrates’ characteristic brevity was not typical of the general writing style of his time, which, as a result, aids modern scholars in their identification of Hippocrates’ works.80

The topics of the works of the Hippocratic Corpus, typically categorized as either biomedical methodology or ethics, are indicative of a revolution in thought at a time in which medicine began to be viewed as a study that required reflective thought. This understanding, then, represents the union between philosophy and medicine.81 Until this point, “ancient medicine

[considered] the philosophers as its target, denouncing them in general…” for their attention to scientifically ungrounded ideas.82 The ethics that were studied as a result are articulated by

Hippocrates and his followers and “may very well be the first instance of a reflective code of professional ethics.”83 This code of ethics survives today and is referred to as “the Hippocratic

Oath.”

The Oath and Abortion

Some critical insight into early thought on abortion can be gleaned from an examination

79 The Genuine Works …by Francis Adams. 21 80 Ibid. 81 Ibid. 5 82 Nutton, Vivian. Ancient Medicine. 64 83 "Hippocrates - Biography." European Graduate School. Kornack 19 of the philosophy that gave birth to the Hippocratic Oath. Ludwig Edelstein, one of the first modern scholars to examine this topic, traces the Oath’s influence (specifically, the promise to preserve life whenever possible) to the Pythagorean School of Thought, a phenomenon that began in the fifth century BCE, saying:

Concerning the possible influence of Hippocrates by the Pythagoreans we would accept Edelstein’s position, according to which the Pythagoreans saw the fetus as an animate human life unconditionally worthy of preservation from the moment of conception.84

Considering this, both the Pythagoreans and Hippocrates’ Oath would ultimately condemn the practice of abortion “as morally unjustifiable.”85

Unlike other ancient philosophers who considered the age of the fetus when debating the issue of when life begins and, therefore, whether an abortion was morally justifiable, the

Pythagorean philosophers developed their opinions through the lens of religion or philosophy, rather than through the science that Aristotle or the Hippocratics studied. They believed that, upon conception, the fetus has a soul and, therefore, “has full moral status”86 and, from the moment of conception, has moral rights equal to a full-grown human: “the Greek Pythagoreans assumed that the embryo was a natural person.”87 To confer full moral status upon a fetus necessarily meant that having an abortion would be equivalent to committing murder, a commonplace assertion in today’s abortion debate but an uncommonly narrow perspective in antiquity.

Edelstein thoroughly reasoned and was able to reference support for his interpretation of

84 Patsioti, Joanna G. "Aristotelian Perspectives on Social Ethics." The Paideia Archive: Archive of Twentieth World Congress of Philosophy (1998): Print. 85 Patsioti. "Aristotelian Perspectives on Social Ethics." 86 Ibid. 87 Luker, Kristin. Abortion and the Politics of Motherhood. Berkeley, CA: U of California, 1984. Print. 3 Kornack 20

Hippocrates’ Pythagorean-influenced belief regarding abortion and thus empowered his

Pythagorean interpretation of the Oath, an interpretation that is widely accepted among scholars in the modern debate. Hippocrates, according to Edelstein, shared the Pythagoreans’ religious foundation, as exemplified by the reason for his alleged disapproval of abortion, i.e., that life begins at the moment of conception. The Oath, according to Edelstein and others, condemns abortion due to the inherent destruction of life and the direct impediment such an act creates in the commitment to protect life that is averred in the Oath elsewhere.88

The Oath, then, while not necessarily reflecting Hippocrates’ personal beliefs, nevertheless reflects its author’s alignment with the religious beliefs of the Pythagoreans. The translation of the Oath that most clearly reflects Pythagorean thought includes the statement: “I will not give to a woman an abortive remedy.”89 90 This statement has the essence of

Pythagorean thought but is not proven to have been written by Hippocrates’ or reflective of his personal beliefs. Just as Edelstein claimed, “The Hippocratic Oath…took a firm stance against abortion and banned it completely, probably because its author felt that a doctor’s primary duty is the preservation of life not its destruction.”91 In other words, the author of the Hippocratic

Oath developed his stance regarding abortion with the motivation to protect the health of the mother and the potential life of the fetus.

While most scholars agree with Edelstein that the Hippocratic Oath ultimately forbade the practice of abortion, a minority of scholars offers a contrasting opinion. Riddle, for example, denounces the majority opinion, saying, “Contrary to popular opinion, the ancient Hippocratic

88 Hippocratic Oath, my own translation, line 8, 21 89 Kourkouta, Lambrini, Maria Lavdaniti, and Sofia Zyga. "Views of Ancient People on Abortion." Health Science Journal 7.1 (2013): 116-18. Print. 90 My own translation 91 Kapparis. "Women and Family in Athenian Law." Women and Family in Athenian Law. 22 Mar. 2003. Web. 8 Kornack 21

Oath did not prohibit abortions; the oath prohibited ‘vaginal suppositories’ presumably because of the ulcerations that they were said to cause.”92 Riddle claims here that the Oath’s objection to certain abortion practices reflects the implicit acceptance of those abortion practices not specifically referenced in the Oath. With this belief, the Oath’s proclaimed duty to preserve life would not forbid pregnancy prevention through the use of oral contraceptives. Riddle, therefore, attributes the Oath to Hippocrates but argues against commonly held conclusions, claiming that the Oath only condemns certain abortions, not all abortions.

Variable meanings of the words of the original Oath leave room for either side of the abortion debate to find support in this enduring document. The main reason for the differing interpretations of the Oath’s stance on abortion relates to a single sentence that allows two very different translations. Depending upon the translation of the words in question, “ὁµοίως δὲ οὐδὲ

γυναικὶ πεσσὸν φθόριον δώσω,”93 the Oath preaches against either all abortifacients or just abortifacients of a certain type, translated as either “I will not give to a woman an abortive remedy,”94 or “just the same, I will give to no woman a destructive pessary.”95 Dr. Daniel Sokol holds the latter opinion, explaining, “As pessaries could cause lethal infections, the author of the

Oath may have had a clinical objection to the method, rather than a moral objection to abortion itself.”96 This is the passage that “is often interpreted as a rejection of abortion. However, abortion was legal at the time.”97 Therefore, while medical advice or individual opinion may have reached one conclusion, society’s laws invited other possibilities. Sokol goes on to point

92 Riddle. “Oral Contraceptives …” 13. referencing Edelstein 93 Original Greek borrowed from Perseus.tufts.edu; written in the Ionic dialect, though the island of Cos (Hippocrates’ origin) spoke 94 Kourkouta. "Views …."117 95 My own translation 96 Sokol, Dr. Daniel. "A Guide to the Hippocratic Oath." BBC News. BBC, 26 Oct. 2008. Web. 97 Ibid. Kornack 22 out that “the text only mentions pessaries (a soaked piece of wool inserted in the vagina to induce abortion), not the oral methods of abortion also used in ancient Greece.” However, the

“ὁµοίως” (meaning “just as”) that begins this phrase refers to the preceding fragment, “I will give to no one any pharmacologies to help to kill, nor lead anyone toward [20] this wish.” The author, then, is equating the two phrases, either in cause (the oath taker giving) or in effect

(death).

To this day, consensus as to the authorship of the Hippocratic Oath has not been reached.

In evaluating works of the Hippocratic Corpus in relation to a specific subject, such as abortion, the authorship of these works is of the utmost importance For each of these scholars, Edelstein,

Riddle, and Dr. Sokol, the identity of the man who authored the Oath, whether a Pythagorean- influenced man or a man reflecting the laws of society, is critical in the debate to determine the

Oath’s true meaning. Some scholars believe the Oath cannot be attributed to Hippocrates, himself, perhaps because Galen, the earliest known authority on Hippocrates’ writing, does not mention it.98 A modern scholar, Littre, believes that both Aristophanes and Plato allude to the

Oath’s existence and, therefore, attributes it to Hippocrates.99 Regardless, of Littre’s conclusion and others like his, modern scholars continue to contest the Oath’s authorship.100

To add to the confusion, translations of the Hippocratic Oath centuries after it was written were likely influenced by philosophical thought, predominant religions, or social mores of the respective time period. For example, Scribonius, a Roman medical scribe of the first century AD,

98 The Genuine Works … by Francis Adams, pg. 59 Adams cites Mercuriali, Schulze, Haller, Kuhn and Ackerman as holding this belief, but discredits them, saying that Galen’s silence is not adequate evidence. 99 Ibid. Adams similarly discredits this position, saying that it has no weight. 100 Foes, Gruner, and Littré hold it as a genuine work, while it is rejected by Mercuriali, Schulze, Haller, Kuhn and Ackerman, according to Adams, Francis The Genuine Works of Hippocrates with a Preliminary Discourse and Annotations by Francis Adams, pg. 59 Kornack 23 erroneously translated the Hippocratic Oath as proscribing against the administration of any medicine that would expel a fetus, not just pessaries or suppositories.101 102Some believe that this incorrect translation was the result of the undue influence of Stoic thought.103 Stoic thought asserted that fetuses possessed “potential existence” upon conception and that they were endowed with a soul only upon birth.104 This idea of potentiality, which resonates first in Stoic thought, is then elaborated on by Aristotle and appears to have influenced the later translation of the Oath. In the second century AD, Soranus, a Greek physician famous for his understanding of gynecology, interpreted the Oath differently than Scribonius and absent the Pythagorean- influenced interpretation, claiming that the Oath only forbade “drug-induced abortions because he knew the section in the Hippocratic treatise that proscribed a method to induce an abortion by manipulation.”105 Such an interpretation provides evidence that supports conclusions such as those presented by Sokol and Riddle. The passage of time, paired with the evolution of philosophy that occurred over that time, further complicates modern scholars’ ability to decipher the truest translation of the Oath.

Regardless of whether the Oath condemned the practice of abortion, physicians of antiquity were not bound by the Oath.106 In other words, despite the modern and ancient interest

101 Riddle, Contraception and Abortion…7 102 Scribonius Largus, Compositiones, ed. Sergio Sconocchia, Leipzig: Teubner, 1983. Scribonius Largus was a Roman Army physician and authored the oldest Latin reference to the passage of the Oath that concerns abortion. The reference is found in the preface of his first century AD text, Compositiones. He replaces the Greek word, πεσσον (pessary), with the Latin word, medicamentum (medicine), thus prohibiting all abortions. He then adds the clause, “ut ne praegnanti quidem medicamentum quo conceptum excutitur aut detur aut demonstretur a quoquam medico,” or “that a pregnant woman should not be given by any physician any medicine through which the fetus is expelled, nor should [it] be demonstrated [to her].” 103 Ibid. 8 104 Riddle, Contraception and Abortion…8 105 Riddle, Contraception and Abortion...9 106 Wilkinson, L. P. "Classical Approaches to Population and Family Planning." Population and Kornack 24 invested in the various ancient interpretations of Hippocrates’ words, the Oath was “not generally followed by ancient physicians,”107 and “it was not generally considered a violation of medical ethics to do what the Oath forbade.”108 Paul Carrick reaffirms this characterization of the

Oath, saying, “The average Greek physician probably did not swear to uphold the famous Oath of Hippocrates.”109 Because physicians were not sworn to obey the teaching of the Hippocratic

Oath, it can be concluded that disobeying the Oath held no legal consequences for those who acted against it.110 The Oath’s authority in its own time is unknown.111 Through determining authorship of the various works of the Hippocratic Corpus, it is possible to uncover the value and the power that Hippocrates and the Hippocratic School had in its day and, therefore, the power of the Oath.

The Remainder of the Corpus and Abortion

Some works of the Hippocratic Corpus allude to the support of the practice of abortion; other works of the Hippocratic Corpus clearly condone abortion, as evidenced by the instructions presented on how to induce an abortion when medically appropriate. In the Hippocratic study,

On the Nature of the Child, the author describes how the author helped a pregnant prostitute how to induce an abortion, and this narrative does not mention any moral or ethical implications.112

Riddle and Sokol’s opinions are reinforced by this work, in which the author says:

I told her to jump up and down, touching her buttocks with her heels at each leap. After she had done this no more than seven times, there was a noise, the seed fell out on the ground, and the girl looked at it in great surprise.... It was round, and

Development Review 4.3 (1978): 452 107 Riddle, Contraception and Abortion 7 108 Kourkouta. "Views ..." 117 109 Carrick Medical Ethics in the Ancient World 107 110 Garland, Robert. "Mother and Child in the Greek World." History Today 36.3 (1986): 40. History Reference Center. Web. 23 Oct. 2013. 111 Miles, Steven. The Hippocratic Oath and the Ethics of Medicine, 176 112 Hippocrates, “The Nature of the Child” 13.2 Kornack 25

red, and within the membrane could be seen thick white fibres, surrounded by a thick red serum; while on the outer surface of the membrane were clots of blood.113

Hippocratic works seem to promote the use of abortions again when Hippocrates describes a method that would induce abortion, writing, “Miscarriage follows blood-letting in pregnant women, especially if the foetus be large.”114 Yet another work of the Hippocratic

Corpus, On the Diseases of Women, includes a substantial amount of medical information regarding abortions and describes the harsh circumstances associated with abortion induced by nearly anything: draught, food, medicine, or suppository.115 The works of the Hippocratic Corpus contain “plentiful advice on oral drugs, pessaries, mechanical methods, and even a surgical procedure in order to induce an abortion.”116 While this advice would be proposed in situations for which abortions were medically necessary, “it is self-evident that once this knowledge was organized in writing it could be used for abortions dictated by a wide range of circumstances.”117

There remains, then, an ongoing debate regarding whether Hippocrates’ works express disapproval of the practice of abortion and whether they express his personal opinion or solely his professional viewpoint. Scholars often look to the details of a specific work of the

Hippocratic Corpus, as well as Hippocrates’ influences, in order to identify the most accurate interpretations of his works. For example, Carrick argues against Nittis’ claim that the Oath was written by Hippocrates in in 421 BCE merely citing that the Oath is written in Ionic

113 Hippocrates, “The Nature of the Child” 13 in “Hippocratic Writings,” pages 325-326. 114 Hippocrates, “Aphorisms”, Section 5.31 in “Hippocratic Writings”, page 224. “γυνὴ ἐν γαστρὶ ἔχουσα, φλεβοτοµηθεῖσα, ἐκτιτρώσκει: καὶ µᾶλλον ᾖσι µεῖζον τὸ ἔµβρυον.” Via Perseus.tufts.edu 115 The Genuine Works … by Francis Adams, 112 116 Kapparis,.“Women and Family in Athenian Law” 8 117 Ibid. Kornack 26 dialect, rather than Attic dialect.118 Depending upon one’s belief of authorship, the Oath, which

Hippocrates may or may not have written, coincides with the beliefs espoused in other works that he may or may not have written. As a result of the confusion, Hippocrates’ personal beliefs are obscured, although the general interest in abortion that is expressed throughout the Hippocratic

Corpus is critical to today’s evaluation of the ancient Greek views on abortion.

While scholars can only speculate as to whether Hippocrates approved of the practice of abortion, the mere acknowledgement of acts of abortion within the Corpus is reflective of at least some part of the medical society’s thought and its practical application of abortion in commonplace circumstances. Regardless of authorship, perhaps the multiple contributors of the

Corpus imbue it with a greater value than would be acquired from the works and opinions of a single author. Within the Corpus, while Hippocrates’ opinion is not known, a contributor to the

Corpus did, in fact, think that factual information regarding abortions was important.

Influence

The stance on abortion as portrayed within the Hippocratic Corpus, especially the Oath, remains relevant in the contemporary abortion debate for a number of reasons. Most evidently, medical doctors still take the Hippocratic Oath to this day as an ethical guide. Given the discrepancies in translation, whether Hippocrates or the Oath forbids doctors from performing abortions, modern groups that oppose abortions may believe their position is edified by an Oath that, upon examination, never truly was meant to bar all acts of abortion. Perhaps, Hippocrates’ modern influence in the United States is illustrated most powerfully through its prominent role in the landmark Supreme Court case, Roe v Wade. The decision in the case says of the Oath:

…[the Oath] represents the apex of the development of strict ethical concepts in medicine, and its influence endures to this day…The late Dr. Edelstein provides

118 Carrick. Medical Ethics in the Ancient World, 85-86 Kornack 27

us with a theory: The Oath was not uncontested even in Hippocrates' day; only the Pythagorean school of philosophers frowned upon the related act of suicide. Most Greek thinkers, on the other hand, commended abortion, at least prior to viability. See Plato, , V, 461; Aristotle, Politics, VII, 1335b 25. For the Pythagoreans, however, it was a matter of dogma. For them the embryo was animate from the moment of conception, and abortion meant destruction of a living being. The abortion clause of the Oath, therefore, "echoes Pythagorean doctrines," [410 U.S. 113, 132] and "[i]n no other stratum of Greek opinion were such views held or proposed in the same spirit of uncompromising austerity.119

The above passage from the court decision illustrates the strong influence that ancient thinkers continue to have on the debates of modern times. This case reflects the inclination of modern people to utilize the Oath as support for their own opinion. Furthermore, the above passage of the case’s decision illustrates the strong influence that ancient thinkers have even in the debates of modern times. It goes on to highlight the importance that an accurate understanding of the Oath holds, even in modern times. While the Supreme Court accepts Edelstein’s position on debated interpretations of ancient texts, his opinions do not go undisputed. While religion and politics have created greater divisions in the modern abortion debate, the most powerful authorities on the subject (i.e., the Supreme Court) look to the texts and beliefs of ancient times. Hippocrates’ preeminence resonates throughout the modern world.

119 Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973). Kornack 28

The Hippocratic Oath (English,120 Greek121)

I swear, in the name of the healer, Apollo, and ὄµνυµι Ἀπόλλωνα ἰητρὸν καὶ Ἀσκληπιὸν καὶ Ὑγείαν Asclepius and and and all of both the καὶ Πανάκειαν καὶ θεοὺς πάντας τε καὶ πάσας, gods and goddesses, having made them judges, to ἵστορας ποιεύµενος, ἐπιτελέα ποιήσειν κατὰ δύναµιν make complete (swear) according to my power and καὶ κρίσιν ἐµὴν ὅρκον τόνδε καὶ συγγραφὴν τήνδε: my judgment this oath and this written obligation: to consider my teacher of this skill in an equal manner ἡγήσεσθαι µὲν τὸν διδάξαντά µε τὴν τέχνην ταύτην with my parents, and to make life common, to my ἴσα γενέτῃσιν ἐµοῖς, καὶ βίου κοινώσεσθαι, καὶ χρεῶν teacher when he is in need of things owed, and to χρηΐζοντι µετάδοσιν ποιήσεσθαι, καὶ γένος τὸ ἐξ decide that the family out of him is as sons out of the αὐτοῦ ἀδελφοῖς ἴσον ἐπικρινεῖν ἄρρεσι, καὶ διδάξειν same mother, and to teach [10] this skill, if they ask [10] τὴν τέχνην ταύτην, ἢν χρηΐζωσι µανθάνειν, ἄνευ to learn, without pay and without contract, both µισθοῦ καὶ συγγραφῆς, παραγγελίης τε καὶ ἀκροήσιος proclamation and lecture and all else/etcetera (ktl), καὶ τῆς λοίπης ἁπάσης µαθήσιος µετάδοσιν always to make possible to be a teacher to both my ποιήσεσθαι υἱοῖς τε ἐµοῖς καὶ τοῖς τοῦ ἐµὲ διδάξαντος, sons and the sons of my teachers, and to students both καὶ µαθητῇσι συγγεγραµµένοις τε καὶ ὡρκισµένοις formally inscribed and sworn and with the oath as the νόµῳ ἰητρικῷ, ἄλλῳ δὲ οὐδενί. law of the healers, but to no one else.

According to my power and judgment, I will use diet διαιτήµασί τε χρήσοµαι ἐπ᾽ ὠφελείῃ καµνόντων κατὰ for the benefit of those suffering, but I will keep away δύναµιν καὶ κρίσιν ἐµήν, ἐπὶ δηλήσει δὲ καὶ ἀδικίῃ from harm and injustice. I will give to no one any εἴρξειν. οὐ δώσω δὲ οὐδὲ φάρµακον οὐδενὶ αἰτηθεὶς pharmacologies to help to kill, nor lead anyone toward θανάσιµον, οὐδὲ ὑφηγήσοµαι συµ [20] βουλίην [20] this wish: just the same I will give to no woman a τοιήνδε: ὁµοίως δὲ οὐδὲ γυναικὶ πεσσὸν φθόριον destructive pessary. δώσω.

I will treat my life and my skills as holy and sacred. I ἁγνῶς δὲ καὶ ὁσίως διατηρήσω βίον τὸν ἐµὸν καὶ will not cut [perform surgery] on no one suffering τέχνην τὴν ἐµήν. οὐ τεµέω δὲ οὐδὲ µὴν λιθιῶντας, stones, I will yield to those men effective in this ἐκχωρήσω δὲ ἐργάτῃσιν ἀνδράσι πρήξιος τῆσδε. ἐς practice. Into whatever homes I enter, being called οἰκίας δὲ ὁκόσας ἂν ἐσίω, ἐσελεύσοµαι ἐπ᾽ ὠφελείῃ upon to those suffering, especially being free from all καµνόντων, ἐκτὸς ἐὼν πάσης ἀδικίης ἑκουσίης καὶ injustice of will and thought, and especially, namely φθορίης, τῆς τε ἄλλης καὶ ἀφροδισίων ἔργων ἐπί τε sex acts toward the women and men being married, γυναικείων σωµάτων καὶ ἀνδρῴων, ἐλευθέρων τε καὶ the free and the slaves. δούλων.

Whatever I see or hear in therapy I will keep quiet, ἃ δ᾽ ἂν ἐν θεραπείῃ ἢ ἴδω ἢ ἀκούσω, ἢ καὶ ἄνευ [30] and without therapy according to the life of men, I θεραπείης κατὰ βίον ἀνθρώπων, ἃ µὴ χρή ποτε reflect that it is not necessary to mumble [gossip], I ἐκλαλεῖσθαι ἔξω, σιγήσοµαι, ἄρρητα ἡγεύµενος εἶναι would keep quiet, considering such things not to be τὰ τοιαῦτα. ὅρκον µὲν οὖν µοι τόνδε ἐπιτελέα spoken. Now to me fulfilling my oath and not ποιέοντι, καὶ µὴ συγχέοντι, εἴη ἐπαύρασθαι καὶ βίου confounding it, be mine to partake in my life and my καὶ τέχνης δοξαζοµένῳ παρὰ πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις ἐς τὸν art of medicine for all men in all time; if I transgress αἰεὶ χρόνον: παραβαίνοντι δὲ [36] καὶ ἐπιορκέοντι, and having sworn, may there be the opposite. τἀναντία τούτων.

120 As translated by Cody Kornack 121 Hippocrates Collected Works I. Hippocrates. W. H. S. Jones. Cambridge. Harvard University Press. 1868. Via Perseus.tufts.edu Kornack 29

Plato Background

Plato, the great Greek philosopher, was born in Athens around 428 BCE. He began studying the doctrines of Cratylus, Pythagoras, and and eventually became Socrates’ disciple. Aristotle writes specifically that Plato was impacted by the philosophies of and Cratylus.122 As Socrates’ disciple, he learned and followed Socrates’ philosophical style.

Then, upon Socrates’ execution, Plato left Attica with Euclides, another student of Socrates, stopping at .123 After visiting Theodorus in Cyrene, he studied with the Pythagoreans in

Italy before finally settling in Egypt. The works of Plato that survive today, especially The

Republic, display his deep-seated interest in the politics of his time, possibly stemming from his family’s involvement in politics.124

Through an analysis of the surviving works of Plato, one can assess Plato’s stance regarding the practice of abortion with some accuracy. Similar to Aristotle, Plato wrote of abortion as a necessary institution of the ideal .125 However, in contrast to his student,

Aristotle, Plato thought whether the fetus had moral rights was not as important as the requirements for the ideal state. Plato, at least in The Republic, was more concerned with the logistics of the politics of a utopia, rather than the ethics of terminating a pregnancy. It is likely that Plato did not view the topic of abortion as fodder for debate but, rather, merely as a practice with political implications. Similar to any practice, abortion has the ability to do either good or bad for the state, regardless of the rights of the people involved. With his philosophy, Plato addresses problems relevant to his times and approaches family size as another problem to solve,

122 Aristotle. Metaphysics. 1.987a 123 "Hippocrates - Biography." European Graduate School. 124 Ibid. 125 Plato. Laws v 740 D; Kourkouta. "Views …” 117 Kornack 30 uncomplicated by religious beliefs or a debate about when life begins. His statements on abortion, therefore, do not imply that it is a complex issue but, rather, a practical medical procedure.

Works

Plato’s works are divided by modern scholars into three distinct groups.126 The first classification of his works encompasses the Socratic Dialogues, and they most accurately reflect

Socrates’ teachings. Plato’s middle or transitional period of writing occurs beginning around 387

BCE, the time at which he returned to Athens and founded the Academy. The works that were written at this time begin to reflect Plato’s own philosophical perspectives. It is in this period, in the Phaedo, that Plato first addresses his beliefs regarding the immortality of the soul. Plato, in the later dialogues, gives Socrates a smaller role.

While Plato specifically mentions the practice of abortion in some of his works, an examination of his other ideas regarding life is necessary to develop a more complete understanding of his beliefs. In Laws, Plato addresses the ease with which he believed fertility could be controlled, saying, “There are many devices available: if too many children are being born, there are measures to check propagation.”127 Plato is also known to have regarded feticide as critical to maintaining the conditions of the ideal state.128 These two passages provide powerful insight into Plato’s ideas of fertility as an entirely controllable function. One of Plato’s works explains why the Greeks favored low birth rates or, rather, that the population should be relative to the acreage of land and that the population should be able, in equal measure, to defend

126 First group, Socratic Dialogues: Apology, Crito, Laches, Lysis, Charmides, Euthyphro, and Hippias Minor and Major. Second group, Transitional period: Meno, Euthydemus, Menexenus, Cratylus, Repuglic, Phaedrus, Syposium, Phaedo, Republic. Third group, Later Dialogues: Parmenides, Theatetus, Sophist, Statesman, Timaeus, Critias, Philebus, and Laws 127 Riddle. Contraception and Abortion 18 128 Plato. Laws v 740 D Kornack 31 themselves against enemies and help their neighbors.129 For Plato, at least according to Kola

Olugbade, “the role of women as private beings cloistered in the home is related to their role in bearing and raising of children.”130 However, throughout Plato’s works, as is reflected in many of the opinions he presents, his expectations of the female role changes, as discussed later with regards to his work, The Republic. Despite these inconsistencies or variations in opinion, Plato’s ultimate goal remains the same throughout his works, namely, that is, to understand and espouse the institutions of the ideal state.

Although The Republic is ultimately a work that investigates the political values of

Plato’s time, it begins with an investigation into the very concept of justice. As discovered through Socrates’ various conversations, justice has profound implications and plays a powerful role in people’s lives despite their inability to wholly define it. Socrates’ focus on justice, then, becomes an evaluation of people’s lives and values. Plato illustrated his beliefs in The Republic, saying, “…the children of inferior parents, or any child of the others that is born defective, they’ll hide in a secret and unknown place, as is appropriate. It is, if indeed the guardian breed is to remain pure.”131 In this passage, Plato alludes to his acceptance of exposure or infanticide.

Within The Republic, population control, by means of infanticide or exposure and, therefore, presumably by means of abortion and contraception, provides the means to best attain this justice that is so highly valued and debated at length throughout the first half of the book.

While Plato merely alludes to abortion in The Republic, he directly refers to it in other works. In one of Plato’s dialogues, Theaetetus, Socrates says that midwives “can cause abortions

129 Pl. Lg 5,737c-d in Kapparis. Abortion in the Ancient World. 144 130 Olugbade, Kola. "Women in Plato's "Republic" The Indian Journal of Political Science 50.4 (1989): 516 131 Plato, “Republic” Book 5, 460 c. Kornack 32 at an early stage if they think them desirable”; Theaetetus replies, “True.”132 This is one of the most overt references to abortion within Plato’s work, and the fact that abortion is readily accepted by Theaetetus intimates that the act of abortion is not at all offensive or controversial.

Influence

More than two millennia of speculation, dogma, and scientific advancements provide a dynamic platform from which modern people can evaluate abortion. Plato’s remarks and philosophy point to the values and ideals of his time. Plato is credited with the idea of “duality: the idea that the soul and the body are separate entities.”133 Therefore, for Plato, human life began at the point when the soul entered the body at the time of ensoulment. Duality is a concept still widely held today.134 When exactly the human body becomes ensouled raises the question so timelessly critical to the abortion debate: When does human life truly begin?

Kapparis says of the later interpretations of Plato’s work:

I am not aware of any passage where [Plato] unequivocally states that animation occurs at the moment of conception. However, many passages in his work could be interpreted as pointing in this direction. His theories on the immortality of the soul and reincarnation could conceivably give rise to a theory suggesting animation from the moment of conception, and I think this is what has happened in this case. Those striving to prove in later antiquity that the fetus acquires a soul at conception needed a figure-head, an influential mind from the classical period to whom they could refer as the founder of their beliefs, and thus turned to Plato, interpreting his works to this end.135

Plato’s works provide powerful insight into the philosophies and values of his time. Through his evocation of the use of abortion, he reveals both personal and societal values that allude to the acceptance or, at least, recognized necessity of the practical use of abortion during his time.

Moreover, Plato was influential not only the time during which he lived but, also, throughout the

132 Plato, Theaetetus, 149c-d from Riddle Contraception and Abortion 18 133 Bioethics and the New Embryology: a Springboard for Debate by Scott F Gilbert, pg. 33 134 Ibid. 135 Kapparis. Abortion in the Ancient World. 40 Kornack 33 centuries that followed, influencing the philosophers who succeeded him, especially his student,

Aristotle.

Kornack 34

Aristotle Background

Aristotle, who lived from 384 BCE to 322 BCE, wrote in such a revolutionary way that his arguments have survived the test of time. His works shaped philosophy from “late antiquity through the Renaissance” and continue to play a critical role in modern times.136

To best understand Aristotle’s views on abortion, it is necessary to first understand

Aristotle’s life, beliefs, and methodology. Aristotle, who was born in northeast Greece, left home for Athens at about age seventeen to study at Plato’s Academy.137 The “medical theoretical framework by which Aristotle must have been influenced” (according to Patsioti) is the framework established by Hippocrates as influenced by the Pythagoreans.138 Kapparis similarly says, “[Aristotle] took over the gradualist theories of Hippocratic medicine and expanded them, placing them in an entirely new dimension.”139 After Plato’s death, Aristotle left the Academy, moving first to Assos, then to Lesbos, studying at other Platonic academics in both places.

Aristotle left Lesbos for Pella where he tutored in his early years.140 Having already developed an elite reputation across Greece, Aristotle returned to Athens and founded his own school, the Lyceum, named after the god, Apollo Lykeios.141 Those who attended the school studied all of the areas in which Aristotle had an interest, such as medicine and ethics. From the sixth century BCE until its destruction in 86 BCE, the Lyceum was a place for philosophical and scholarly discussion by prominent thinkers such as Protagoras, Socrates, and , a

136 Shields, Christopher. "Aristotle." The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Ed. Edward Zalta. Stanford University, 25 Sept. 2008. Web. 137 Ibid. 138 Patsioti, Joanna G. "Aristotelian Perspectives on Social Ethics." The Paideia Archive: Archive of Twentieth World Congress of Philosophy (1998): Print. 139 Kapparis, Konstantinos. Abortion in the Ancient World. 50 140 Shields, Christopher. "Aristotle." The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Ed. Edward Zalta. Stanford University, 25 Sept. 2008. Web. 141 Ibid. Kornack 35 testament to Aristotle’s enduring influence.142

Works

During his lifetime, Aristotle was a prolific writer and authored innumerable writings, thirty-one of which survive today. This Aristotelian corpus illustrates both his advanced thought and his groundbreaking scientific methodology. The thirty-one writings are characterized by their directness and are likely to have been originally nothing more than notes or drafts.143 Even with these documents, “certain issues [of Aristotelian applied ethics] have been virtually unexamined by scholars.”144 Despite this deficiency of examination, it proves abundantly clear through Aristotle’s works that he can be credited with establishing a “close interrelation between philosophy and medicine.”145

Aristotle’s work addresses issues and relevant topics of his time, including abortion. In fact, Aristotle refers to the practice of abortion a number of different times. In Politics, he invokes abortion for reasons that are purely practical, writing, “[W] hen couples have children in excess, let abortion be procured before sense and life have begun.”146 For Aristotle, there exists an optimal population of the perfect state, and abortion is presumably a necessary practice within this state to maintain such a number.147 Echoing his teacher, Plato, Aristotle writes about using abortion as a means of population control. In Politics, he alludes to a delay between conception and the time when life, or ensoulment, begins, saying, “[W]hen couples have children in excess, let abortion be procured before sense and life have begun; what may or may not be lawfully done

142 Morrison, William. "The Lyceum." The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Web. 143Shields, Christopher. "Aristotle." The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Ed. Edward Zalta. Stanford University, 25 Sept. 2008. Web. 144 Patsioti,. "Aristotelian Perspectives …” 145 Ibid. 146 Aristotle, Politics book vii. Ch. 16 147 Kourkouta, "Views ..." Kornack 36 in these cases depends on the question of life and sensation.”148 It is then left to his reader to understand when exactly “sense and life” begin in a fetus. Patsioti interprets this time of “sense and life” to occur after the third month at which time the fetus has the “vital pneuma that relates to the divine and the mother is an actualized person who as a virtuous moral agent should make the right choice.”149 The “right choice” here for Aristotle can be further understood through examining his Nichomachean Ethics, in which he says:

Hence inasmuch as moral is a disposition of the mind in regard to choice, and choice is deliberate desire, it follows that, if the choice is to be good, both the principle must be true and the desire right, and that desire must pursue the same things as principle affirms.150

If performed after the point at which the fetus attains sense and life, however, the abortion is no longer “compatible with holiness.”151 First, Aristotle addresses the practical use of abortion.

Then, he introduces the morality of it, saying that the morality of abortion depends on the sense of the fetus according to medical knowledge. Finally, he addresses the religious aspect, or

“holiness,” involved in abortions. Aristotle’s well-rounded approach recognizes the political, medical, and religious complexities inherent in the abortion debate even in ancient times.

In another work, History of Animals, Aristotle defines what he calls “effluxion,” saying,

“What is called effluxion is a destruction of the embryo within the first week, while abortion occurs up to the fortieth day.”152 The context of this comment clarifies that Aristotle is referring to the incidental abortion—a miscarriage— of a fetus, rather than the intentional or inflicted abortion of the fetus. Kapparis quotes Aristotle saying that the term abortion does not apply until after the seventh day, and this appears to be the distinction used in some Hippocratic texts, as

148 Aristotle. Politics vii, 1335b20 149 Patsioti. "Aristotelian Perspectives…” 150 Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics. 1139a via Perseus.tufts.edu 151 Kourkouta. "Views …." 152 Aristotle. History of Animals (583b10-20) Kornack 37 well.153 Further, in History of Animals, Aristotle claims that the male fetus develops a soul after forty days while the female develops a soul after ninety days.154 This is the completion of the process of ensoulment. Presumably, then, an abortion would not be “compatible with holiness” after the fortieth day of a pregnancy.

On the Soul further describes this process of ensoulment which encapsulates Aristotle’s belief that, while there is a gradual process by which a fetus develops a soul, there is a single point at which a fetus fully gains a soul. According to Aristotle, the fetus first develops the nutritive or vegetative soul, after which it develops the sensitive soul and, finally, the intellectual or rational soul.155 The development of the intellectual or rational soul perhaps correlates with the time that Aristotle refers to as the development of “sense and life.”

Moreover, Aristotle’s work as a whole clearly establishes a position on abortion that contrasts starkly with that of earlier moral philosophers. Furthermore, Aristotle’s theory regarding ensoulment contrasts with the belief held by the Stoics in which fetuses are only endowed with a soul upon birth but attain “potential existence” upon conception.156 Aside from

Aristotle’s theory of the soul, his biological understanding of development was considerably advanced for the time. Patsioti writes with regard to these beliefs, saying, “As Paul Carrick maintains, Aristotle followed a theory of epigenesis according to which ‘the individual organism develops by structural elaboration of the unstructured zygote rather than by a simple enlarging of a performed entity.’”157 Preus notes that Aristotle was the first ever to espouse an epigenetic

153 Kapparis. Abortion in the Ancient World. 47 154 Aristotle, Natural History book vii. Ch. 3 155 Aristotle. Politics vii.14.10 (1335b, ll. 19-26) 156 Riddle. Oral Contraceptives…21 157 Patsioti "Aristotelian Perspectives...." Kornack 38 theory of fetal development.158 The development of the soul mirrored the physical development of the fetus in that both developed gradually, increasing in size and complexity. For Aristotle, then, the time of animation was the time of ensoulment and represents the point at which abortion is no longer hold or, presumably, moral.159

Influence

As a scientific researcher or philosophical writer, Aristotle has influenced thought for more than two millennia and, therefore, “had a lasting effect upon the debate on abortion, and still, in one form or another, plays a central role in the current controversy.”160 Aristotle advanced the study of medicine, transforming it into a methodological study, an advancement that most closely resembles the study of medicine that has been adopted by Western medicine in the thousands of years since his lifetime. His contribution to Western medicine has withstood the test of time and immensely influenced the ways in which researchers study topics, such as abortion.

There is great value in the basis for comparison provided by the starkly different approaches of the Plato and Aristotle. Plato approaches his topics philosophically with political goals whereas Aristotle approaches his topics methodically and holistically. Aristotle, given his unique role in both the medical and philosophical realms, explores abortion from a standpoint that is unlike other thinkers of the time. Riddle acknowledges that both Plato and Aristotle

“specifically stated that there were ways to control population.”161 Aristotle’s medically- informed works complement Plato’s more philosophical works. While Plato and Aristotle both

158 Preus, Anthony. "Galen's Criticism of Aristotle's Conception Theory." Journal of the History of Biology 10.1 (1977): 65-85. Print 159 Gillbert, Scott. Bioethics and the New Embryology: a Springboard for Debate. 34 160 Kapparis. Abortion in the Ancient World 50 161 Riddle. “Oral Contraceptives….” 28 Kornack 39 write on abortion practices and articulate similar acceptable uses, they take very different paths to reach their conclusions and, consequently, provide modern scholars with works and schools of thought that remain relevant and applicable to this day.

Aristotle is the founder of what is now referred to as “the potentiality principle,” a concept that plays a great role in the modern abortion debate. This principle essentially examines what relationship can be drawn between the potential and the actual—what may become and what already is. Lynn Morgan believes that a modern application of Aristotle’s potentiality principle would conclude that “embryos and fetuses should not be killed because they possess all the attributes that they will have as full persons later in life.”162 This argument forms the basis for much of the modern argument made by moral philosophers who attach full moral rights to the potential of a human and argue in religious terms against abortion. Their argument, however, omits an aspect of the original principle that considers “the emergence of a rational soul.”163

Patsioti most accurately articulates the true association between applied ethics and abortion, saying, “[the] moral approach to abortion relates to the moderate view in modern applied ethics, according to which the reason for abortion and the stage of fetal development are relevant factors in assessing the moral acceptability of abortion.”164 That is, Patsioti asserts that Aristotle’s position on the morality of abortion would be influenced by the circumstances of the pregnant woman and the age of the fetus.

162 Morgan, Lynn. The Potentiality Principle from Aristotle to Abortion. Current Anthropology: Vol. 54, No. S7, Potentiality and Humanness: Revisiting the Anthropological Object in Contemporary Biomedicine (October 2013), pp. S15-S25. The University of Chicago Press on behalf of Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research. 163 Ibid. 164 Patsioti. "Aristotelian Perspectives ..." Kornack 40

Pythagoreans

Background

Pythagoras was born in sometime during 500 BCE. Samos was in constant conflict, and Pythagoras left and settled in Croton. Eventually, Pythagoras founded a school that was as much of a religious institution as it was a mathematical one. Within the school, men and women were regarded equally, property was communal, and there existed a system of beliefs characterized by a strong belief in the transmigration of souls.165 The belief that property was communal pertained to all property, both physical and intellectual. As such, all of what belonged to either Pythagoras or his followers, known as the Pythagoreans, is obscured into one mass.

While individual credit cannot be assigned to the beliefs that arose out of the Pythagorean School, it is clear from the works of other philosophers that Pythagorean thought strongly resonates over time in the thoughts of others.166

Works

According to Laertius “Pythagoras in fact wrote three books. On Education, On

Statesmanship, and On Nature.”167 Diogenes Laertius records the Pythagorean belief about conception, writing, “Living beings are born from each other from seed….The seed is a drop of brain containing hot steam inside….soul and sense are produced from the steam….The seed contains all the codes of life….”168 Therefore, soul and sense are present from the very beginning, at the time of conception. The Pythagoreans are the first group in recorded history to have

165 Kapparis. Abortion in the Ancient World 166 Guthrie, Kenneth Sylvan, and David R. Fideler. The Pythagorean Sourcebook and Library: An Anthology of Ancient Writings Which Relate to Pythagoras and Pythagorean Philosophy. Grand Rapids: , 1988. Print. 37 Joost-Gaugier, Christiane L. Measuring Heaven: Pythagoras and His Influence on Thought and Art in Antiquity and the Middle Ages. : Cornell UP, 2006. Print. 3 167 Laertius, Diogenes. 8.6 via Perseus.tufts.edu 168 Kapparis. Abortion in the Ancient World. 39 Kornack 41 believed that an embryo acquires a soul, along with full moral rights, from the moment of conception.169 In this way, “the positions of Pythagoreans are starkly contrasted with those of

Plato, Aristotle…on the issues of abortion,” because the ideas of the Pythagoreans stemmed from a religious or mathematical foundation while the ideas of Plato stemmed from philosophy, and the ideas of Aristotle stemmed from observation.170

In contrast to the opinions of Plato and Aristotle, Patsioti writes, “Concerning the possible influence of Hippocrates by the Pythagoreans we would accept Edelstein’s position, according to which the Pythagoreans saw the fetus as an animate human life unconditionally worthy of preservation from the moment of conception”171 With this belief, Patsioti, in agreement with Edelstein, asserts that the Pythagoreans were the only resistance against abortion in ancient Greece and that, for the Pythagoreans, abortions had “religious implications along with the moral ones.”172 These religious implications, as the only outright condemnation of abortion, are later evident in the stricter interpretations of Hippocratic Oath that convey an outright rejection of any form of abortion.

Influence

The religious implications of the Pythagoreans, which spurred the first resistance against abortion with regard for the unborn fetus, fueled the beliefs represented by the Hippocratic Oath, an Oath still in practice today. The repercussions are innumerable. While there may have been other occasional resistance to abortion, the resistance stemming from a religious standpoint that

169 Kapparis. Abortion in the Ancient World. 39 170 Dooley, Dolores review of Medical Ethics in Antiquity- Philosophical Perspectives on Abortion and Euthanasia by Paul Carrick 171 Dooley, Dolores. "Medical Ethics in Antiquity-- Philosophical Perspectives on Abortion and Euthanasia." Rev. of Medical Ethics in Antiquity-- Philosophical Perspectives on Abortion and Euthanasia by Paul Carrick. Print. 172 Ibid. Kornack 42 succeeded this original Pythagorean resistance is the religious resistance still present today.

Kornack 43

Soranus Background

Soranus, in comparison to the aforementioned thinkers who speak to the abortion topic, may stand alone in that he lived after the introduction of Christianity and could be considered perhaps more Roman than Greek. Soranus was a Greek physician who was born in the first century AD in and, while he studied in , he soon left to spend the rest of his time in Rome. At the time, Alexandria was the most prestigious place for a physician to study, and commonly, the Greeks who studied there eventually moved to Rome to practice medicine.173

Soranus belonged to the Methodist School, a school that relied heavily on Hippocratic doctrine, in contrast to the Dogmatist School which aligned its teaching with Platonic and Aristotelian thought.174 Many of Soranus’ works survive and are impressively intact; most notable for the purposes of this examination of abortion is his four-volume work, Gynaecology.

Works

Soranus’ Gynaecology provides numerous, valuable insights into the in-depth understanding that ancients had of the medical world. He approaches his topics with an unprecedented methodology and clarity that is characteristic of the Methodist School and unprecedented by any of the earlier works. For example, Soranus draws a distinction between a contraceptive and an abortive, saying, a contraceptive “does not let conception take place while

[an abortive] destroys what has been conceived. Let us therefore call the one ‘abortive

(phthorion)’ and the other ‘contraceptive (atokion)’….”175 176 His book, Gynaecology, is meant

173 Raju, T. N.K. "Soranus of Ephesus: Who Was He and What Did He Do?" Historical Review and Recent Advances - Chapter 27. Ed. George F. Smith and Dharmapuri Vidyasagar. Mead Johnson Nutritional Division, 1980. Web. 06 Dec. 2014. 174 Lloyd, G.E.R. Science, Folklore, and Ideology: Studies in the Life Sciences in Ancient Greece. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1983. Print 188 175 Riddle, Oral Contraceptives... 7 Kornack 44 as a guide for midwives and “those who treated women frequently.”177 As such, he does not fail to offer his personal guidance, which enumerates the various applications of abortion:

Soranus declares sternly that he is not sympathetic to abortions performed for aesthetic reasons or in order to eliminate the fruit of adulterous relationships, but recognizes the need for therapeutic abortions and offers a complex, seemingly efficient method for inducing them.178

Soranus acknowledges the practicality of methods such as abortion and exposure, even condoning or suggesting them in acceptable circumstances. In another work, How to Recognize the Newborn that is Worth Rearing, he delineates the proper appearance for a newborn, concluding, “And by conditions contrary to those mentioned, the infant not worth rearing is recognized.”179 In order for one to determine that an infant is “not worth rearing” because of appearance, the infant is necessarily already born; thus, Soranus infers that there existed a culture that accepted either exposure or infanticide.

Soranus, through his extremely methodical approach and as an eminent, respected medical doctor, has left modern scholars with an impressively thorough account of the medical knowledge that was taught and practiced during his lifetime. Moreover, he conveys the acceptability and practicality of abortion in ancient Greece even after the ascendency of

Christianity. Soranus provides the contemporary study of ancient abortion with an extremely detailed report from the modern era.

Influence

Galen, while opposed to most of the Methodist School, clearly held Soranus in high

176 Soranus, Gynaecology, i.60. pp. 62-3 177 Dean-Jones, Lesley. Women's Bodies in Classical Greek Science. Oxford: Clarendon, 1994. Print. 178 Kapparis. Abortion in the Ancient World. 84 179 Soranus, “Gynecology”, Book 2, Chapter 6, pg. 10. Kornack 45 esteem.180 Soranus, arising from the Methodist School, authored works characterized by unparalleled thoroughness. As such, with his attention to the Hippocratic Corpus, he became an authority on the Hippocratic works, offering invaluable insight into the most critical works on medicine and abortion from ancient times. Furthermore, Soranus’ connection to Hippocratic

Doctrine, through his education, illustrates a progression in medicine over the intermittent years while, concurrently, providing further insight into the original works of Hippocrates.

180 Raju. "Soranus of Ephesus: …”

Kornack 46

Popular Culture Oratory

Lysias, as a noteworthy Attic political orator of the fourth century BCE, provides a valuable perspective from which one can evaluate the attitude toward abortion in the public sphere of the ancient world. One of his speeches, “On the Abortion,” has been treated by scholars with the utmost importance despite the incomplete fragments that survive. From the speech, one can glean insight into the possible repercussions of a woman’s decision to induce an abortion in early fourth century BCE in Athens.

Critical to the arguments of these scholars are the surviving Lysias fragments, specifically, one speech, titled “On the Abortion.”181 The speech concerns a woman, referred to as “the wife of Antigenes,” who has homicide charges brought against her by her husband under the accusation that she induced an abortion. At the time, some scholars believe that induced abortions were legal,182 hence the alleged homicide charge by the husband for the personal injury that his wife’s abortion caused which essentially claimed that the fetus possessed full moral rights.183 Doctors and midwives testified that a fully-formed fetus should be considered a human being, and therefore, the induced abortion of a fully-formed fetus should be considered a homicide.

While Lysias offers insight into the laws of his world, scholars hold different beliefs regarding the legality of abortion across the ancient world. Kapparis argues, “…abortion was not illegal in any part of the Graeco-Roman world before the third century AD.”184 Kapparis credits

181 The Lysias speech exists only in references to it by other ancients (Theon Progymnasmata 2, 69; Sopater Ek diaphoron tina chresima, Commentary on Hermogenes and possibly Hippocrates Epidemics 1, 2, 19) 182 Kapparis. Abortion in the Ancient World. 142 183 Ibid. 177 184 Ibid. 176 Kornack 47

Brecht as the first scholar to oppose the mainstream assumption that abortion was illegal in antiquity. Glotz, however, argues that there was no law against abortion.185 Miles shares Glotz’s position, saying with certainty, “abortion was legal in ancient Greece.”186

Whether abortion was, in fact, illegal in Lysias’ time, his speech raises the most debated aspects of abortion in both the ancient and modern world: at what point is an abortion equivalent to homicide? Should the law have any control over a woman’s decision? If so, should there exist a penalty for women or doctors who induce an abortion?187

Hymn to Demeter

The story of ’s trip to the underworld is a recurring theme in classical poetry.188 It is undeniable that the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, namely Persephone’s abduction story, is strongly connected to the ancient perceptions of fertility. Riddle, however, alleges a connection between the pomegranate seeds of the myth189 and the suppository role of pomegranates:

Soranus gave six recipes for vaginal suppositories to be taken after the cessation of menstruation, five of which use the peel or rind of a pomegranate…In , moreover, Proserpine ate pomegranate seeds, contrary to ’ order, thus preventing her return to earth for more than part of the year, along with the return of fertility. For as many seeds as she ate, she was destined to stay that many months in the Underworld.190

185 Kapparis, Abortion in the Ancient World 176 186 Miles, Steven. The Hippocratic Oath and the Ethics of Medicine, 82 187 Verdict of the case is unknown. Kapparis, Abortion in the Ancient World 192-193 188 Pausanias, , , and Euripedes, to name a few. Most modern scholars date the Hymn to the seventh century: “e.g. Förster (p. 39), who suggests the first half, and Duncker (Griech. Gesch. iii. ch. 14), who favours the middle of the century. So Francke (de hymn. in Cer. compositione etc., 1881), following Voss (between and )” (Thomas W. Allen, E. E. Sikes, 1904 via Perseus.tufts.edu) 189 “I sprang up at once for joy; but he secretly put in my mouth sweet food, a pomegranate seed, and forced me to taste against my will.” “αὐτίκ᾽ ἐγὼν ἀνόρουσ᾽ ὑπὸ χάρµατος: αὐτὰρ ὃ λάθρῃ ἔµβαλέ µοι ῥοιῆς κόκκον, µελιηδέ᾽ ἐδωδήν, ἄκουσαν δὲ βίῃ µε προσηνάγκασσε πάσασθαι.” Hymn to Demeter (ln 410-413); Greek and English translation from Perseus.tufts.edu 190 Riddle. "Oral Contraceptives…" 11 Kornack 48

While this connection is only partially developed, it is noteworthy, and upon further examination, more connections between the myth and the anti-fertility agent arise. Coauthors, Riddle, Estes, and Russell call the myth “the best known literary reference to the pomegranate’s contraceptive powers.”191 In the myth, “women are in the positions of authority.”192 It is argued that in eating the pomegranate seed, Persephone asserts her rights over her own body 193 while, simultaneously, the seed is viewed as a symbol of sex.194 Persephone, while being held captive, eats the seed and, consequently, gains more control in that she is able to leave the underworld. The pomegranate that Persephone is given serves to guarantee that she will once again return to the underworld in conjunction with the return of the earth’s infertility. Further, the number of pomegranate seeds

Persephone eats is equal to the number of agriculturally infertile months in the fall and winter that follow, thus solidifying the connection between infertility and the pomegranate seed.

Persephone never bears children, perhaps further strengthening the connection of the pomegranate seed and infertility.195 Undoubtedly, there is a strong association between the pomegranate seeds that Persephone eats and the agriculture infertility of the winter months.

Alternative interpretations of the symbolism of the pomegranate seed exist. Marilyn

Arthur offers a drastically different interpretation than Riddle, saying:

Kerenyi…defines two groups of plants, one associated with the male divinity (pomegranate, apple, fig, vine) and the other with the female fertility goddess (pomegranate, almond, date, palm). The association of the pomegranate with both male and female fertility deities makes it an ideal symbol for the union of

191 Riddle, John, J. Worth Estes, & Josiah C. Russell Ever Since Eve... in the Ancient World; Archaeology, Vol. 47, No. 2 (March/April 1994), 31 192 Ibid. 27 193 Ibid. 58 194 Ibid. 98 195 Cyrino, Monica Silveira. . Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2010. Print. 64. Kornack 49

Persephone and in this poem…. the womblike shape and bloodlike liquid that flowed from it associated it with the female; its seeds were a male feature.196

While both Arthur and Riddle associate the pomegranate with fertility, they come to two very different conclusions. While a majority of scholars interpret the Hymn echoing Arthur’s interpretation, a minority of scholars, citing ancient medical texts with anti-fertility information, shares Riddle’s interpretation. Lucia Nixon holds a moderate opinion in which the pomegranate seed is both symbolic of the union between Hades and Persephone, but she also recognizes the pomegranate’s known anti-fertility powers, saying:

Persephone tells Demeter that Hades tricked her and forced her to eat a pomegranate seed. In so doing, Hades compelled Persephone to spend part of the year with him in the underworld, but he may also, presumably unwittingly, have caused Persephone to be sterile. In medical texts the value of pomegranate, Punica granatum, L., as an anti-fertility drug is only gradually realised. [...] But Soranus is very clear on the main use of pomegranate: he lists no fewer than five different prescriptions for contraceptive pessaries.197

The Hymn’s connection to both fertility and the role of women empowers interpretations like those of Riddle and Nixon.

Plays

“If we are to believe , abortions took place in the time of Trojan wars.”198

However, the presence of abortions in plays, such as those written by Euripides (480-406 BCE) and Aristophanes (448-380 BCE), does much more than confirm the existence of the practice of abortion; the presence of abortion in these plays speaks to the general attitude of society towards the practice of abortion as a topic that was apparently invited into the plots of plays intended to entertain.

196 Arthur, Marilyn. "Politics and Pomegranates," in "The Homeric Hymn to Demeter," ed. by Helene P. Foley, 1994. 237. 197 Nixon, Lucia. “Women in Antiquity: New Assessments," edited by Richard Hawley (1997) 86 198 Kapparis. Abortion in the Ancient World. 7 Kornack 50

In Euripides’ Andromache, a mother, Andromache, swears that she did not force

Menelaus’ daughter, Hermione, to have abortions, but if the case were to be proven,

Andromache would submit herself to punishment for acting against the wishes of Hermione’s husband.199 In this way, Euripides sympathizes with the male perspective in which the husband appears to be the primary injured party because the child was wrongfully taken from him. The topics of the play provide insight into the time during which it was written, the fifth century BCE, a time in which apparently interference with another woman’s pregnancy was heavily punishable, similar to the case which Lysias describes a generation or two later.

Aristophanes also explores the topic of abortion in the context of several of his plays in an entirely different manner. In 424 BCE, in the play, Knights, a character of Aristophanes comments on the increasing price of silphion (silphium), a plant known for its abortive qualities, saying, “Don’t you remember when a stalk of silphion was sold so cheap?”200 Pennyroyal, another plant known for its contraceptive properties, is humorously mentioned in two of

Aristophanes’ plays. In Peace, written in 421 BCE during the Peloponnesian War, gives

Trygaeus a wife, saying, “Propagate young vines.” Trygaeus responds, “Won’t it hurt me if I make too free with fruits of [my wife] at first?” Hermes cheekily replies, “Not if you add a dose of pennyroyal.”201 Then, in another play, Lysistrata, Aristophanes describes “a woman, who was not pregnant, arrived from : ‘A very lovely land, /Well cropped, and trimmed, and spruced with pennyroyal.’”202 Aristophanes, as a comic playwright, speaks to the culture and societal values of his time. Through these passages, then, modern scholars can conclude that, at a

199 Euripides. Andromache. Trans. David Kovacs. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 1994. Print. 355-360 200 Riddle. "Oral Contraceptives …." 8 201 Ibid. 18 quoting BB Rogers’ translation 202 Ibid. 19 Kornack 51 time of war and hardship, abortion was, in fact, a potentially humorous topic. The presence of abortion within the plays indicates a level of comfort in discussing the topic.

Kornack 52

Religion Regardless of the time or region, religious beliefs, if present within a democracy, will have a traceable, if not blatantly visible, effect on the political system. In ancient Athens, then, religion would have implications for the state as opinion catalyzed by the public’s religious beliefs would be translated into law. Kapparis explores the implications of abortions in ancient times as manifested in people’s interactions with temples, saying, “All that was needed after an abortion was purification similar to that after childbirth, loss of one’s virginity, menstruation, sexual intercourse, or a natural death in the house.”203 The oldest document pertaining to such a ritual is the inscription of a sacred law of Cyrene, dated 331-326 BCE, reading:

If a woman has an [likely spontaneous, possibly induced] abortion, if the foetus is large and clearly formed they are contaminated as with someone’s death, but if it is not yet formed, the house is contaminated as with childbirth.204

As Kapparis relates, it is important to note that there is no similarity between the effect on one’s soul of the mentioned abortion and the effects on one’s soul of a homicide.205 Kapparis cites several other similar inscriptions, even two from the island of Cos (Hippocrates’ homeland), that all reflect the same belief, a belief that equates abortion with events like birth or sexual intercourse.206 Kapparis confidently asserts “that the link between abortion and homicide made by Christian theologians, was never made in the sacred laws of pagan antiquity.”207 Kapparis speculates that Christian theologians were able to make this connection between abortion and homicide eventually because of the uniformity in opinion that existed with regards to when life begins. Essentially, then, the transition from paganism to Christianity perpetuates a uniformity in opinion that equates abortion and homicide.

203 Kapparis. Abortion in the Ancient World. 170 204 SEG 9,72 vv. 106-9 205 Kapparis. Abortion in the Ancient World. 171; SEG 14, 529 206 Ibid. 173 207 Ibid. 174 Kornack 53

Conclusion The abundance of information that survives regarding the various methods used to induce abortion in ancient times presents a complex basis for study. Many authors from antiquity reference various abortion methods within their works, ranging from Hippocrates’ medical advice to Aristophanes’ satire. While not all of these abortion techniques proved successful, the mere availability of sources on the subject, in the form of popular culture, medical texts, and philosophical treatises speaks to the time’s demand for and interest in such information. Kapparis cites an in-depth study performed by Krenkel that “concluded that nearly all techniques available to medicine until the 1950s were already known in antiquity.”208 209 This abundance of information, then, paired with the information’s remarkable medical progressiveness, is a testament to the degree to which abortion was accepted, accessible, and applied in ancient times.

Many of the ways in which the ancient topic of abortion resonates in modernity are abundantly evident. Steven Miles, however, draws a controversial conclusion that warrants further evaluation. He accounts for the divergence between Greek medical norms, such as those espoused elsewhere in the Hippocratic Corpus, and the ethics espoused in the Oath by attributing the Oath’s authorship to the Pythagoreans who were philosophers, rather than physicians.210

This argument seems to be in harmony with the argument of other prominent scholars, such as

Edelstein. Miles’ argument is further reinforced through the contrast between the ethics of the

Oath and other ancient medical references. For example, the Oath includes a passage that advocates not to “use the knife” but, instead, to leave this task to others when, in fact,

208 Kapparis, Konstantinos. Abortion in the Ancient World. 31 209 “Recent scientific analyses of modes of action strongly suggest that extracts of pennyroyal, rue, and [silphium family] function as early-term abortifacients or contraceptives in mammalian reproductive systems.” Nelson, Sarah E. "Persephone's Seeds: Abortifacients and Contraceptives in and Their Recent Scientific Appraisal." Pharmacy in History 51.2 (2009): American Institute of the History of Pharmacy. Web. 64 210 Miles, The Hippocratic Oath and the Ethics of Medicine 29 Kornack 54 practitioners in the Cos and Cnidos schools were known advocates of surgery. Earlier in the text, in another contradiction, the Oath opposes payment; in Plato’s Protagoras, however,

Hippocrates talks about accepting a fee for teaching.211 Lastly, the Oath condemns, at least, certain abortions, while the Corpus seems generally to condone abortions. The argument of

Edelstein and Miles that the Oath must have been written by a Pythagorean, then, seems to be supported by the present evidence.

Upon attributing the Oath to a Pythagorean writer, Miles advances his argument, asking how the Hippocratic Oath could possibly present a “Christian medical ethic” centuries before

Christianity came into being. Miles goes on to conclude that the Pythagoreans were, in fact, proto-Christians, saying, “Christianity found itself in agreement with the principle Pythagorean ethics, its concepts of holiness and purity, justice and forbearance.”212 This is a strong assertion; however, this assertion does account for the Oath’s applicability to modernity, especially in the

United States, where such find their strongest roots in religion. The Pythagoreans, then, as proto-

Christians, espoused the same anti-abortion beliefs echoed by pro-life Christians today.

Each aspect of the abortion topic that existed in antiquity still exists in some form. The medical or exploratory science of Hippocrates persists today in continual study of embryo development. The comic element that the plays of Aristophanes and Euripides is perhaps comparable to the parodies in television shows, such as South Park or the Daily Show, and just as Plato and Aristotle evaluated the implications of abortion with regards to the state, so do modern politicians and political scientists. A variety of both nuanced and extreme opinions still exists: scientific knowledge has not provided a definitive answer to the age-old question of when life begins. Perhaps, scientific knowledge cannot satisfactorily answer a question fraught with

211 Plato. Protagoras. 311b-c. 212 Miles, The Hippocratic Oath and the Ethics of Medicine 30 quoting Edelstein from Temkin. Kornack 55 philosophical and religious credos.

Although it is clear from the surviving ancient texts that abortion spawned diverse opinions across different disciplines and cultures, there is no evidence of strong clashes between those groups with opposing opinions. While the modern debate on abortion has a similarly broad variety of opinions, these varying opinions have developed into a basis for heated conflict. The modern abortion debate pits one religion against another and one political organization against another and has become a source of social discord, rather than a source of social discourse.

While modern times have developed medically, technologically, and socially in the thousands of years since these ancient thinkers lived, the abortion debate has seemingly made no gains towards a definitive, all-encompassing conclusion to end the debate.

With the passage of time, different values have emerged at the forefront of society’s concerns. For example, when studying abortion in modern times, one must wonder what role feminism plays in such a debate, a social doctrine that perhaps had little or no influence in ancient times. Today, however, feminism strongly advocates for a women’s right to choose with relation to the abortion debate. As values are cultivated across generations, cultures, and religions, abortion remains an enduring topic. Little has changed in the thousands of intervening years since some of history’s greatest thinkers contemplated abortion’s role in society.

It seems unlikely that the abortion debate can be resolved to everyone’s satisfaction, as access to abortion increasingly shifts the power from governments and churches to individuals, just as organized, legislated barriers to abortion aim to empower beliefs that were originally rooted in Pythagorean philosophy. The fundamental opposition to abortion that stems from the philosophical beliefs of the Pythagoreans continues to permeate today’s society in the opposition put forth by religious factions. The question at the heart of the abortion debate—specifically, Kornack 56 when should abortion be sanctioned— will ultimately be answered by science, not religion.

Kornack 57

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