Galen was a Greek physician and philosopher who lived during the Roman Empire in the 2nd and 3rd centuries CE. He was born in the city of Pergamon in 129 CE. After a broad education in philosophy, he studied medicine across the eastern Mediterranean, including at the famous centre in Alexandria. He served as a doctor for gladiators in Pergamon before moving to Rome, where he became a celebrated physician and eventually served as a court doctor to several Roman emperors. He died in Rome around the year 216 CE, though the exact date is uncertain.
Galen was an exceptionally prolific writer who produced works on medicine, anatomy, and philosophy. He sought to create a unified medical system by combining the practical tradition of Hippocrates with ideas from philosophers like Plato and Aristotle. His major surviving works include detailed studies on anatomy, the functions of the body, and methods of treatment. A significant amount of his writing was lost over time, but much of what survives comes to us through later translations into Arabic and Latin.
Galen’s influence was immense. His unified system of medicine, built on the body's chymoi and on the claim that every part of the body serves a purpose, became the foundation of medical teaching in Europe and the Islamic world for more than a thousand years. His anatomical descriptions, though based primarily on animal dissections and containing errors, were considered authoritative until the Renaissance. His vast body of work ensured his influence persisted through the Middle Ages and fundamentally shaped the history of medicine and biology.
Available Works
Advice for an Epileptic Boy
Συμβουλή πρὸς παιδὶ ἐπιληπτικῷ
170 passages
Against Lycus
Κατὰ Λύκου
383 passages
Against Those Who Wrote on Types or Circuits
Κατὰ τῶν γράψαντων περὶ τύπων ἢ κύκλων
351 passages
Against What Julian Said on Hippocrates' Aphorisms
Κατὰ τῶν ὑπὸ Ἰουλιανοῦ περὶ Ἱπποκράτους
440 passages
Commentaries on Hippocrates' Book III of Epidemics
Ὑπομνήματα εἰς Ἱπποκράτους Ἐπιδημιῶν Γ'
2424 passages
Commentaries on Hippocrates' Book VI of Epidemics
Ὑπομνήματα εἰς Ἱπποκράτους Ἐπιδημιῶν Ϛ'
4278 passages
Commentaries on Hippocrates' Prognostic I
Ὑπομνήματα εἰς Ἱπποκράτους Προγνωστικὸν Α'
2661 passages
Commentary on Hippocrates or Polybius' Work on the Healthy Diet of Individuals
Σχόλια εἰς Ἱπποκράτους ἢ Πολυβίου Περὶ ὑγιεινῆς
363 passages
Commentary on Plato's Timaeus
Ὑπομνήματα εἰς τὰ τοῦ Πλάτωνος Τιμαίου ἀποσπάσματα
248 passages
Exhortation to Learn the Arts
Παραίνεσις πρὸς τὴν τῶν τεχνῶν μάθησιν
321 passages
Explanation of Obsolete Words of Hippocrates
Ἐξήγησις τῶν παλαιῶν λέξεων τοῦ Ἱπποκράτους
1538 passages
Galen
Γαληνὸς περὶ δίαιτας ἀδυνατίζουσας
341 passages
How Those Feigning Illnesses Should Be Detected
Πῶς δεῖ τοὺς νοσοῦντας προσποιουμένους ἐλέγχειν
48 passages
Logical Instruction
Λογικὴ Διδασκαλία
475 passages
Medical Art
Ἰατρικὴ Τέχνη
935 passages
On Affected Places
Περὶ τῶν τόπων τῶν πεπονθότων
3556 passages
On Anatomical Procedures
Περὶ τῶν ἀνατομικῶν ἐπιτηδευμάτων
3811 passages
On Antidotes
Περὶ ἀντιδότων
3148 passages
On Barley Drink
Περὶ τῆς πτισάνης
127 passages
On Black Bile
Περὶ μέλαινας χολῆς
299 passages
On Bones for Beginners
Περὶ τῶν ὀστέων τοῖς νεοφύτοις
405 passages
On Crises
Περὶ κρίσεων
1764 passages
On Critical Days
Περὶ τῶν κρισίμων ἡμερῶν
1462 passages
On Customs
Περὶ ἐθῶν
203 passages
On Diagnosing and Treating Each Mind's Emotions
Περὶ διαγνώσεως καὶ θεραπείας ἑκάστου τῶν τοῦ
461 passages
On Diagnosing Pulses
Περὶ τῆς διαγνώσεως τῶν σφυγμῶν
1727 passages
On Diagnosis from Dreams
Περὶ τῆς διγνώσεως ἐξ ἐνυπνίων
28 passages
On Difficulty of Breathing
Περὶ δυσπνοίας
1847 passages
On Divination from Pulses
Περὶ τῆς μαντικῆς ἐκ τῶν σφυγμῶν
1864 passages
On Emaciation
Περὶ μαρασμοῦ
315 passages
On Fullness
Περὶ πληρότητος
581 passages
On Good and Bad Juice
Περὶ Εὐχυμίας καὶ Κακοχυμίας
516 passages
On Good Condition
Περὶ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ἕξεως
42 passages
On Hair According to Hippocrates
Περὶ κόμης κατὰ Ἱπποκράτην
132 passages
On Hippocrates' Aphorisms
Περὶ Ἱπποκράτους Ἀφορισμῶν
5687 passages
On Hippocrates' Epidemics I
Περὶ Ἱπποκράτους Ἐπιδημιῶν Α'
2293 passages
On Hippocrates' On Fractures
Περὶ Ἱπποκράτους περὶ καταγμάτων
2488 passages
On Hippocrates' On Joints
Περὶ Ἱπποκράτους περὶ ἄρθρων
3116 passages
On Hippocrates' On the Diet of the Acutely Ill
Περὶ Ἱπποκράτους περὶ δίαιτας τῶν ὀξέων
3748 passages
On Hippocrates' On the Doctor's Workshop
Περὶ Ἱπποκράτους περὶ τοῦ ἰατροῦ ἐργαστηρίου
2335 passages
On Hippocrates' On the Physis of Man
Εἰς Ἱπποκράτους Περὶ φύσεως ἀνθρώπου
1283 passages
On Hippocrates' Prognostic
Περὶ Ἱπποκράτους Προγνωστικοῦ
2230 passages
On His Own Books
Περὶ τῶν ἰδίων βιβλίων
372 passages
On Leeches, Revulsion, Cupping, Incision and Scarification
Περὶ βδελλῶν
49 passages
On Medical Experience
Περὶ τῆς ἰατρικῆς ἐμπειρίας
73 passages
On Melancholy
Περὶ μελαγχολίας
57 passages
On Natural Faculties
Περί φυσικῶν δυνάμεων
1688 passages
On Personal Doctrines, Unpublished Fragments
Περὶ τῶν ἰδίων δογμάτων
56 passages
On Preserving Health
Περὶ τῆς ὑγιείας διατηρήσεως
3472 passages
On Prognosis to Epigenes
Περὶ προγνώσεως πρὸς Ἐπιγένη
612 passages
On Pulses for Beginners
Περὶ τῶν σφυγμῶν πρὸς νεοφύτους
397 passages
On Sects for Beginners
Περὶ τῶν αἱρέσεων τοῖς εἰσαγομένοις
330 passages
On Seed
Περὶ σπέρματος
1129 passages
On Seven-Month Birth
Περὶ ἑπταμηνίας
129 passages
On Sexual Matters
Περὶ τῶν ἀφροδισίων
24 passages
On Sophisms or Verbal Fallacies
Περὶ σοφισμάτων ἢ λογικῶν παγίδων
168 passages
On Temperaments
Περὶ τῶν κράσεων
1477 passages
On the Best Constitution of Our Body
Περὶ τῆς ἀρίστης τοῦ σώματος κατασκευῆς
92 passages
On the Best Doctrine
Περὶ τῆς ἀρίστης διδασκαλίας
74 passages
On the Causes of Diseases
Περὶ τῶν αἰτιῶν τῶν νόσων
323 passages
On the Causes of Pulses
Περὶ τῶν αἰτιῶν τῶν σφυγμῶν
1704 passages
On the Causes of Respiration
Περὶ τῶν αἰτιῶν τῆς ἀναπνοῆς
40 passages
On the Causes of Symptoms
Περὶ τῶν αἰτιῶν τῶν συμπτωμάτων
1588 passages
On the Composition of Drugs by Places
Περὶ συνθέσεως φαρμάκων κατὰ τόπους βιβλία Ι
14299 passages
On the Composition of Drugs by Types
Περὶ συνθέσεως φαρμάκων κατὰ γένη
10393 passages
On the Constitution of the Medical Art to Patrophilus
Περὶ τῆς κατασκευῆς τῆς ἰατρικῆς τέχνης πρὸς
680 passages
On the Diagnosis and Treatment of Any Psychē's Sins
Περὶ Διαγνώσεως καὶ Θεραπείας τῶν ἐν τῇ ἑκάστου Ψυχῇ Ἁμαρτημάτων
346 passages
On the Differences of Diseases
Περὶ τῶν διαφορῶν τῶν νόσων
335 passages
On the Differences of Fevers
Περὶ τῶν διαφορῶν τῶν πυρετῶν
1081 passages
On the Differences of Pulses
Περὶ τῶν διαφορῶν τῶν σφυγμῶν
2440 passages
On the Differences of Symptoms
Περὶ τῶν διαφορῶν τῶν συμπτωμάτων
361 passages
On the Dissection of Muscles for Beginners
Περὶ τῆς τῶν μυῶν ἀνατομῆς πρὸς τοὺς νεοφύτους
715 passages
On the Dissection of Nerves
Περὶ τῆς νεύρων τομῆς
157 passages
On the Dissection of the Uterus
Περὶ τῆς μήτρας τομῆς
200 passages
On the Dissection of Veins and Arteries
Περὶ τῆς φλεβῶν καὶ ἀρτηριῶν τομῆς
364 passages
On the Doctrines of Hippocrates and Plato
Περὶ τῶν δογμάτων Ἱπποκράτους καὶ Πλάτωνος
5140 passages
On the Doctrines of Hippocrates and Plato: Book I
Περὶ τῶν δογμάτων Ἱπποκράτους καὶ Πλάτωνος, Αʹ
231 passages
On the Doctrines of Hippocrates and Plato: Book II
Περὶ τῶν δογμάτων Ἱπποκράτους καὶ Πλάτωνος, Βʹ
627 passages
On the Doctrines of Hippocrates and Plato: Book III
Περὶ τῶν δογμάτων Ἱπποκράτους καὶ Πλάτωνος, Γʹ
647 passages
On the Doctrines of Hippocrates and Plato: Book IV
Περὶ τῶν δογμάτων Ἱπποκράτους καὶ Πλάτωνος, Δʹ
601 passages
On the Doctrines of Hippocrates and Plato: Book IX
Περὶ τῶν δογμάτων Ἱπποκράτους καὶ Πλάτωνος, Θʹ
739 passages
On the Doctrines of Hippocrates and Plato: Book V
Περὶ τῶν δογμάτων Ἱπποκράτους καὶ Πλάτωνος, Εʹ
629 passages
On the Doctrines of Hippocrates and Plato: Book VI
Περὶ τῶν δογμάτων Ἱπποκράτους καὶ Πλάτωνος, Ϛʹ
649 passages
On the Doctrines of Hippocrates and Plato: Book VII
Περὶ τῶν δογμάτων Ἱπποκράτους καὶ Πλάτωνος, Ζʹ
471 passages
On the Doctrines of Hippocrates and Plato: Book VIII
Περὶ τῶν δογμάτων Ἱπποκράτους καὶ Πλάτωνος, Ηʹ
546 passages
On the Elements from Hippocrates
Περὶ τῶν στοιχείων ἐξ Ἱπποκράτους
739 passages
On the Exercise of the Small Ball
Περὶ τῆς μικρᾶς σφαίρας γυμνασίας
97 passages
On the Formation of Fetuses
Περὶ τῆς τῶν ἐμβρύων διαπλάσεως
381 passages
On the Instrument of Smell
Περὶ τοῦ ὀργάνου τῆς ὀσμῆς
238 passages
On the Method of Healing
Περὶ τῆς μεθόδου θεραπείας
8948 passages
On the Method of Healing by Venesection
Περὶ τῆς θεραπευτικῆς μεθόδου διὰ φλεβοτομίας
487 passages
On the Movement of Muscles
Περὶ κινήσεως μυῶν
826 passages
On the Order of His Books to Eugenianus
Περὶ τῆς τάξεως τῶν βιβλίων πρὸς Εὐγενιανόν
109 passages
On the Ousia of Natural Faculties
Περὶ τῆς Οὐσίας τῶν Φυσικῶν Δυνάμεων
75 passages
On the Power of Purgative Medicines
Περὶ τῆς δυνάμεως τῶν καθαρτικῶν φαρμάκων
152 passages
On the Powers in Foods
Περὶ τῶν ἐν ταῖς τροφαῖς δυνάμεων
2476 passages
On the Shoulder Dislocated in Ways Hippocrates Did Not See
Περὶ τοῦ ὤμου τοῖς τρόποις ἐκπεπτωκότος οὓς
620 passages
On the Temperaments and Powers of Simple Medicines I-VI
Περὶ τῶν τῶν ἁπλῶν φαρμάκων κράσεων καὶ δυνάμεων
8518 passages
On the Times of Diseases
Περὶ τῶν χρόνων τῶν νόσων
278 passages
On the Times of the Whole Disease
Περὶ τῶν χρόνων τοῦ ὅλου νόσου
214 passages
On the Use of Parts of the Human Body
Περὶ χρείας τῶν τοῦ ἀνθρωπίνου σώματος μορίων
9587 passages
On the Use of Pulses
Περὶ χρείας σφυγμῶν
237 passages
On the Usefulness of Breathing
Περὶ τῆς ὠφελείας τῆς ἀναπνοῆς
344 passages
On Theriac to Piso
Περὶ θηριακῆς πρὸς Πείσωνα
788 passages
On Tremor, Palpitation, Convulsion and Rigidity
Περὶ τρόμου
513 passages
On Tumours Contrary to Physis
Περὶ τῶν Ὄγκων παρὰ Φύσιν
241 passages
On Types
Περὶ τῶν τύπων
110 passages
On Unequal Intemperance
Περὶ ἀνισοῦ ἀκρασίας
177 passages
On Venesection against Erasistratus
Περὶ φλεβοτομίας κατὰ Ἐρασίστρατον
361 passages
On Venesection against the Erasistrateans Living in Rome
Περὶ φλεβοτομίας κατὰ Ἐρασιστρατείους Ῥώμῃ
513 passages
Scholia on Plato's Timaeus
Σχόλια εἰς τὰ ἀποσπάσματα τοῦ Πλάτωνος Τιμαίου
151 passages
Synopsis of His Books on Pulses
Σύνοψις τῶν βιβλίων περὶ σφυγμῶν
901 passages
That Poiotētes are Incorporeal
Ὅτι αἱ Ποιότητες Ἀσώματοι
187 passages
That the Best Doctor is Also a Philosopher
Ὅτι ὁ ἄριστος ἰατρὸς καὶ φιλόσοφος ἐστίν
72 passages
That the Psychē's Faculties Follow the Body's Temperaments
Ὅτι ταῖς τοῦ Σώματος Κράσεσιν αἱ τῆς Ψυχῆς Δυνάμεις ἕπονται
437 passages
Thrasybulus or Whether Hygiene Belongs to Medicine or Gymnastics
Θρασύβουλος ἢ πότερον ἰατρικῇ ἢ γυμναστικῇ ὑγιεινή
717 passages
To Glaucon on the Method of Healing
Πρὸς Γλαύκωνα περὶ τῆς μεθόδου θεραπείας
1395 passages
Whether Blood Is Contained In Arteries
Εἰ ἐν ταῖς ἀρτηρίαις αἷμα περιέχεται
273 passages
Whom to Purge with Which Purgative Medicines and When
Ποιοὺς τίνι καθαρτικῷ καὶ πότε καθαίρειν δεῖ
104 passages
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