Classical Studies
Subject: The Changing Roles of Internal Body Parts in Greco-Roman Medicine
Advisor: Prof. Donna Shalev, Dr. Orly Lewis
Abstract: I am fascinated by the history of Greco-Roman medical and biological thought. The body and its multifarious functions attracted and continue to attract the interest of physicians, philosophers, artists, and politicians. Making sense of the body is, to a large extent, making sense of ourselves and the world around us, but also one way, among many, to fashion and change that world and us. Somehow, the body is at the same times both known and unknown, transparent and opaque, controlling and regulated. My research begins with a seemingly simple question: when and how did internal bodily organs start to move? The fact that internal organs like the heart, stomach, or lungs move themselves and the substances proper to them might look self-evident. However, the roles and functions of internal anatomical structures were fiercely debated in antiquity. As time went by, they changed from being passive containers of fluids and humors to active physiological agents responsible for the well-being of the body. My research traces the philosophical, technological, and medical developments that explain the growing agency internal organs received over time.
Bio: A graduate student in the Classics department of the Hebrew University, I studied for my B.A. in Classics and Philosophy and M.A. in Classics in Jerusalem, specializing in the history of science, especially medicine, and biology. I work mainly on the writings of Aristotle and the Hippocratic Corpus. I maintain a strong interest in Greek philosophy, especially, but not only in areas that intersect with ancient biological thought. My M.A. and doctoral theses are written as part of the ERC-funded project ATLOMY. Anatomy in Ancient Greece and Rome: An Interactive Visual and Textual Atlas.
Publications:
- Ezrohi, D., “When Teleology Fails: Aristotle on Bile as Useless Residue in Parts of Animals” (forthcoming, Scripta Classica Israelica).
- Ezrohi, D. “Aristotle's Gastrointestinal System: Reconstruction and Interpretation”, in Lewis, O. et al., ATLOMY. Greco-Roman Anatomy Atlas.
President Scholarship 2023/24