Upper extremity injuries in Homer's Iliad.
Homer's Iliad remains a fascinating source of medical history. This epic poem, compiled around 800 BCE, describes several weeks of the last year of the 10-year siege of Troy (Ilion) by the Achaeans. Homer composed the epic by combining and formalizing oral poems, legends, customs, and experiences that originated in the later Mycenaean age (1600-1100 bce). The story centers on the rage of the great warrior Achilles. The Iliad remains the oldest record of Greek medicine and a unique source of surgical history. This study examines the upper extremity injuries described in the Iliad and compares them to those other sites of injury.
Section of Hand Surgery, Division of Orthopaedic Surgery, Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics, Kansas City, MO 64108, USA. rlhutchison@cmh.edu
Richard L
RL
Hutchison
Maureen A
MA
Hirthler
D001917:Brachial Plexus / Q000293:injuries; D005197:Famous Persons; D018645:Greek World / Q000266:history*; D049690:History, Ancient; D006801:Humans; D008513:Medicine in Literature; D008512:Medicine in the Arts; D010820:Physicians / Q000266:history; D011037:Poetry as Topic / Q000266:history*; D013514:Surgical Procedures, Operative; D034941:Upper Extremity / Q000293:injuries*; D014857:Warfare; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000266:history
Homer; Iliad; Injury; history; upper extremity