We are pleased to announce the upcoming conference “Exploring Ancient Pharmacology. Drugs, Words, and Practices”, to be held 24–26 November 2025 at the University of Bologna and online. The event will bring together scholars in classics, ancient medicine, archaeology, and paleopathology to explore the following topics: texts on pharmacology; words for pharmacology; remedies, economy, and society; tools and techniques; paleopathology and contemporary reconstructions.
All researchers and students with an interest in the history of medicine are warmly invited to attend!
Programme:
November 24, 2025
14:30–15:00 Welcome and Introduction
Session 1: Pharmacological Texts 1
Chair: Caterina Manco
15:00–15:35 Pilar Pérez Cañizares (Universität Wien): Therapeutic Strategies and Pharmacological Practice in the Hippocratic Treatise De internis affectionibus
15:35–16:10 Nicola Reggiani (Università di Parma): The Transmission of Pharmacological Knowledge in Greek Papyri
16:10–16:40 Coffee Break
16:40–17:15 Francesco Serratì (ENS, Paris): Fumigazione e fomentazione nei testi medici greci su papiro
17:15–17:50 Alessia Guardasole (UMR Orient & Méditerranée, Paris): Galen’s Nosology in His Pharmacological Works
17:50–18:00 General Discussion
November 25, 2025
Session 2: Pharmacological Texts 2
Chair: Valentina Giuffra
09:30–10:05 Anna Magnaldi (Sapienza Università di Roma): Nec pudeat: rimedi ripugnanti e dolorosi nel Liber Medicinalis
10:05–10:40 Giuseppe Trovato (Università degli Studi di Messina): Prime osservazioni sui Physica di Teodoro Prisciano
10:40–11:10 Coffee Break
Session 3: Tools and Techniques
Chair: John Wilkins
11:10–11:45 Mª Ángeles Alonso Alonso (UNED, Madrid): Strumenti e attrezzi della farmacologia all’epoca romana: terminologia, tipologia e rappresentazione iconografica
11:45–12:20 Isabella Bonati (Universidade de Lisboa): ‘Cast (the Ingredients) into the Pot’: A Journey Between Receptaria on Papyrus and Material Culture
12:20–12:30 General Discussion
12:30–14:30 Lunch Break
Session 4: The Words of Pharmacology
Chair: Alessia Guardasole
14:30–15:05 Anna Monte (Università degli Studi di Udine): Ophthalmic Recipes on Papyrus: Remedies, Ingredients, and Vocabulary
15:05–15:40 Natalia Kulikova (Jagiellonian University, Krakow): The Term Misy in Celsus’ De medicina: its Meaning and Linguistic Equivalents in Dictionaries and Translations of the Treatise
15:40–16:15 Coffee Break
16:15–16:50 John Wilkins (University of Exeter, emeritus): What is the ουk σιnα (Substance) of a Drug? Galen’s Answer
Session 5: Drugs and Society
Chair: Alessia Guardasole
16:50–17:25 Jurgen R. Gatt (University of Malta): Challenging Hippocratic Prescriptions: The Role of the Patient in Ancient Pharmacology
17:25–17:35 General Discussion
20:00 Conference Dinner
November 26, 2025
Session 6: Drugs and Economy
Chair: Martina Dattilo
09:30–10:05 Dario Nappo (Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II): Medicine is no Luxury. The Economic Meaning of Ancient Spice Trade
Session 7: Paleopathology and Contemporary Reconstructions
Chair: Martina Dattilo
10:05–10:40 Valentina Giuffra (Università di Pisa): Paleopathology and Ancient Pharmacology: Therapeutic Evidence from Ancient Human Remains
10:40–11:10 Coffee Break
11:10–11:45 Manuela Marai (Center for Hellenic Studies, Harvard University): Galen and the Science of Compounding Remedies
11:45–12:20 Andrew Koh (Yale University): Navigating Scylla and Charybdis: Advancing Ancient Pharmacology through Transdisciplinarity
12:20–12:45 General Discussion and Closing Remarks