Health and Illness in the Ancient World with Helen Rhee
Episode 99 - October 28, 2022
Helen Rhee (Westmont College) joins the Infectious Historians to discuss her work on illness, pain and healthcare in early Christianity. The conversation begins with an overview of medicine in Greco-Roman antiquity, and transitions from there to survey health and illness in the Hebrew Bible before moving on to early Christian times. The topics covered include changes over time in the association between the divine and health (or disease), asceticism, pain, and the new idea of Christian health through hospitals in cities.
Further Reading
- Ferngren, Gary B. Medicine & Health Care in Early Christianity. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009.
- Nutton, Vivian. Ancient Medicine. Second Edition. London & New York: Routledge, 2013.
- Rhee, Helen. Illness, Pain, and Health Care in Early Christianity. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2022.
- Zucconi, Laura M. Ancient Medicine: From Mesopotamia to Rome. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2019.
Our Guest
Helen Rhee
Professor of History of Christianity, Religious Studies – Westmont College
