Philo of Tarsus

Ancient Greek physician

Philo (Ancient Greek: Φίλων) of Tarsus in Cilicia was a physician and pharmacologist of ancient Greece. He probably lived in or before the first century CE, as the physician and medical writer Galen speaks of him as having lived sometime before his own age.

Philo was the author of a celebrated theriac, or antidote for poison, called "Philonium" (Φιλώνειον) after his name. He described the composition of this medicine in a short, enigmatic Greek poem, preserved by Galen, who gave an explanation of this in his own writings.[1] Some sources alternately describe this as an analgesic, not an antidote.[2] The practice of giving recipes in verse was intended to make them easier to memorize, as medical knowledge was primarily passed on via oral tradition.[3]

Philonium was an herbal remedy consisting of spikenard, henbane, pyrethrum, euphorbia, and saffron, and possibly also honey and opium, and has no significant antidote effect by the standards of modern medicine.[4][5]

This antidote is frequently mentioned by ancient medical writers, for example by Galen,[6] Aretaeus of Cappadocia,[7] Paul of Aegina,[8] Oribasius,[9] Aëtius of Amida,[10] Joannes Actuarius,[11] Marcellus Empiricus,[12] Alexander of Tralles,[13] Nicolaus Myrepsus,[14] and Avicenna.[15]

There were seemingly several physicians with this name around this time, and it is challenging to tell them apart. The historian and medical writer Kurt Polycarp Joachim Sprengel believed this to have been the same person as the grammarian Philo of Byblos, but this is not a widely supported conjecture.[16] He may be the same person as Philo of Hyampolis. He may perhaps be the physician quoted by Celsus.[17]

## References

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1. ^ Galen, De Compos. Medicam. sec. Loc. ix. 4, vol. xiii. p. 267, &c.
2. ^ Savage-Smith, Emilie; van Gelder, Geert Jan; Swain, Simon, eds. (2024). A Literary History of Medicine: The ʿUyūn Al-anbāʾ Fī Ṭabaqāt Al-aṭibbāʾ of Ibn Abī Uṣaybiʿah. Vol. 3\. Brill Publishers. p. 840\. ISBN 9789004545601. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
3. ^ Mankin, G.H., ed. (1926). "The Romance of Medicines". Hospital Corps Quarterly. 10 (2). United States Navy: 54. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
4. ^ Trestrail, John H. III; Trestrail, John Harris (2007). Criminal Poisoning: Investigational Guide for Law Enforcement, Toxicologists, Forensic Scientists, and Attorneys. Humana Press. p. 4\. ISBN 9781588299215. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
5. ^ Westveer, Arthur E. (1997). Managing Death Investigations. U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation. p. 3. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
6. ^ Galen, Ad Glauc. de Meth. Med. 2.8, vol. xi. p. 114, Comment. in Hippocr. "Epid. VI." 6.5, vol. xvii. pt. ii. p. 331, De Compos. Medical. sec. Loc. 8.7, vol. xiii. p. 202, De Locis Affect. 2.5, vol. viii. p. 84, De Meth. Med. 12.1, vol. x. p. 818
7. ^ Aretaeus of Cappadocia, De Cur. Morb. Chron. 2.5, p. 335
8. ^ Paul of Aegina 3.23, 7.11, pp. 440, 657
9. ^ Oribasius, Synops. iii. Eupor. 4.136, pp. 54, 675
10. ^ Aëtius of Amida 2.4. 28, 3.1. 32, 3.2. 1, 4.1. 107, pp. 382, 478, 511, 660
11. ^ Joannes Actuarius, De Meth. Med. 5.6, p. 263
12. ^ Marcellus Empiricus, De Medicam, cc. 20, 22. pp. 329, 341
13. ^ Alexander of Tralles pp. 271, 577, ed. Basil.
14. ^ Nicolaus Myrepsus, De Compos. Medicam. 1.243, 383, pp. 412, 437
15. ^ Avicenna, Canon, v. l. l. vol. ii. p. 278, ed. Venet. 1595
16. ^ Kurt Polycarp Joachim Sprengel, Hist. de la Med. vol. ii.
17. ^ Celsus, De Medic. 6.6, p. 119

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Greenhill, William Alexander (1870). "Philon (1)". In Smith, William (ed.). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Vol. 3\. p. 313.